Loved this novel by Philippa Gregory. Brought in some of the darker elements of history going on in the 1600s, from the civil war to witchcraft. Thoroughly entertaining with some strong female characters at the centre. One of my favourite reads of the year.

Excellent book, I couldn't put it down. Quite fast pasted, engrossing and really enjoyable.

I sped through this book because I devour anything that Miss Gregory writes. I thoroughly enjoyed the female characters in this book and I loved how she gave a voice to a social class that we don't often hear about from history. I found the end surprising and it definitely made me want to continue reading the saga of the Reekie family. Looking forward to the next one!

I've read many of Phillipa Gregory's more specific era book before so wasn't sure when I purchased this pure fiction book. However it didn't disappoint and was a very good story. well written, and I would recommend this to anyone. The central characters were totally believable and it was an interesting look at the affect the Civil War caused to ordinary and poor people.

This story takes place in 1648 in an area known as the Tidelands, off the south coast of England. Alinors husband is missing and has not returned to their little home in a year. England is in the midst of civil war between the King and Parliament and life is hard as Alinor struggles to feed her daughter and son. These are superstitious times with witch hunts and fear and because of Alinors knowledge of herbs, healing and midwifery. there are suspicions and whisperings among her neighbours. One evening Alinor comes across a young priest on the run requiring assistance. He needs some place to hide and Alinor leads him to a place of safety, at risk to her safety. This act of kindness has an effect on her and her children's lives which she could not have imagined and the consequences are far reaching. I felt the first part of this novel, setting the scene was quite slow but it did give detail into the ways of Alinors everyday life. The story then developed and held my attention to the very end. This book lives up to Philippa Gregory's very high standards with attention to detail and evidence of her meticulous research. This is book 1 in The Fairmile series, so looking forward to the next novel.