I demoni di Wakenhyrst

by Michelle Paver

A Wakenhyrst, un minuscolo borgo del Suffolk, sorge Wake’s End, un maniero dai tetti dissestati spruzzati di licheni arancioni e dalle finestre che si fanno a stento largo tra l’edera. Un posto fuori dal tempo, reso ancora più tale dalla Palude di Guthlaf, la landa selvaggia e intrisa d’acqua che circonda la tenuta. A Wake’s End, un tempo, vivevano Edmund Stearne, ricco proprietario terriero e stimato storico, e sua figlia Maude. Ma nel 1913 la sedicenne Maud Stearne vide il padre scendere i gradini con un punteruolo da ghiaccio e un martello da geologo e massacrare la prima persona che gli capitò a tiro nel modo più assurdo e raccapricciante. Internato in un manicomio, Edmund Stearne dedicò il resto della sua vita alla realizzazione di tre sbalorditivi dipinti. Opere che paiono uscite da un incubo: grottesche, macabre, malvagie. Opere che celano la chiave dell’omicidio? Nel 1965, per rispondere a questa domanda, la storica dell’arte Robin Hunter decide di contattare e interrogare l’ormai anziana Maude. La ricerca della risposta, tuttavia, trascina con sé altre domande. I fatti del 1913 hanno forse a che fare con il rinvenimento di uno spaventoso dipinto medievale chiamato l’Apocalisse, scoperto da Edmund nel camposanto di Wakenhyrst? E i diavoli raffigurati nella pala. sono loro la causa dell’inspiegabile e improvvisa perdita di senno dell’irreprensibile e stimato storico? O a farlo precipitare nel baratro della follia sono stati invece i demoni del suo passato? Romanzo storico che spazia da Mary Shelley e Bram Stoker, I demoni di Wakenhyrst ha conquistato i lettori al suo apparire in Inghilterra. Con la sua impeccabile trama, in cui i generi si mescolano in un avvincente thriller, ha sancito la definitiva consacrazione di Michelle Paver. «Originale e avvincente... Paver fonde magistralmente i generi narrativi, mescolando demoni, mistici e la condizione delle donne nell’Inghilterra edoardiana». Observer «Una storia di orrore e bellezza». Sunday Telegraph

Genres: Horror, Historical Fiction, Gothic, Fiction, Mystery, Historical, Fantasy

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 4, 2019

About the author

Michelle Paver was born in central Africa, but came to England as a child. After gaining a degree in biochemistry from Oxford University, she became a partner in a city law firm, but eventually gave that up to write full-time.

The hugely successful Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series arose from Michelle's lifelong passion for animals, anthropology and the distant past—as well as an encounter with a large bear in a remote valley in southern California. To research the books, Michelle has traveled to Finland, Greenland, Sweden, Norway, Arctic Canada and the Carpathian Mountains. She has slept on reindeer skins, swum with wild orca (killer whales), and got nose-to-nose with polar bears—and, of course, wolves.

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a glorious piece of Edwardian gothic historical fiction from Michelle Paver, it has elements of horror and madness, set in the remote village of Wakenhyrst, surrounded by the fens of Suffolk at the start of the 20th century. The isolated manor house of Wake's End is owned by local landowner, historian and scholar Edmund Stearne, in the midst of Guthlaf's fen, an area bursting with superstitions, folklore, myths and legends, of the dreaded 'fen tigers' a savage people doctoring their 'ague' with a powerful home brewed opium. The overarching religion of the time is controlling and powerful, with locals attending the ornate medieval St Guthlaf's church, with its ornate demons and fallen angels. The novel begins with the now 69 year old Maud Stearne, whose father was committed to an asylum after murdering a local person when she was a child. In the asylum he painted medieval style paintings of demons, which have been rediscovered and lauded.

Doubt is now being cast on his guilt, and suspicion is being cast on Maud instead, spearheaded by Patrick Rippon, journalist on the Sunday Explorer Magazine. Hounded and harried at Wake's End, Maud allows access to her father's notebooks which she has managed to keep secret till now. The narrative then goes back time to Maud's childhood, her close relationship with her mother, and her devotion to her father, Edmund, at least at the beginning. Her mother submits to the abusive authority of Edmund, caught in a cycle of never ending miscarriages and still births, with a husband indifferent to her sufferings, intent only on satisfying his sexual needs, affronted when the doctor suggests desisting occasionally. Maud becomes responsible for the household with the death of her mother.

Edmund begins to become obsessed with the doom, a ancient painting he discovers at the site of St Guthlaf's, connecting it with his research on local medieval mystic Alice Pyett. Maud serves as his personal assistant, something she is initially proud of until she learns that he is merely taking advantage of her, whilst attaching no importance to her intelligence. Despite being forbidden from the fens, a source of fear for Edmund, Maud is drawn to fen's natural wildness and beauty, developing a life long passion that has her fighting for its survival. As she begins to become aware of the chilling threats that her dangerous father poses, she finds no-one will listen, indeed threatening her instead, for having the temerity to tarnish Edmund's reputation.

Paver is a gifted storyteller with her understated air of menace and claustrophobia that pervades the dark and intense narrative, where even though the reader knows where it is all heading, nevertheless manages to sustain tension and suspense in the need to know the how and why. I got completely caught up in Maud's character, she shows such courage, having to handle a out of control father in the throes of a growing insanity driven by his heinous past. She is trapped and thwarted by the overwhelming misogyny of society, in its attitudes to women in this period of history. The depiction of the fens, the likes of Jubal Rede, Clem Walker and Ivy, locals whose destiny demonstrate the class inequalities, and the powerlessness faced by the poor, provide a fantastic, detailed and unforgettable sense of location in this historical era. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Head of Zeus for an ARC.

[Beata · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Victorian/Edwardian gothic novel was a compulsive read that kept me awake till small hours ... It has everything I love about the genre: dramatic location, mystery, folklore and beautiful writing style. I was captivated by the way the story unravels, from the very first pages you feel the evil that in somewhere there, in the Fens? at Wake's End? In Edmund Stearn's mind?
Maud Stearn, Edmund's daughter, now an elderly lady who still lives at Wake's End, agrees to come back to the terrible events which took place over five decades earlier. And by doing so, she manages to save her family home.
It is very difficult to write about this novel without adding any spoilers, let me just add that WAKENHYRST for me is a most fine example of the gothic novel and a delight for the genre lovers.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant gothic novel! Edmund Stearne, master of Wakenhyrst, becomes obsessed with a painting (The Doom) and sees himself haunted by demons. Stearne has a dark secret from his childhood when his younger sister Lilly drowned. The story is told by his daughter Maud, who secretely read his journals (great perspectives here; loved that diary driven prose). You'll find out many things about Maud: her first love, her love to animals (the chatterpie), her rivals (Ivy) and her fears when the obsessions of her father get life threatening. Wakenhyrst is set near a fen and you get much insight on how life went on such a manor in the early 20th century. You'll also learn much about the role of women back then and that society was strictly divided into classes. Absolutely compelling pageturner. The tension is rising chapter by chapter and the idea with the painting is brilliantly described by the author. A gothic masterpiece. Also the ending is fine and convincing. Loved reading that book and can imagine (like stated in the book) that it could easily be turned into a major movie. One of the first highlights of the new year. Highly recommended!

[Icey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whispers of the fens, the malice of madness, wild dreams mingled with the crisp air.

With an elegant, dark undertone, Wakenhyrst transported me to a place where all gothic fans craving for.

A large manor house, a historian, toxic tyranny with the most obscure illusion.

The frosty smell of winter.
Mysticism and insanity.
Haunting and atmospheric.

From fear and horror, there always comes obsession.
There is nothing that can be more deliciously chilling than an Edwardian gothic novel.

[Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 Sterne, aufgerundet auf 4
Ein altes englisches Herrenhaus im Moor, ein grausiger Mord, eine geheimnisvolle Familiengeschichte, und das alle spielt zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts. Optimale Voraussetzungen für einen spannenden Roman.

Ich mochte das Setting sehr gerne; es hatte eine düstere, schaurige Atmosphäre. Perfekt für lange Winterabende.

Es gibt Tagebücher des Vaters, die heimlich von der Tochter gelesen werden und so immer mehr offenbaren. Gerade zu Beginn hat mich das sehr gefesselt.

Eigentlich hat dieses Buch alles, was ich mag, und doch hat es mich nicht gänzlich überzeugen können. Ich habe es sehr gerne gelesen, fand es auch spannend, aber zwischendurch und immer mehr zum Ende hin gab es für mich auch mal einige Längen, wo meine Gedanken dann vom Buch abschweiften...

Lesenswert ist es aber auf jeden Fall!

[Annet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something has been let loose...
Quite a creepy, entertaining read, well told. Reads easily. Intriguing. Mix of history, fantasy, horror, as the cover rightly says 'a masterfully creepy gothic thriller'(The Bookseller). Yes, liked it, like many here I believe!

Blessed is the man who endureth manifold troubles, for whereas he is tried, then shall he receive everlasting reward...

This is the book description:
In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up witout a mother, ruled by her repressive father. When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened... Spanning five centuries, Wakenhyrst is a darkly gothic thriller about murderous obsession and one girl's longing to fly free.

[Dem · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

An ok read but certainly not one I remember a year from now.

I have been reading quite a lot of Gothic Fiction novels of late and finding my joy in most of them but Wakenhyrst just didn’t create the suspense or tension I was expecting.

Something has been let loose..."

In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up without a mother, ruled by her repressive father.
When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened.

The opening chapter of this novel really does draw the reader in, I enjoyed the atmosphere and descriptions of the the Manor House and fens. But unfortunately the Plot was slow and uneventful. I felt the story dragged and the mystery and suspense created at the beginning, seemed to wane the further along the book I read. I wasn’t a fan of the constant switching between narratives as a lot of the story became repetitive and quite confusing.

I listened to this one on audible and while the narrator was excellent I did struggle to keep track of the story and may have enjoyed this one more if I’d had a hard copy.

I did like the writing style and I will defiantly read something else by this author but hold out for a hard copy next time.

An ok read but unfortunately not one for my favourites shelf.

[Elle_bow 🩷 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book overall. For me it just didn’t really go anywhere or get super interesting. I was kinda waiting for it to kick into high gear but it just sorta kept the same pace the whole way through. Even towards the end there wasn’t really any anticipation or lead up, it just kinda happened.

[John Mauro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wakenhyrst check all the boxes of Gothic horror:

☑️ Dreary setting
☑️ Spooky manor house
☑️ Psychologically disturbed characters
☑️ The occult
☑️ Connection to religion
☑️ Long-lost possessed object
☑️ Death
☑️ Opening with a framing device

And so on.

Unfortunately, the story never takes off. I never felt a sense of dread or horror with this book like I would expect in this genre. Honestly, this book reminded me of a much tamer version of The Silent Companions, but it never clicked in the same way as Laura Purcell's masterpiece.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Gothic novel lived up to all my expectations,. It was everything a wonderful story should be and more. The maniacal and despotic father is a wonderful creation; in opposition to his whip-smart, anxious to please daughter who is never good enough for him, because of her sex and because of his complete lack of empathy for anyone.

These two family members while being the most important characters in the book are surrounded by others just as vivid and lifelike. Their surroundings also play a major role. You can almost smell the swampy fen which is the setting for their old manor house. The father finds it repulsive, but Maud loves it and identifies with it. The denigration and degradation of women in this age is well told. Maud, her mother, and all women are thought of as lesser beings who should know their place and their subservient role and keep to it. Maud fights back, but can't begin to fathom the mad thoughts and ultimately the mad deeds of her father.

[Dannii Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.

This is the perfect atmospheric read to accompany these gloomy winter evenings.

The Gothic wildness of the fens is almost untouched by the heft of man that seems to be overtaking the rest of the world. It is a place undisturbed, expect by undefinable shrieks at night, the ghosts of superstition and folklore, and one lone mansion that borders the wilderness. Inside this house, the occupants largely attempt to exist in total disconnection with the fens but something about the strange beauty of it allures its youngest member and Maud will not settle into her relegated sphere of the world before she can explore all of the wild offerings that exist outside of it.

This novel was staged around a series of communications between the fully grown Maud and a journalist attempting to lure her into telling her story. Financial needs meant she finally relented and the reader was flung back to Edwardian England as the true story begins to unfurl in the present tense.

I adored Maud. Her forward thinking and feminist ideologies, her stubborn nature, and her ardent longing for the natural world all spoke to my heart and I was to unable to do anything but align with her cause. Her father, however, far less so, just as the story demanded of its readers.

Along with the strong-willed Maud, my heart also became enamoured with the majestic wilderness that consistently surrounded her. I could not fail but to liken this to my favourite read, Wuthering Heights. Cathy Earnshaw is as much a product of the moors as she is her upbringing and the same can be said for Maud. Also, in both, the mirroring of tempestuous passions between nature and the characters traversing its plains dominate the texts. Both were about far more than nature's undisturbed beauty but that is what spoke so clearly to me, through the intricacies of the plot, and ensured both as eternally unforgettable reads.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Michelle Paver, and the publisher, Head of Zeus, for this opportunity.

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful gothic novel that easily lived up to my expectations. Michelle Paver's writing was lovely, and I will be seeking out more of her work. This is one I've wanted to read for a while -- the title alone is enough to intrigue me, but I've also seen a lot of positive reviews from Goodreads friends as well. And I adore this cover Edward Bettison, so much so that I went on his website and now have screenshots of many others books I want to buy for his art alone!

I loved Maud, the manor, the Fen. I loved the darkness, the obsessiveness, the building sense of dread. I loved Chatterpie. I hated Maud's father, but found his journals made for excellent reading.

This is a book that I want to say much more about, but I'm quite distracted at the moment, and not managing all that well to say what I actually want to say. I may return to this later, but for now this will have to do.

UPDATED:
Second read, this time as an audio book. Juanita Mcmahon was a wonderful narrator. I may add more thoughts later, especially since I'm still not satisfied with my review from the start of the year.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second novel by Michelle Paver and she is is fast becoming a favourite of mine. Wakenhyrst was one of my Halloween reads and as normal I’m so behind with my reviews, so here goes........
This book is set in the east of England. The large manor house Wakes End is set on the edge of wild, eerie fenland. Odours from the swamps infiltrate the house and it’s dangerous to wander outside alone.
Maud spend most her time in the nursery worrying about her maman. Maman has many ‘groanings’, these ‘groanings’ occasionally resulted in a baby but most often a sheet soaked in blood.
When Maud’s maman dies in childbirth she is left alone with her father. A strict controlling domineering man more interested in his work as an historian than his daughter. He thinks of her as a lesser being, not able to have an imagination or understand the complexities of mankind. But Maud is highly intelligent and slowly she thinks of ways to get back at her father, to unsettle and vex him.
Helped by sneaking in to her father’s study and reading his personal notebook (diary) - she learns many things, some that she struggles to understand!
The windswept wilderness, the old creaking house, the old man Jubel who lives rough in the fen and the eerie going’s on, all equate to a fabulously atmospheric read.
Part of the novel is about some slats of wood with painted images, found behind the church. Throughout the story Maud’s father becomes more and more obsessed by them. They are recovered and sent away to be restored and eventually returned to the church. These medieval paintings on wood are known as a doom.
I had never heard of a ‘Doom’ and on googling the Wenhaston Doom that Paver used as inspiration for the Wakenhyrst Doom, I found that the images were fantastic!
Further acknowledgments at the end of the book are interesting ..... the author tells us how she got ideas for the book, basing it on St Guthlaf, an Anglo Saxon saint - Guthlac of Crowland .... and I realised I’d actually been to that ruined abbey many years ago, just as the sun was setting on a wintery afternoon.
A gothic novel that ticks all the boxes for me.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a treat! Gothic suspense, the creepy fens, insanity...everything I could have wished for. Maud was a fantastic character, idiosyncratic, feisty, intelligent battling against the history and the superstitions of Wakenhyrst and her father. Her deep love of the fens, of Chatterpie, of Clem made her such a sympathetic character and pulled at my heart strings.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

WAKENHYRST by Michelle Paver

Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: First time reading, I own Dark Matter because I’ve heard good things

Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978178854...

Release Date: March 2019 (looks like it’s getting a new paperback edition January 2023. It’s available for the Kindle now at $1.99)

General Genre: Paranormal, Gothic, Thrillers, Supernatural, Horror

Sub-Genre/Themes: Coming-of-age, religious oppression, patriarchy, witchcraft, estates/mansion, Edwardian Suffolk, romance, miscarriages, murder, mystery, the fens (swamp, wetlands), demonology, historical fiction

Writing Style: Intricately plotted, character-driven, authentic dialects, immersive/detailed & descriptive

What You Need to Know: I’m holding this book and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, responsible for ushering me into my Gothic era. I truly believe in moods & vibes and if you’re not in your Gothic era, they won’t appeal to you the way they should. You can’t be in a rush to get to whatever it is you’re looking for in Horror. Gothic Horror is seductive and soothing. It takes its time plunging the reader into the setting & atmosphere. I don’t recommend dipping in and out of it–once you’ve found the sweet spot–stay in it.
Hence, prepare yourselves for taking this journey with me. I'm in it.

My Reading Experience: A murder mystery reversed engineered for the reader by starting off with the killing and then going backwards in time to the beginning. A manor is surrounded by the Fens, basically a wetlands (very much like The Woman in Black by Susan Hill). It's called Wake's End.
There is so much to say!
Basically a coming-of-age story where our narrator, Maud, starts the tale at age 8 or 9 and we see her through the years leading up to the climax that happens when she’s 16.
I loved the whole ‘upstairs, downstairs’ aspect of the story because due to tragic (frustrating circumstances) the Lady of the house, Maud’s mother, passes away early on. So she’s raised by her patriarchal, awful Father.
“Your knowledge of Scripture is impressive, but you mustn’t show off. Intellectual conceit is unattractive, particularly in females.”
Maud’s Father is a historian of some fashion and travels a lot. While he’s away, she interacts with the manor’s staff quite a bit. They play a huge role in the story. Also, the food descriptions are so decadent. Almost cozy like Tolkien Hobbit-style descriptions. I pictured the kitchen like the one from Downton Abbey
“She helped Cole in the garden and he taught her how to put four seeds in every hole: One for the rook, one for the crow, one to rot and one to grow.”
Despite her Father’s strict rules and judgements–opinions on everything, she becomes her own woman. She builds relationships, explores the Fen, wanders the gardens…like some aspects of this story gave me serious, The Secret Garden vibes. At some point, Maud finds her Father’s journal entries and comes to understand him through his secret writings and of course, this is when things get JUICY!! I cannot express how absolutely delicious this book is. The mysterious happenings, the ever-changing relationship between Maud and her Father, a budding romance, Maud’s evolution into a young woman, elements of witchcraft and demonology…it’s a whole goddamn vibe. I soaked in it.
“Put not your faith in men, she thought. That out there is all you can trust: that hedge and that wet grass. Those dripping trees. As if it were happening to someone else, she observed the pieces of her past Maman, Father, herself - rearranging to make a different pattern. She saw her childhood peel off and float away like a piece of waterweed in the Lode.”

Final Recommendation: If you’re looking to truly escape into the pages of a Gothic Horror story with a strong female lead that goes through a journey of self-awareness and independence, wrapped in a murder-mystery, with elements of romance, witchcraft, and demonology…this is for you. There are holiday descriptions of Christmas & New Year’s that would give peak holiday vibes if you were to read this during November/December/January months. That’s my recommendation.

Comps: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill, Little Eve by Catriona Ward, The Secret Gardenby Frances Hodgson Burnett (vibes), I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (vibes) Downton Abbey (vibes) (2010 PBS show)

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a lot of good things to say about this book. It has a great atmosphere, going the full gothic feel, stifling Edwardian English culture right before WWI, and it always sticks to its course, landing the ending with a near-perfect pitch. It is written very well.

It fulfills every promise of the standard gothic mystery formula.

And I also have something bad to say about this novel: It fulfills every promise of the standard gothic mystery formula.

The big surprise is that there is no big surprise.

Don't get me wrong. It's very good for what it is, but I've been spoiled by really great surprises in mysteries throughout the years and when I don't get wowed, I get a little curmudgeonly. While I have nothing bad to say about this, I also have nothing extremely awesome, either.

[Marchpane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A creepy gothic whydunnit, set in the fens of Suffolk, Wakenhyrst is gripping from the first page. This is a story of obsession, madness, delusion, superstition.

Wakenhyrst mostly takes place in the early 20th century, just prior to the first World War, and combines creepy medieval church art; old religious notions of witchcraft, demonic possession, and saintly miracles; lingering pagan superstitions (leaving a bowl of bread and milk at the door, for witches); a creaky old manor house; the eerie natural beauty of the watery fens. The details of a murder are provided upfront, the rest of the book covers the events leading up to it. So you get a great early hook, but it also means the book drags a little towards the end - knowing what’s coming, I grew impatient to finally get there, and it’s a real slow burn.

Michelle Paver is well known for her chilling ghost stories, but to me this one is more historical fiction with a crime element. There is still some suggestion of the supernatural in Wakenhyrst, but that element of ambiguity, where the rational explanation and the spooky one are equally plausible, just wasn’t present here. I was Team Rational all the way. This did not diminish the story for me at all, but other readers expecting a Paver haunting might be disappointed.

With a palpable atmosphere, terrific setting and well-drawn characters Wakenhyrst is a satisfying read.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to thank Waterstones' twitter account for telling me about this book. We have here a gothic mystery complete with puzzling murder, eerie setting and possibly some magic.

Meet Maude. She's the daughter of Edmund Stearn, a historian, scholar and land-owner. When we first meet her in this book, she's an old woman who has to tell her tale in order to raise enough money to keep her home, Wake's End, running (Hollywood is interested in the tale).
Wake's End is a large manor house situated on the edge of a bleak Fen near the titular town.
Edmund Stearn is - sorry to say this so bluntly - an asshole. A tyrant who excuses away all his behavior with God's will and a woman's role and his divine right etc. His wife is French, originally, and plays along to the extend of allowing him to take her again and again despite her body slowly but surely giving up. She keeps getting pregnant and miscarrying and little Maude has to watch it all. Think of what that does to a child.
To escape the oppressive rules in the household and loveless upbringing, she walks around the Fen. She loves all the animals living there and the silent beauty.
Her father, on the other hand, hates the landscapes, hates animals and forbids any pets (except the two horses needed for the carriage).
What we know from the beginning of the book is that one day, when Maude is 16 years old, her mother dead and gone, her father kills someone horribly, never denies having committed the murder either (but saying that he had to do it) and ending up in a well screaming himself half to death.
We now learn of her father's sins in his own childhood as well as his view on married life and children through the diaries he keeps that young Maude keeps reading secretly. She learns things even more horrible than one might expect from the above description, believe me.
And so we slowly catch up on what has happened in this house throughout the decades, the tragic events happening to several individuals of three generations until the conclusion.

Reading this book wasn't easy. Not just the mere facts such as Maude's mother having to endure her husband's "hunger", but also to read about it and other incidents from Edmund Stearn's sickening perspective. *shudders*

But all that helped to enhance the atmosphere of the tale. It was more psychological than physical terror (except for what had been done to Maude's mother), as is usually the case in such books, and it worked really well.
The plot was moving along rather slowly to show all the incidents throughout Maude's childhood that ultimately led to the end we already know about from the beginning of the book. Finding out the true horror was great, however.

I haven't read too many such mysteries to be able to judge this in comparison so maybe my buddy-reader is right in saying that it ticks off all the boxes but brings nothing new. However, I can also not help asking if that is a bad thing even if it is true. Not every tale has to re-invent the wheel to be atmospheric and enjoyable after all.

To me, this book was highly unsettling and infuriating throughout thanks to the author having created a splendid setting and detailed (albeit often stupid, even for the period) characters. Therefore, I quite liked it.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having enjoyed, “Dark Matter,” and “Thin Air,” I was delighted to receive Michelle Paver’s new novel, to review.

The story begins in 1966, with the discovery of three paintings, by Edmund Stearne, which have taken the art world by storm. Edmund Stearne was committed to an asylum, where he created his only artworks and now a reporter wants to unearth the story behind the paintings. In order to do so, Paver takes us back to 1913, and a house on the Fens…

This is a wonderfully Gothic novel, which has a superbly evocative setting. The isolated house, the tyrannical father and the intelligent, scholarly daughter, Maud. Maud is an excellent central character and I adored her from the first moment she appeared on the page. In a way, this is a coming of age novel, as Maud discovers the reality beneath the surface of her solitary world.

Although I enjoyed both of Michelle Paver’s previous books, I feel this is really a step up. It just seeps and oozes atmosphere, as Paver makes the world she creates come alive. This would be an excellent choice for reading groups, as there is so much to discuss, as well as being an enjoyable personal read. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

[☾❀Miriam✩ ⋆｡˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edwardian/Gothic mysteries are among my favourite genres, and this one delivered those chills in all their glory!



A very enjoyable mystery, a story of madness and delusion: if you, like me, love this genre, I absolutely suggest you give it a try! Of course, as for every genres, there are tropes and such and they are very present in this one as well... but, overall, the story was entertaining enough, the characters well-developed (if a little predictable) and development of the mystery very satisfying. Glad I found out about this book!

[Vicki Herbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wakes End...
The Road to nowhere

WAKENHYRST
by Michelle Paver

No spoilers. 2 stars. The 1966 mystery of Edmund Stearne began in the year 1916 when...

Sixteen year old Maude Stearne watched from an ivy-choked window above the front door of Wakes End...

... as Edmund, her father, set off with an ice pick and hammer on a mission of murder...

Afterward...

Maud lived a reclusive life for the next fifty years in the Suffolk hamlet of Wakenhyrst...

She was the only witness to Edmund's rampage...

The local legend was...

... that Maude was quite batty and that she walked the fens at night. Something that they would never do...

That's all that I will disclose. It took me a week to read 60% of the story before it became a DNF for me.

Unlike DARK MATTER by this author, this novel was very slow moving, and I became so bored with it that I hated to pick it up. I like a good Gothic story, but this was filled with obscure words that needed to constantly be Googled, and sometimes, even then, no definition could be found, making this a chore to read.

[Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF!

I loved the intro of the book, it was so interesting with the article about Maud's father. Then, the story went back in time to when Maud was growing up and I just felt that the story turned more and more boring to listen to (I picked the audiobook version). It came to a point when I just felt that enough is enough. I'm not that interesting in Maud's childhood and youth and her feelings for the young gardener. Her father's diary notes are not rocking my boat. I'm just not the right reader so I decided to quit around 60%...

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gothic tale set in the fens and marshes of Eastern England, most specifically Suffolk. It is set between 1906 and 1913 when many of the old folklore and customs of the fens and marshes were still believed. There are all too few truly wild fens and marshes left, but this is set in one of them. There is a prelude set in 1966, when Maude Stearne aged 69 looks back on the childhood when the novel is set. At the centre of the story is her tyrannical and misogynist father Edmund. There are no spoilers as the novel is about why rather than what. Her father, one day in 1913, committed a horrific murder and spent the rest of his life in an asylum where he painted (loosely based on the painter Richard Dadd). The rediscovery of these paintings is the focus of the section set in the 1960s. The medieval mystic Alice Pyett is based on Marjorie Kempe. The medieval painting “The Wakenhyrst Doom” is also based on the Wenhaston Doom, discovered in the 1890s. It is a graphic painting portraying the horrors of hell. In the doom in the novel the demons are painted as denizens of the fen. This has been described as an homage to M R James with a feminist sensibility. Indeed the approach here is as much psychological as supernatural.
Although none of the characters are particularly likeable, but the portrait of Edmund Stearne is a powerful study of self-obsessed tyranny. People are more frightening than the supernatural here. There is a terrific sense of place and the fen is a character in its own right. Paver draws on folklore and tradition and there is an interesting description of eel-glaving. Some of these traditions continue and you can buy eels at my local farmers market. The combination of Edmund’s patriarchal tyranny with his puritanical protestant classicalism makes it chilling to watch his road to committing murder. The struggles of the imaginary Alice Pyett make for interesting reading as well.
On the whole this is more gothic than ghost and fen fiction rather than fan fiction (sorry couldn’t resist!). I do wonder if this sort of tale is better as a short story or a novella rather than a full length novel, as at times it did feel a little stretched. The real horror however is the treatment of women and the privilege and hypocrisy of men.

[Indieflower · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat this book was! A fantastically atmospheric book laden with all the gothic themes I love, madness, obsession, gloom, untimely death, forbidden love and misery (crikey, I'm not sure what that says about me 😬) I even loved the cover. All the characters were well drawn, even the misty, marshy Suffolk fens felt like a dark and foreboding character. I absolutely loved Maud and really rooted for her throughout the whole story and completely felt her frustration with being a woman at that time in history. The book conveyed very well the stiff Edwardian rules that prohibited women from doing pretty much anything and doomed Maud's mother to a life of repeated pregnancies, miscarriages and stillbirths. A thoroughly engrossing, character driven book, for me Michelle Paver's best so far.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wakenhyrst has been a long time in the making, so I was hoping it would live up to my expectations, but it absolutely blew me away and exceeded them beyond what I could ever have realistically imagined. It's a darkly gothic historical tale rich in its imagery and the creepy atmosphere Paver creates in the setting of a haunted manor house is deliciously oppressive. This is essentially a gothic mystery with a dual timeline set in 1913 and 1966 and explores the themes of witchcraft and the dangerous nature of spreading or relying on gossip and rumour. The feeling of profound menace runs throughout and was responsible for creating a tense and unforgettable tale.

The pacing of the novel is slow burn which works brilliantly with the scenery and the plot to encompass a simmering suspense that rises as it progresses. There is plenty to keep you interested and engaged throughout, and I found myself deeply admiring main character Maud's resolve. Those interested in folklore, legend and especially witchcraft, as well as those who enjoy subtle, beautifully written and gothic-style novels set in a historical context, will find much to love here. I look forward to Michelle Paver's next offering.

Many thanks to Head of Zeus for an ARC.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

After listening to "Dark Matter" by Michelle Paver I wanted to try another of her books. Chose the audio version of Wakenhyrst and think Juanita McMahon did a great job at interpreting and presenting the different characters. Her ability to capture emotions, in Edmund Stearn's case "disdain" toward everyone and especially toward women, and individualize the personalities made it possible to identify a particular point of view or the set of values the different characters had. The story is set between 1906 (Maud is 8-yrs-old) and 1966 and I found the treatment of women and the antiquated beliefs of the Edwardian period fascinating and appalling. Thank goodness women have made it out of that.

As fascinating as I found the period of time Wakenhyrst is written in, I came away very unimpressed by the storyline. The reader will find page after page (or minute upon minute) of Edmund Stearn writing about himself in his journal. When he is not writing about his great and wonderful self, at one point believing he is one of God's chosen few, he is thinking about himself. It is never revealed what his mental problem was, I don't think they had a diagnosis for it in 1914, but it is obvious he's completely narcissistic, maybe schizophrenic, but best guess neurosyphilis. Maud Stearn is the character you love and pity and want to protect. Credit to Michelle Paver for being able to write like that.

For others that are looking for a spooky October read--this story has no chilling or scary moments! I can't understand why that is even stated in the Publisher's summary. There is nothing in this book that comes close to being spooky, it is all cruelty and unfairness in the life of an intelligent young girl.

I don't recommend reading this. Confession: to make it tolerable I skimmed then skipped many chapters after chapter 24 because it became redundant listening to Edmund's increasingly crazy entries into his journal.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost returned this book to the library without even having opened it. Not because I didn't want to read the story itself, but because they only had it in print form and I've had no patience for physical books for years now – they're way less convenient for reading in bed than my Kobo e-reader. However, I have to say that I'm glad I ultimately decided to keep it. I adore pretty much any Gothic novel set on a lonely fen or desolate moor or other adjective-worthy bit of British landscape, and Wakenhyrst is no exception.

While this is not certainly not a happy story, it's still atmospheric and alluring and suspenseful. And although you find out at the very beginning how it's going to end (and I guessed the “who” of the ending pretty early on), it still sucked me in completely and had me anxious to discover how things were going to play out. I actually finished it in record time considering I only read physical books downstairs during random free moments throughout the day.

I didn't find Maud to be particularly likable but at the same time I did feel sorry for her, especially since her father Edmund has to be one of the most repugnant characters in modern literature. I loved her relationship with Chatterpie and her fondness for the fen.

Overall, this was a fabulous tale of madness and the supernatural and depraved religiosity that more than lived up to my expectations. I look forward to reading more by the talented Ms. Paver in the future.

[BrokenTune · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 35%

Baaah. This turned into an incredibly cliched and boring story at around the 20% mark.
Even tho the story picks up pace a little after we get to the father's journal, it is still an incredibly annoying and boring story with none of the characters being really interesting.

Is this meant to be YA?
That's what it reads like to me, and that really is not a good thing.

Anyway, on to something more engaging.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 2 out of 5]

After loving Paver's Dark Matter and Thin Air, this book didn't work so well for me. The two earlier books were tight and ambiguous, and because we only saw the story through one set of eyes we were left hovering deliciously on that edge between haunting or a form of madness. Plus they were shivering-scary.

This feels more laboured, with a constant switching between narratives: Paver's strengths show in Edmund Stearne's diary - the gradual revelations, the disintegrating mind. But alternating this with a 3rd person narrative through the PoV of his eminently sane, though enraged, daughter Maud removes any sense of ambiguity.

A bit MR James (the painting), a bit Wuthering Heights-lite, this ties all its ends up too neatly for my taste. Modern Gothic fans may well love it - 2.5 stars rounded down as I was frequently bored.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Matter & Thin Air were both excellent ghost stories from the very talented Michelle Paver. Here is her third adult novel (having also written Young Adult books) which takes us away from the frozen settings of her previous stories & gives us England in the early 20th century.
Maud is a young girl, living with her repressive father (after her mother dies) in a house on the Suffolk Fens. She is a beautifully drawn character, as are her father & the servants occupying their house. Paver creates what feels like an incredibly authentic place & time & the story is very absorbing. I admire this wonderful writer, as she enabled me to understand the characters religious & superstitious beliefs, even though I have absolutely none of these beliefs myself.
Like her previous two novels the pace is gentle, but the setting & characters draw the reader into the heart of the story. I just wish she would publish a book more often.