Audio book released 21st March 2019 by Head Of Zeus. also available in hardback, paperback and ebook formats.
Read May 2019.
In Edwardian Suffolk, Wakenhyrst manor stands in an isolated corner of The Fens - a magical wilderness that hides dark secrets in its murky depths.
Maud, the eldest of the children in the house, is lonely since she lost her mother at a young age, a woman worn out by the constant demands of childbearing on her frail frame. Although she has had to take on the responsibilities of running the house so young, she is a very capable and intelligent girl, in fact, by far the most clever out of her and her brothers - but her strict and domineering father has little time for her, as a female - especially since she is plain - although he does find a use for her as a secretary, helping him to record his research findings into the mystical religious tract The Book of Alice Pyett.
When Maud's father arranges for some restoration work to begin at the local church, St. Guthlaf's, he comes across the face of a demon hidden in the overgrown churchyard, which is part of a much larger painting named The Doom, and he becomes obsessed with the thought that dark forces are hidden in The Fen. These thoughts grow, as strange things begin to happen at Wakenhyrst, which he is positive are tied to both The Book of Alice Pyett and his past sins, and he is convinced that he has been chosen to capture a demon by God.
By reading her father's translation of Pyett's book, and scouring his personal journals, Maud comes to believe that her father is gradually losing his mind, but no one will believe her. Maud is the only one who stands between her father and the destruction of her beloved fen....and the life of the young man she loves.
When Maud's father arranges for some restoration work to begin at the local church, St. Guthlaf's, he comes across the face of a demon hidden in the overgrown churchyard, which is part of a much larger painting named The Doom, and he becomes obsessed with the thought that dark forces are hidden in The Fen. These thoughts grow, as strange things begin to happen at Wakenhyrst, which he is positive are tied to both The Book of Alice Pyett and his past sins, and he is convinced that he has been chosen to capture a demon by God.
By reading her father's translation of Pyett's book, and scouring his personal journals, Maud comes to believe that her father is gradually losing his mind, but no one will believe her. Maud is the only one who stands between her father and the destruction of her beloved fen....and the life of the young man she loves.
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I am a big fan of the dark and twisty writings of Michelle Paver. Having loved her previous two books for adults, Dark Matter (incidentally, one of the scariest books I have ever read!) and Thin Air, I was really looking forward to diving into Wakenhyrst her darkly Gothic thriller about murderous obsession and one girl's longing to fly free. I dipped in and out of the print version for this one, but listened in entirety to the audio book, which is beautifully narrated by Juanita McMahon and is completely captivating.
Wakenhyrst is rather longer than Paver's first two adult books, and there is more to get your teeth into with this one - more characters, more threads to the story, and a much longer timeline. You know from the very beginning that Maud's father has been overcome by madness as a result of the obsession he develops with The Doom, and the book of Alice Pyett, and what follows takes us right back to the beginning and lets the story unfold from Maud's point of view.
I think it is fair to say that is does take a little while to get into the book, as is starts at the end and is told through letters and articles, which make it all a bit fragmented, but once you get into Maud's story then this is a real page-turner.
Maud is a lonely child. She is clever and imaginative, with a rebellious streak, and has a great thirst to learn. But things are not easy in the Wakenhyrst household. Maud's father is old fashioned, arrogant and domineering, and he rules his family with a rod of iron. He has no opinion of women in general, and lives to despise all females, and as the story develops, we learn that he is thoroughly unpleasant, hypocritical and rather unsavoury. Maud works her way into your heart, while at the same time, you develop an intense hatred for her father.
I don't want to go into the story too much, as it would inevitably involve spoilers, but this is a wonderfully Gothic tale, full of happenings that may or may not be caused by dark forces intent on bringing Maud's father to atone for his sins - quite how much of this is of his own imagining, we are never sure, but it all adds a delicious feeling of underlying menace, and the weight of religion, superstition and folklore on the characters is palpable.
However, this is also a coming of age story of a young Edwardian girl. One who is undervalued, and lonely, and who longs for freedom, companionship and kindness. - and I adored how Maud's experience of the wildness of her beloved fen brings nature alive in this book. It is Maud herself that really made the book for me. It is Maud I was desperate to save, and I became completely engrossed in her story.
I highly recommend this one if you are enjoying the current trend for the most wonderful of creepy Gothic tales from the likes of Stacey Halls and Laura Purcell and can't wait to see what Michelle Paver comes up with next for her adult readers - she certainly seems to be getting a real feel for a dark and creepy story now, and I love it!
From the cover of the book:
Wakenhyrst is rather longer than Paver's first two adult books, and there is more to get your teeth into with this one - more characters, more threads to the story, and a much longer timeline. You know from the very beginning that Maud's father has been overcome by madness as a result of the obsession he develops with The Doom, and the book of Alice Pyett, and what follows takes us right back to the beginning and lets the story unfold from Maud's point of view.
I think it is fair to say that is does take a little while to get into the book, as is starts at the end and is told through letters and articles, which make it all a bit fragmented, but once you get into Maud's story then this is a real page-turner.
Maud is a lonely child. She is clever and imaginative, with a rebellious streak, and has a great thirst to learn. But things are not easy in the Wakenhyrst household. Maud's father is old fashioned, arrogant and domineering, and he rules his family with a rod of iron. He has no opinion of women in general, and lives to despise all females, and as the story develops, we learn that he is thoroughly unpleasant, hypocritical and rather unsavoury. Maud works her way into your heart, while at the same time, you develop an intense hatred for her father.
I don't want to go into the story too much, as it would inevitably involve spoilers, but this is a wonderfully Gothic tale, full of happenings that may or may not be caused by dark forces intent on bringing Maud's father to atone for his sins - quite how much of this is of his own imagining, we are never sure, but it all adds a delicious feeling of underlying menace, and the weight of religion, superstition and folklore on the characters is palpable.
However, this is also a coming of age story of a young Edwardian girl. One who is undervalued, and lonely, and who longs for freedom, companionship and kindness. - and I adored how Maud's experience of the wildness of her beloved fen brings nature alive in this book. It is Maud herself that really made the book for me. It is Maud I was desperate to save, and I became completely engrossed in her story.
I highly recommend this one if you are enjoying the current trend for the most wonderful of creepy Gothic tales from the likes of Stacey Halls and Laura Purcell and can't wait to see what Michelle Paver comes up with next for her adult readers - she certainly seems to be getting a real feel for a dark and creepy story now, and I love it!
From the cover of the book:
By the best-selling author of Dark Matter and Thin Air, an outstanding new piece of storytelling, a tale of mystery and imagination laced with terror. It is a masterwork in the modern Gothic tradition that ranges from Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker to Neil Gaiman and Sarah Perry.
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. Maud's battle has begun. She must survive a world haunted by witchcraft, the age-old legends of her beloved fen - and the even more nightmarish demons of her father's past.
Spanning five centuries, Wakenhyrst is a darkly Gothic thriller about murderous obsession and one girl's longing to fly free.
About the author:
Successfully published as an adult author, the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness ("Wolf Brother") were her first books for younger readers, followed by her brilliant 5-part series set in the bronze age, Gods and Warriors.
On the adult side, her first ghost story, Dark Matter, was a UK bestseller and won massive praise from reviewers and readers, as did her second ghost story, Thin Air.
Reviews for Michelle's Gothic ghost story Wakenhyrst have been stellar - "Her finest novel yet" says The Times... ""What a story it is", says The Observer - "Wakenhyrst is brilliant, spanning Fen devils, mystics and the lot of women in Edwardian England." Wakenhyrst is an Amazon Kindle bestseller.
Most recently, Michelle has announced that her WOLF BROTHER series will continue with Viper's Daughter - to the delight of fans everywhere.
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