1906: A large manor house, Wake's End, sits on the edge of a bleak Fen, just outside the town of Wakenhyrst. It is the home of Edmund Stearn and his family - a historian, scholar and land-owner; he's an upstanding member of the local community. But all is not well at Wake's End. Edmund dominates his family tyrannically, in particular daughter Maud. When Maud's mother dies in childbirth and she's left alone with her strict, disciplinarian father, Maud's isolation drives her to her father's study, where she happens upon his diary.
During a walk through the local church yard, Edmund spots an eye in the undergrowth. His terror is only briefly abated when he discovers its actually a painting, a 'doom', taken from the church. It's horrifying in its depiction of hell, and Edmund wants nothing more to do with it despite his historical significance. But the doom keeps returning to his mind. The stench of the Fen permeates the house, even with the windows closed. And when he lies awake at night, he hears a scratching sound - like claws on the wooden floor...
Wakenhyrst is a terrifying ghost story, an atmospheric slice of gothic, a brilliant exploration of the boundaries between the real and the supernatural, and a descent into the mind of a psychopath.
****
[Like a witch's lair in a fairytale the ancient manor house crouches in its tangled garden]***
(Head of Zeus, 11 April 2019, 304 pages, ebook, copy from @HoZ_Books via # netgalley and voluntarily reviewed)
***
***
I'm a fan of Paver's work. I've read a few of her books and have been impressed overall. Wakenhyrst is no exception. This is a fantastic example of gothic horror. I knew as soon as I started to read the book I was onto something special. I wasn't disappointed. Wakenhyrst is a bizarre and unsettling blend of supernatural horror, madness and a repressive society. The sad tale is told with compassion. I was gripped as events unfolded and Maud's father descended deeper into darkness. Paver does a great job of bringing the period the novel is set in and the society to life. This was a pleasure to read. I don't often read historical fiction and prefer crime or gothic horror. I liked the way the novel is structured using a story-within-a-story framing. There are a few books by the author I haven't read and these are definitely on my TBR list.
