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.

I was really excited to receive this download, having read her previous books 'Wolf brother series'. However, I felt a bit let down. The horror as depicted in the book description failed to enthrall and engage me. I was taken aback by the abuse and horror faced by women during the Edwardian times, thus not being able to fully complete reading it.

I was looking forward to this, having read Thin Air, and finding it extremely scary.

How to describe this book?
A Gothic ghost story that somehow fails to create the right tension?
A vivid description of how a man can descend into madness and obsession, resulting in murder?
The story of a girl forced to grow up very quickly in the early 1900’s, when women had few rights?

Edmund Stearn, a scholar and historian lives in a large house in the Fens, with his family, Belgian wife, daughter Maud, and son Richard.
He becomes obsessed with a painting, known as a “Doom”, which depicts the descent into hell of sinners, and with a fourteenth century mystic.
The story is told through Maud’s eyes, and through Edmund’s journals.
I wanted to know what happened to Edmund and Maud, and read the whole book, but was eventually disappointed, for me, I couldn’t feel the atmosphere that the author was trying to evoke.

Thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the opportunity to read this book.

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.

I was absolutely hooked on this from start to finish. The author's description of the fens, the sights, sounds and smells really brought it to life. I liked the device of the journals, where the reader learns, at the same time as Maud, of her father's descent into madness. Superbly Gothic and atmospheric. I heartily recommend.

I have to admit that it was the cover of this book that made me pick Wakenhyrst, as I've always loved magpies, but I have to say that this book is much more than a pretty cover what it is is a beautifully written Gothic novel, and its hard to put my finger on what it was that I liked but all I can say is it just drew me in and I couldn't put it down.

I don't like to give anything away but, It is based at the beginning of the 20th century and is set in a Suffolk fen, Where Maud lives in the manor house with her family, often Maud is left to her own devices, as being a girl she isn't expected to do more than grow up and marry, but when her father sees an eye in the churchyard, her father becomes withdrawn and paranoid and no one will listen to her fears.

The Story has a gentle flowing pace and all I can say is don't fight it or give up on it because it isn't racing along to a triumphant end or isn't full of gratuitous violence, all I will say is just enjoy the journey and let it flow through & over you. Enjoy

<blockquote>I'm still conscious of that staring from the fen. I can't shake off the feeling that something has been let loose -- and that it's out there now, biding its time. Waiting to come in. [loc. 2698] </blockquote>

The framing narrative of <i>Wakenhyrst</i> is set in 1966. Dr Robin Hunter is keen to contact the elusive Maud Stearne, daughter of esteemed medievalist Edmund Stearne who, fifty years earlier, murdered a man in broad daylight as his teenaged daughter watched. Since then, Maud has lived in seclusion at Wake's End, the family home, deep in the heart of the fens. She refuses to publish her father's notebooks -- which Dr Hunter believes may contain observations about the Wakenhyrst Doom, a sixteenth-century painting now on display in the village church -- or his unfinished work on medieval mystic Alice Pyett.

The main body of the story takes place in the early years of the twentieth century. Maud grows up adoring her mother, who is frequently pregnant, and longing for her remote father's approval. What a shame that, though brighter than either of her younger brothers, she is female! As Maud grows older, she begins to question her father's rules, even whilst acting as his assistant. When she begins to read his notebooks, she is merely hoping to find something about herself.

Edmund Stearne is the archetype of a particular type of misogynist -- one I've encountered several times in recent novels. He views his studies as a form of seduction -- 'Pyett will prove a coy mistress, very hard to read, but already she is yielding riches. It will take months to lay bare all her secrets' [loc. 1350] -- and is thoroughly dismissive of Maud, despite her intelligence and interest. It's not just his daughter: Stearne has little time for any woman unless he finds her sexually attractive. He dismisses the family doctor's suggestion (after yet another stillbirth) that he might have sex with his wife slightly less often, or perhaps use contraception. And he is profoundly opposed to superstition -- though he has some eccentric rules of his own.

Maud, meanwhile, is learning a great deal about the world from the superstitious 'common people' she encounters: Jubal Rede, a vagabond who lives in the Fen; Clem Walker, the good-looking under-gardener; Ivy, the pulchritudinous housemaid. Each of these helps her to understand an aspect of what is happening to her father. What she does with that knowledge is a different matter.

This novel didn't terrify me in the same way as Paver's earlier horror novels, <a href="http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2017/09/201779-thin-air-michelle-paver.html"><i>Thin Air</i></a> and <a href="http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2017/02/201718-dark-matter-ghost-story-michelle.html"><i>Dark Matter</i></a>. In those novels, I was struck by the sheer claustrophobia of the great outdoors. Here, the claustrophobia is more literal. Maud seldom ventures beyond the house, except to visit the fen, a haven of wildness and freedom. She is terribly isolated, but not alone. And perhaps <i>Wakenhyrst</i> lacks immediacy: we are shown the force or entity that afflicts Maud's father through his notebooks, but that narrative is interspersed with Maud's own, more mundane (though also horrific) story.

There is a great deal of subtlety to <i>Wakenhyrst</i>, and it definitely repaid rereading. But even after rereading, I'm still not clear on whether Maud made peace with something, or whether that something pursued Edmund and inspired his paintings.

Paver's afterword confirms the influences and inspirations that I thought I recognised: Alice Pyett is based in part on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margery_Kempe">Margery Kempe</a>, and St Guthlaf (to whom the village church is dedicated, and after whom the fen outside the house is named) owes a lot to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guthlac_of_Crowland">St Guthlac</a>. I confess I didn't make the connection between Edmund's paintings and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dadd">Richard Dadd</a>.

This book was everything my little gothic heart could have dreamt of and more. Set in a manor house in the fens of Norfolk back in the early 1900s, it reveals the mystery of the events leading up to a murder.

The book is written from the perspective of Maud, an intellectual teenage girl who has been cursed with an utter bastard of a father, and Edmund, aforementioned bastard of a father via his diaries.
Edmund is descending into madness and it takes time to uncover what form it takes and whether or not there are supernatural influences at work.

Maud is a highly sympathetic main character, she tries her best to do what’s right under the rule of her tyrant of a father but, ultimately, she’s an angry woman.

The story is suspenseful and atmospheric, I enjoyed the experience of reading it and would gladly read anything else written by this author. I would recommend it for fans of historical fiction and gothic thrillers. This book is being advertised as a gothic horror novel, I'm not sure I'd use the word horror to describe it rather than 'psychological thriller'.

I was hoping this would be as good as the two adult ghost stories Paver has written, but I found it rather lacking in that regard. I would recommend it instead to older readers of Paver's children's and teen fiction. Good Gothic atmosphere but I personally was just not interested in reading about the central character.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

though i can see its well written and flows really nicely this book i found didnt really hold my attention and i thought it was very slow...

i am sorry to say this one is not for me...not my sort of book sorry

Probably 3.5. Paver is so good at certain things - concepts, mood, plots - but it all falls down a bit in rambling narrative and slightly frustrating endings. It’s good, just not great. And that’s a shame as I always feel she could be great

This is another fantastically haunting story from Michelle Paver that grips the reader and keeps you enthralled until the very end. Her writing style fits the genre so well, building up suspense and adding more and more twists as the novel progresses.
Maud is a lonely child living in the Suffolk Fens. After her historian father discovers an ancient painted devil in the local churchyard, she begins to notice his erratic behaviour, and soon realises that she needs to act in order to stop the deadly actions he has planned.

A fantastic gothic thriller following a lonely child Maud who is desperate to break free from her oppressive father and lonely existence, when he unleashes spirits and witchy goings on after coming across a demon painting. Dark, eerie and tantalising.

What a great story that is written beautifully! Set in Suffolk in 1906, what befalls is the telling of the story of Maud Stearn, the reclusive daughter of Edward Stearn; a murderer, who died in an Asylum, before painting what has turned out to be 3 lauded paintings.
Now 69 years old Maud invites a journalist into to her home and reveals information contained in journals never shared with the police at the time. They explain clearly what happened. Many have tried to work out what might have occured all those years ago - some think the daughter is guilty, now we find out what really took place.
What transpires is a creepy, tense story of a stern Edwardian upbringing, steeped in religion, and warped, misguided folktales about the surrounding fen. It manages to capture a realistic portrayal of life at those times. The linguistics are a delight and feel very authentic. Maud as the protagonist is likeable, but alludes an upmanship that is in keeping of a young girl running a home/ servants after the death of her mother. But she is passionate about nature, judges people on their ways, not their social standing and is honest and forthright with people. She has intelligence and deviance that many over look because she is female.
Edward is so wrapped in himself, selfish to the core that along with his strict and domineering ways he is difficult to like, but nonetheless fascinating and intriguing. The book is easy to read and a great page turner that's hard to put down. Never sure which way things will turn out, it retains your heightened curiosity throughout. A very satisfying, gothic, historical mystery with a hint of supernatural superstition.

Maud lives with her father in Wakenhyrst – a house surrounded by the mysterious and beautiful fen. But when a church painting (or ‘doom’) is discovered and restored, what evil has been unleashed?

I picked up Wakenhyrst thinking from its blurb and supported PR that it was a ‘gothic horror’. I would say I probably went in with the wrong expectations of the book. There are elements of witchcraft, superstition and death which run through the book and add an air of unease throughout, but it isn’t really a horror. It’s more a thriller that includes a study of mental illness, of the church vs old customs and beliefs and the role of women in Edwardian Britain. This isn’t a criticism of the story at all though – I enjoyed it immensely and it surprised me, it just wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

Wakenhyrst is quite a slow burn; it changes perspective from Maud’s present life to reading her father’s diary – sometimes a few days behind. It’s a great way of telling the story and it keeps the tension up throughout but at times I just wanted it to go where it needed to go faster. We already know how the story ends – from the flash-forward at the start of the book so the tension building and suspense felt a little superfluous at times.

That said Maud is an interesting character, she feels realistic and well-rounded for a lady of her time with enough intelligence to realise her limitations. I liked the authors note at the end of the book that explains where she got her ideas from – which bits of the story came from history and which bits came from her life or were inspired from somewhere that she had visited. This very much shines through the narrative to create a detailed setting and truthful characters. I loved the descriptions of the fen and the way that it permeated and influenced the plot. I enjoyed the inclusion of superstitions and elements of witchcraft. Edward Stearne is also a really nicely drawn character – his descent into madness and paranoia kept me gripped throughout and you could really see the ‘logical’ steps in his actions.

Overall Wakenhyrst is an interesting Gothic thriller with a great setting and interesting characters which unsettles you and builds suspense. Thank you to NetGalley & Head of Zeus for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A thrilling, atmospheric story set in the early years of the twentieth century. A compulsive read, this is an intense gothic novel concerning Edmund Stearn, his diary and his much maligned daughter Maud. The setting of the Fens and its wildlife is magically evoked. Weaving superstition and madness with the unique fenland climate there is a stark beauty about this tale - the mists, oppressive heat, dank autumns and creeping dampness - which creates a darkly gothic feel. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

The author weaves an excellent story, which shares with us, every conceivable human emotion.
As the tale went on, it gradually became clear that it centred around one man and his demons - both imagined and real.
It portrayed very clearly a feeling of his being haunted by the past, which ultimately lead to a sickness of the mind.
All of the characters were interesting and seemed like people you could meet every day of the week. Their problems and feelings, those we can all face any time.
A very believable story - thoroughly well written and highly recommended.

Set in the fictional house of Wake's End, this novel is firmly in the tradition of a classic Gothic novel with a claustrophobic atmosphere emanating from the pages right from the outset of the story. Likeable heroine, Maud Stearne, is enduring an oppressive childhood at the hands of her domineering Rector father, Edmund. Very much in the vein of Jane Eyre (who it incidentally transpires, is one of Maud's personal inspirations), through a series of tragedies and injustices meted out by her father, Maud begins to fight back - and thus ensues a thrilling battle of wills to save not only herself, but the mystical fens surrounding the house and discover the truth about her father's various subterfuges which have had such a devastating impact on her family and future.


The narrative gains its momentum via the revelations gleaned from Maud's furtive reading of her father's diary entries. By revealing his innermost thoughts, the reader is granted access to the twisted psyche of this deeply unpleasant but compelling zealot. Michelle Paver has explored themes of female subjugation, medieval mysticism, religious fervour versus the onset of science in a most engaging way.

Set in East Anglia, Suffolk to be exact, Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver is an intense gothic novel concerning Edmund Stearn, his diary and his much maligned daughter Maud. There is a fair degree of fact woven into this tale and the setting of the Fens and its wildlife, both human and animal, is magically evoked. Stearn comes across as a cruel and manipulative husband who neither feels nor demonstrates any love for his children. He sees demons in everything and the teenage Maud is forced to turn detective in a bid to second guess her father’s every move. This is character building at its best and I was absorbed by this tale right to its end. Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the ARC

A excellent read. The novel is a thrilling, atmospheric story set in the early years of the twentieth century. It is threaded with themes of religion and superstitions, the role of women and vengeance and it's consequences. It is beautifully written and well-researched. A compulsive read, fast-paced with an ever-present sense of threat. Highly recommended.