Wakenhyrst - Softcover

Paver, Michelle

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1788549570 ISBN 13: 9781788549578

Publisher: Head of Zeus, 2019

Synopsis

A Times Best Book of 2019.

"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 by the bestselling author of Dark Matter and Thin Air. Wakenhyrst is an outstanding new piece of story-telling, 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.

About this title

Review:

'[Michelle Paver's] storytelling is irresistible' The Times, Historical Fiction Book of the Month.

'It's a ghost story to put beside the classics of an earlier era ... Compelling' Evening Standard.

'Original and engrossing ... Paver masterfully blends together two narratives ... Spanning fen devils, mystics and the lot of women in Edwardian England' Observer.

'This book has been haunting me ... Very gripping' BBC Radio 2 Book Club.

'[A] superb, supernatural novel ... Paver deliciously ratchets up the tension as Maud struggles for autonomy in the face of her father's deranged obsessions' Daily Mail.

'A brilliantly atmospheric read (be warned: it's also terrifying!) with a brave, forward-thinking heroine I loved' Good Housekeeping.

'Paver is back on top form' The Bookseller, Editor's Choice.

'A spine-chilling masterpiece' Woman and Home.

'This dark, gothic tale will hook you in with its atmospheric setting of a house on the edge of the Suffolk fens, and its themes of superstition, witchcraft and religion' Sun.

'Wakenhyrst is many things all at once – a chilling Gothic horror, a coming of age tale, a story of madness and loneliness, and most of all an account of how one girl manages to look out for herself when no-one else will. Paver successfully balances these themes as only a confident writer can. With fully realised characters and motivations, she draws you deeper and deeper into the story, even as the sense of dread grows stronger with every turn of the page' Scotland on Sunday.

Book Description:

By the bestselling author of Dark Matter and Thin Air, an outstanding new piece of story-telling, 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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1788549570
• ISBN 13: 9781788549578
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416