



But the doom keeps returning to his mind. It's horrifying in its depiction of hell, and Edmund wants nothing more to do with it despite his historical significance. His terror is only briefly abated when he discovers it's actually a painting, a 'doom', taken from the church. 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.ĭuring a walk through the local church yard, Edmund spots an eye in the undergrowth. Edmund dominates his family tyrannically, in particular daughter Maud. 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. 1906: A large manor house, Wake's End, sits on the edge of a bleak Fen, just outside the town of Wakenhyrst.
