Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu 
The Wyvern Mystery 

The Wyvern Mystery combines all the elements of nail-biting horror, romantic fairy tale, psychological thriller and rich period drama to create a compelling story. When young Alice Maybell is orphaned she is taken in by Squire Fairfield, a widower with two dashing sons, Charles and Harry. As Alice blossoms into a beautiful young woman she attracts the attentions of not one but two of the men she lives with. The blissful happiness that ensues, however, is short-lived as she finds herself embroiled in the dark secrets of the Fairfield family’s past and the evil ambitions of its present. In a world that is nightmarish and malevolent, nothing and no one is quite what they seem. What is the dark secret in Charles Fairfield’s past? Who – or what – is the malignant presence that haunts Carwell Grange?