The first book in Taanja Mahye’s Rainy Wood series, As It Began is a dark and atmospheric historical novel set in 1917 Minnesota. It follows fifteen-year-old Helen Spooner, an orphan raised in near-total isolation deep in the Northwoods, who is thrust into society following the death of her uncle, the only guardian she has ever known. She is sent to live at Rainy Wood, the family’s grand estate, under the care of her new guardian Robert Spooner. It is essentially, then, a Gothic coming-of-age story.
The novel opens not in 1917 but in the present day, as a hidden diamond necklace is discovered tucked inside a grandmother’s jewellery box. The story then leaps back to June 1917, where we find Helen on the day her uncle William dies. Raised in near-complete isolation, a will dispatches her to Rainy Wood estate, where her mysterious new guardian Robert Spooner awaits.
The journey there, by car and rattling train through cities Helen has never seen, marks her uneasy first steps out of the only life she has ever known. Thrust suddenly into an unfamiliar society, Helen struggles to adapt. Meanwhile, Robert, both captivated and unsettled by Helen’s striking beauty and unpredictable nature, attempts to uphold the boundaries of a proper guardian.
Helen is a relatable and realistic protagonist. Mahye resists the temptation to make her simply sympathetic. She is slightly emotionally stunted and capable of coldness, and shaped by abuse in ways the novel does not flinch from depicting. The relationship between Helen and her father figures is one of the book’s most interesting elements. Namely, her dynamic with William and Robert, as well as the unsettling nature of their relationship that blurs care, control, and harm.
The atmosphere throughout is one of the novel’s great strengths. The rain-soaked, deeply forested Northwoods setting is rendered beautifully. Mahye employs the landscape as emotional weather in the best Gothic tradition, allowing the forest and the sky to carry feeling that Helen herself cannot articulate. The contrast between this wild world outside and the rigid hierarchies of Rainy Wood estate is sharply drawn. Mahye parcels out revelations at a pace that keeps the pages turning, though some passages in the earlier chapters do run a bit longer than necessary.
The supporting cast is drawn with varying degrees of depth, such as Miss Teaghan, the hypocritical, blame-shifting caretaker. The servants Hans and Inge Oleson add texture to Helen’s world without crowding it, though this is, at its core, a very interior novel, and the solitude suits it. One element warrants a direct mention for prospective readers. Readers should go in with their eyes open about the fact that the novel does include depictions of abuse and psychological trauma that are central to its themes, but may prove challenging for some audiences.
Mahye’s prose style is firmly rooted in a richly descriptive, classic novel-inspired tradition, placing a strong emphasis on atmosphere, psychological interiority, and sensory detail. The narration operates in a close third-person mode that blends seamlessly with Helen’s inner thoughts, giving the reader an immersive experience. The balance between showing and telling nonetheless tilts, at times, toward the latter, with feelings or themes stated explicitly where a lighter touch might serve better.
Obviously I’m not an expert, but historically, the novel is largely convincing, and more carefully researched than much self-published fiction in this genre. Its depiction of early 20th-century rural Minnesota feels authentic and well-grounded. Similarly, the dialogue is strong and broadly period-appropriate in tone and structure, capturing the formality and regional inflections of the time.
Overall, on the strength of this first volume, the Rainy Wood series has real promise. The central mystery is intriguing, the world is richly imagined, and Helen Spooner is the kind of protagonist you will not easily forget. Readers who enjoy Gothic historical fiction in the vein of du Maurier will find a great deal to admire here.
Final verdict: For fans of Daphne du Maurier, Sarah Waters, and Hilary Mantel, Rainy Wood: As It Began offers a psychologically rich and atmospherically assured debut. Dark, slow-burning, and genuinely unsettling, it is a promising start to what looks set to be a layered and ambitious series.
You can get your copy of Rainy Wood (As It Began) here!
