The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry

The Essex Serpent

By Sarah Perry

  • Release Date: 2017-06-06
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4
4
From 206 Ratings

Description

NOW AN APPLE TV+ SERIES

A Washington Post Notable Work of Fiction * Winner of the British Book Awards Fiction Book of the Year and overall Book of the Year *A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of The Year * Waterstones Book of the Year * Costa Book Award Finalist

“A novel of almost insolent ambition—lush and fantastical, a wild Eden behind a garden gate...it’s part ghost story and part natural history lesson, part romance and part feminist parable. I found it so transporting that 48 hours after completing it, I was still resentful to be back home.” —New York Times

London, 1893. When Cora Seaborne’s brilliant, domineering husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was an unhappy one, and she never suited the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space, she leaves the metropolis for coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive eleven-year-old son, Francis, and the boy’s nanny, Martha, her fiercely protective friend. 

Once there, they hear rumors that after nearly three hundred years, the mythical Essex Serpent, a fearsome creature that once roamed the marshes, has returned. When a young man is mysteriously killed on New Year’s Eve, the community’s dread transforms to terror. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, is immediately enthralled, certain that what locals think is a magical sea beast may be a previously undiscovered species. 

Eager to investigate, she is introduced to parish vicar William Ransome, who is equally suspicious of the rumors but for different reasons: a man of faith, he is convinced the alarming reports are caused by moral panic, a flight from the correct and righteous path. As Cora and William attempt to discover the truth about the Essex Serpent’s existence, these seeming opposites find themselves inexorably drawn together in an intense relationship that will change both of them in ways entirely unexpected. And as they search for answers, Cora’s London past follows her to the coast, with striking consequences. 

Told with exquisite grace and intelligence, The Essex Serpent masterfully explores questions of science and religion, skepticism and faith, but it is most of all a celebration of love, and the many different—and surprising—guises it can take.

Reviews

  • Essex Serpent

    1
    By Lmay77
    I was wishing there were a serpent that would eat them all. This was a deadly dull book. Very self-conscious.
  • The Essex Serpent

    5
    By bobbymckaye
    Amazingly beautiful writing and a skillfully woven story.
  • Not My Cup of Tea

    2
    By SDWill
    Ms. Perry can certainly turn an elegant phrase. If you enjoy fastidious detail about every thought or emotion possessed by nearly every character of a story, then this book should satisfy you. Personally, I found it lacking sufficient movement to consistently hold my interest; just not my cup of tea.
  • the Essex Serpent

    4
    By Bunny cats
    Good read