THE ESSEX SERPENT

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The Essex Serpent, Sarah Perry, William Morrow/HarperCollins, 2016, 418 pp

Summary from Goodreads: Set in Victorian London and an Essex village in the 1890's, and enlivened by the debates on scientific and medical discovery which defined the era, The Essex Serpent has at its heart the story of two extraordinary people who fall for each other, but not in the usual way.

They are Cora Seaborne and Will Ransome. Cora is a well-to-do London widow who moves to the Essex parish of Aldwinter, and Will is the local vicar. They meet as their village is engulfed by rumours that the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam the marshes claiming human lives, has returned. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist is enthralled, convinced the beast may be a real undiscovered species. But Will sees his parishioners' agitation as a moral panic, a deviation from true faith. Although they can agree on absolutely nothing, as the seasons turn around them in this quiet corner of England, they find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart. 

My Review:

I enjoyed this novel as much as I expected to. It suffers from a slow start but then picks up and brings the satisfaction of a well-written historical novel.

I especially liked the female characters. Cora Seaborne, released from a terrible marriage by the death of her husband, becomes a free-ranging woman in several ways. She reminded me a bit of Alma Whittaker in The Signature of All Things. Cora's companion Martha is an exquisite creation, a 19th century socialist/feminist, possibly bi-sexual creature who surprises at every turn. Stella Ransome, the consumptive wife of Reverend William Ransome, was glorious in her open hearted love for just about everyone but especially for her oxygen deprived ravings and preference for all things blue.

As far as the eponymous serpent goes, that was a bit of a bust once its true nature was revealed but served well to show what fear and superstition can do to a small village. The setting of Essex, the Blackwater River, the many moods of its estuary, and the almost haunted feel of the forest are much more scary than the monster. If you don't like a lot of description of the natural world though, be warned. You will get plenty.

I could say more but much of the pleasure in the novel comes from discovering it as one reads. I was drawn to it because of the supposed conflict between science and religion stressed in the marketing. In my reading experience, that was the least impressive aspect, more of a prop than an engine. What happens to the characters mattered most to me and that was all wonderfully unpredictable.

The reading group that indulged me and agreed to read it was split right down the middle and yet we could not stop talking about the book. And thanks to this being the May 2017 selection of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club, I got the hardcover with its beautiful dust cover at a darn good price. 

(The Essex Serpent is available in hardcover on the shelves at Once Upon A Time Bookstore.)