The Essex Serpent
THE ESSEX SERPENT by Sarah Perry
This beautifully written historical fiction is set in 1893 in London and rural Essex. It was Waterstones Book of the Year 2016 and nominated for both The Women’s Prize and the Costa Book Award.
Cora is recently widowed from an unhappy and abusive marriage. Throughout her husband’s illness, she was supported by Doctor Luke Garrett, a pioneering surgeon and his wealthy friend, Doctor George Spencer, a physician.
Accompanied by her eleven year old autistic son Francis and their companion and friend Martha, Cora leaves London Society for a visit to Colchester. Whilst there she learns that after some 300 years, the mythical Essex Serpent is said to be roaming the marshes of the Blackwater Estuary once again and claiming human lives. As a keen amateur naturalist, she wonders if this could be some undiscovered species and decides to investigate. Her investigations lead her to Aldwinter, a fictional village situated on the Blackwater Estuary, where she is introduced to the Reverend William Ransome, the resident Vicar of Aldwinter, his frail wife Stella and their family.
This novel explores science vs faith and religion, social conscience, love and friendship and has received very positive public reviews. However the Page Turners were mostly of the opinion that there are many negatives which include the following:
There is too much going on but no depth to the various story-lines which are not memorable,
disjointed and at times, dreary and depressing. Even the titled story-line of the Essex Serpent fizzles out to nothing. Additionally, the majority of the characters, including Cora, are not very endearing.
On the positive side, the Page Turners concluded that the book is beautifully written and wonderfully descriptive. The author is clever and has done some very good background research, especially with regard to medical advancements during that era.
The scores ranged from 5 to 8 and produced a final average of 6.5.