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.

We had generally quite positive things to say about Perry's Victorian drama. Essentially, we decided that this was a novel about how people act when they are temporarily insane, whether because of complex grief (in Cora's case), consumption (for Stella), the belief in the serpent (for the whole town), or sexual desire (for basically everyone else). When we realized that so much of the novel happens within a year of Cora's husband's death, we realized the plot is really exploring how this delusions, myths, and compulsions drive characters to noble actions (Spenser's work with the poor), confusions (Will's infatuation with Cora), and destruction (the attacks on Edward and Luke). In particular, we enjoyed the way the town evolves as the myth of the serpent grows and twists their relationships. This intersected in a very interesting way with how the women in the novel defied expectations of Victorian stories -- whether that be Cora's adventurousness and interest in science, Martha's Marxism, or Stella's ownership over her illness. Cora in particular was a very interesting figure, loved by many for her individuality and then condemned by the same characters for 'leading people on' and not behaving as women are supposed to. This made her ambivalent ending particularly powerful. We weren't as much fans of the plot, and felt that a couple of the moves Perry took were too convenient. Did Will really only figure out his feelings when he and Cora touch? As touching as the friendship with Spenser and Luke, did we really need to have Luke injured to motivate their scenes? And none of bought the relationship between Martha and Edward. We're not totally sure why needed the poverty plot, maybe to show what actual issues were at the time, but Edward himself was far too much of a cipher to be a believable romantic partner. But none of this took too much away from the great writing, the interesting leads, and the elegant depiction of a moment of madness.