The Essex Serpent

A Novel

By: Sarah Perry

Narrated by: Juanita McMahon

Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Costa Book Award Finalist and the Waterstones (UK) Book of the Year 2016

An exquisitely talented young British author makes her American debut with this rapturously acclaimed historical novel, set in late 19th-century England, about an intellectually minded young widow, a pious vicar, and a rumored mythical serpent that explores questions about science and religion, skepticism, and faith, independence and love.

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 not a happy one. Wed at 19, this woman of exceptional intelligence and curiosity was ill-suited for the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space in the wake of the funeral, Cora leaves London for a visit to coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive 11-year old son, Francis, and the boy's nanny, Martha, her fiercely protective friend.

While admiring the sites, Cora learns of an intriguing rumor that has arisen further up the estuary, of a fearsome creature said to roam the marshes claiming human lives. After nearly 300 years, the mythical Essex Serpent is said to have returned, taking the life of a young man on New Year's Eve. A keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, Cora is immediately enthralled, and certain that what the local people think is a magical sea beast may be a previously undiscovered species. Eager to investigate, she is introduced to local vicar William Ransome. Will, too, is suspicious of the rumors. But unlike Cora, this man of faith is convinced the rumors are caused by moral panic, a flight from true belief.

These seeming opposites who agree on nothing soon find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart - an intense relationship that will change both of their lives in ways entirely unexpected.

Hailed by Sarah Waters as "a work of great intelligence and charm, by a hugely talented author," The Essex Serpent is "irresistible...you can feel the influences of Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, and Hilary Mantel channeled by Perry in some sort of Victorian séance. This is the best new novel I've read in years." (Daily Telegraph, London).

©2016 Sarah Perry (P)2017 WF Howes

Critic reviews

"I loved this book. At once numinous, intimate and wise, The Essex Serpent is a marvelous novel about the workings of life, love and belief, about science and religion, secrets, mysteries, and the complicated and unexpected shifts of the human heart - and it contains some of the most beautiful evocations of place and landscape I've ever read. It is so good its pages seem lit from within. As soon as I'd finished it I started reading it again." (Helen MacDonald, author of H is for Hawk)

"An array of adjectives comes to mind at the opening words of this audiobook: alluring, poetic, with an air of exactness and aged wisdom.... Narrator Juanita McMahon expertly inhabits its sharp-tongued, sweet-spirited, stoic, wondrous characters. Her vocal characterizations are gothically charming.... A superb narration!" ( AudioFile)

Beautiful story so Relevant to our Present

I loved this book. Interesting story, with themes that are at once timeless & surprisingly modern in a Victorian setting. Part The Year of Wonders, part The French Lieutenant's Woman, part The Thirteenth Tale, part Henry James, EM Forster, & Edith Wharton, & yet wholly its own story. Definitely fits the cover. The writing is dense so I listened & read. Narrator is excellent.

A Rich Tapestry

A captivating interweaving of themes of faith, superstition , love, , renunciation, and redemption. Profound.

Great book odd reading

Really don’t understand how the producer and reader both missed Cora’s voice so badly. How does a young Londoner become an elderly immigrant? They missed on a couple of others as well (how old is Charles?) but that’s expected of more minor characters. Every time Cora spoke it was jarring and disconcerting.

Otherwise, excellent read.

Wonderful story / superb narration

I loved the premise of this book -- the age old tale of fear spreading through a community and what dynamics develop because of it. Also explores the theme of the outsider who comes into a tight knit group and fascinated some while upsetting the balance of others.

Loved the narration. Just enough acting to bring the story alive. Wonderful voices.

A slog of a tale

Great Reader! but as lengthy story with many subplots. At a point it felt like a Victorian Ann Tyler novel where nothing but misery was heaped on the characters. A slog to get through, but a fairly rewarding ending.

Disappointed

The story was okay. I expected a lot more after the rave reviews I had seen. However, the narrator's voice was the biggest deterrent to enjoyment. I loved her accent. However. her volume was all over the place. I'd have to crank my volume to hear her crazily quiet voice, and then she'd start yelling or say some words soft and some loud. I almost quit three times, but kept on because of the story line: I wanted to encounter the serpent...which was just another disappointment later on.

There's so much to unpack -- it's terrific

Wow! This is a terrific book, but very dense and full of lushly written descriptions, which might not be everyone's style. I've tried three times to write a decent summary in a few sentences, but I can't. There's really so much to unpack from a story that takes place during 10 or 11 months in late 19th Century England. The character of love and friendship, the differences of reason and faith (“We both speak of illuminating the world, but we have different sources of light"), the limits and restrictions on women, the growth of science and medicine, and the Essex Serpent as a symbol of myth, medicine, temptation, sex, or a punishment for sinfulness. I also loved the characters, especially the women who were all great in their own ways. Cora is a woman after my own heart, with love to share and endless curiosity and wonder; looking to create her own path and find her own happiness:
"Sometimes I think I sold my soul, so that I could live as I must. Oh, I don’t mean without morals or conscience—I only mean with freedom to think the thoughts that come, to send them where I want them to go, not to let them run along tracks someone else set, leading only this way or that…"

Good book but odd casting choice for the readers

Any additional comments?

I liked the book. Engaging story, well written, held my attention. The female voice was excellent. But casting for the male voices was odd. Their characters grew up under tough circumstances in New York's outer boroughs but the readers' voices sounded like midwest gentle and polite. I actually didn't realize until starting to write the review that there were two separate male readers. They sounded so much alike, I guess, that I couldn't tell them apart. This may in part have been a director's choice, to make them sound normal and relatable, but it came across as a bad fit that detracted from the story. Not that I would have wanted over the top New York accents and tough guy posing, but the voices did at least need an edge, a little sharpness to convey a clearer sense of the milieu.

A favorite of my 2018 listen list

This book was recommended to me, and I absolutely loved it. It was just enough of absolutely everything. More please and again. I will be re-listening to this one.

The best Audible title I have listened to.

I need say no more. Simply the best story, language, and telling. I cannot recommend this listen enough. I plane to add the title to my book library as soon as I can.