The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

I haven’t yet seen the Apple TV+ adaptation of this book which I read some months ago. I always worry that the visualisations of director/creative team will not match those conjured up in my mind by the prose itself. To convincingly bring to the screen the ethereal, almost eerie atmosphere conveyed by these words alone would be a triumph indeed.

I enjoyed many aspects of this Gothic novel, set in late Victorian times, and set in the claustrophobia of East London and Essex’s Blackwater Estuary, offering time, space and fresh air.

Cora Seabourne and William Ransome are well-drawn and quite believable characters, as is Cora’s son Francis who is as curious as I was to find out where the legend of the Essex Serpent really came from.

I liked the science v religion debate throughout, especially when the Essex villagers turned on Cora for supposedly encouraging the monster to return, rather than God for letting them all down.

The other aspect of scientific discovery centres on gruesome medical operations back in London and it is this contrast between medical progress and science with belief and superstition which makes it such a fascinating read.

We are meant to be cheered by Cora’s relationship with William after her suffering at the hands of her controlling husband died. Human machinations of the conflict which provides the backbone to the story, Cora and Will barely agree about anything – drawn together seemingly in order to fight their way apart again. But there is a consensus that lives should be lived as fully as possible. The book is about liberation of the spirit at the very least.
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We have to admire Cora’s independence at a time which would – and did – unsettle men and women alike, and I was with her right until the end.

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