Just what is the Essex serpent? Foul beast of legend, divine judgment or, as widowed young amateur geologist Cora suspects, a living fossil that somehow eluded extinction in the inscrutable depths of the Blackwater estuary? Curiosity piqued, she decamps to briny Aldwinter, where her friendship with local vicar Will blossoms, and faith and reason – indeed faith and freedom - tussle.
A Victorian-era gothic with a Dickensian focus on societal ills, Perry’s second novel surprises in its wonderful freshness. There’s a sense of Llareggub about close-knit Aldwinter, its flint church, historic oak and ribby shipwreck instantly present, while the tapestry of voices that results from the use of letters amplifies the Under Milk Wood echo. Perry’s singular characters are drawn with a fondness that is both palpable and contagious, and the beautifully observed changing seasons permitted space to breathe, all making for pure pleasure.
The Essex Serpent is published by Profile (£14.99). Click here to buy it for £11.99
