November review: 'The Essex Serpent'

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Book: The Essex Serpent, Sarah Perry

Publication date: 2016

WCRG meeting: 1 November 2017

Rating: 6.8


Thank you to all who either attended in person, or submitted their reviews in advance of our meeting on 1 November where we discussed ‘The Essex Serpent’ by Sarah Perry.
Set in Victorian times the novel follows a wide range of characters. Many members of the group commented on how very well drawn and interesting each character in the book was.. A stand out character was of course Cora Seaborne, a rich London society widow, who goes hunting for fossils and the mythical ‘Essex Serpent’ in the Essex countryside; and her son Francis inspired a wide discussion on how children who are ‘a bit different’ are treated then and now.

Some were disappointed by ‘the Imp’, after expecting a much more interesting character when he was first introduced. It was surprising how little conversation the Reverend Will Ransome generated, supposedly being a main character, but he was overshadowed by the characterisation of other characters such as Stella Ransome, Martha and Charles Amrose.

We discussed what the main themes of the book were and many saw it drawing on the theme of ‘What is sin?’ by touching on topics such as Adam & Eve, temptation and the Seven Deadly Sins. Another big theme of the book was the confrontation between Reason & Faith, or Religion & Science, during this time. Both Darwin and Mary Anning found numerous mentions as did several cutting-edge medical innovations, and also how the Reverend Will Ransome deals with them.

The novel seemed to aspire to be Dickensian with many subplots, but it was widely felt that it did not quite get there, a view also held by our resident Victorian expert; other critics felt this book was in part a gothic novel, however, overall the group disagreed.

Although almost everyone enjoyed reading the book, many were baffled why exactly it won so many prizes. The overall feeling was that the book was a bit too long and could have done with some tightening up, mainly in its middle part. Even a new subtitle was suggested: ‘The Essex Serpent: or Much Ado about Nothing’. The neat ending left many a bit disappointed.

Overall score: 6.8