Book Review: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Yes, I'm aware I'm late to the party with this one, but I wanted to read the book before the movie comes out because I'm a huge Tom Hiddleston fan and I will watch it. I'm really glad I did too; I loved this book. I love how it's written in a style that feels contemporary to the era it was set in, complete with regular letters and diary entries to give it that Bram Stoker - doing - Dracula kind of vibe. I love how beautifully Sarah Perry evokes the scenery and landscape of Essex, from Colchester's busy streets to the windswept bleakness of Aldwinter. The book also does a wonderful job of conjuring up the real-life horrors of the time, big and small, unexpected and mundane, even while the characters are all worrying about a fantastical one lurking in the river. The characters are very vivid, too - from precocious children to scientifically aware vicars to awkward surgeons - and the relationships between them feel complicated and real. (We know where Martha's heart lies, even if it's never explicitly stated!) And while the Victorian gentlewoman who rejects what society expects of her and does her own thing is a bit of a trope, it's one I always enjoy.

I don't feel like I can say much more without giving away spoilers, and even though the book has been around a while I don't want to do that. So I'll stop here and just say that it is a very good period story with mystery, romance and a splash of horror.