The Essex Serpent

Ever since I heard about the big splash The Essex Serpent made last year in Great Britain, I have been anticipating its appearance on our shores. And this wondrous book ended up arriving exactly when I needed it most! Set in London and on the Essex coast in the 1890s, its characters are not your typical Victorian prudes and imperialists, but the doctors, amateur scientists, reformers, and suffragettes who were looking toward the future. They put me in mind of those curious connection-seekers who populate the books of one of the most warm-hearted writers, E.M. Forster. The book is about many things—faith vs. facts, a sea monster—but above all it is about friendship. It is full of stop-still moments when all sorts of people—young and old, rich and poor, men and women and women and women and men and men—follow Forster's credo to "only connect!" Perry's style is also wonderful, perfectly ornamented to reflect the sensibility of the time and place and full of phrases and images that make you sigh with pleasure. The Essex Serpent is just a joy to read—it's the joy-read of the summer!