We are delighted to welcome author Sarah Perry to the Centre For Victorian Studies to talk about her novel, The Sunday Times bestseller The Essex Serpent.
Set in 1893 and firmly rooted in the author’s home county of Essex, The Essex Serpent follows Cora, a keen amateur naturalist convinced that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a previously undiscovered species.
Join us to discuss the difficulties of the Neo-Victorian genre, the scientific discoveries of the nineteenth-century alongside the myth of folklore, and the practice of attempting to re-inhabit the Victorian era. The evening will include a reading from The Essex Serpent and a question and answers session with Sarah.
For those who have not previously attended, the evening will give students an opportunity to talk to Sarah Perry about her work, career and writing process. Is is advisable that attendees read The Essex Serpent before attending the event (but prior reading is not compulsory for attendance).
All students across disciplines are welcome, particularly those with an interest in creative writing, as well as interested staff members. It would be helpful if those planning to attend could register on Eventbrite at but we are happy for attendees to show up on the day without registering if this is not possible.
For information on upcoming events (including the chance to register) please visit the Centre for Victorian Studies website.
Our programme for this term includes 'Anxiety, Anger, & Tears: Emotions & Masculine Identities in the long C19th' with Professor Joanne Begiato (Oxford Brookes) on Thursday the 13th October at 6pm and 'Walking in the Dead of Night: Dickens Nocturnal London' with Professor Matthew Beaumont (UCL) on Thursday the 17th November at 6pm.
Reviews for The Essex Serpent
The Essex Serpent is a novel to relish: a work of great intelligence and charm, by a hugely talented author
- Sarah Waters
Had Charles Dickens and Bram Stoker come together to write the great Victorian novel, I wonder if it would have surpassed The Essex Serpent? No way of knowing, but with only her second outing, Sarah Perry establishes herself as one of the finest fiction writers working in Britain today.
- John Burnside
A big, warm, generous novel that wears its considerable wisdom lightly, The Essex Serpent is an absolute pleasure from start to finish - I truly didn't want it to end.
- Melissa Harrison
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry [is] a joyous and beguiling book that wrapped itself around me rather like its eponymous monster.
- Cathy Rentzenbrink
A blissful novel of unapologetic appetites, where desire and faith mingle on the marshes, but friendship is the miracle. Sarah Perry has the rare gift of committing the uncommittable to prose - that is to say: here is a writer who understands life.
- Jessie Burton
Synopsis of The Essex Serpent
When Cora Seaborne's husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one, and she never suited the role of society wife. Accompanied by her son Francis - a curious, obsessive boy - she leaves town for Essex, where she hopes fresh air and open space will provide the refuge they need.When they take lodgings in Colchester, rumours reach them from further up the estuary that the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam the marshes claiming human lives, has returned to the coastal parish of Aldwinter. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, is immediately enthralled, convinced that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a previously undiscovered species. As she sets out on its trail, she is introduced to William Ransome, Aldwinter's vicar.Like Cora, Will is deeply suspicious of the rumours, but he thinks they are founded on moral panic, a flight from real faith. As he tries to calm his parishioners, he and Cora strike up an intense relationship, and although they agree on absolutely nothing, they find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart, eventually changing each other's lives in ways entirely unexpected. Told with exquisite grace and intelligence, this novel is most of all a celebration of love, and the many different guises it can take.
Time: 17:30
Event contact: http://centreforvictorianstudies.eventbrite.co.uk/
Location: Moore Auditorium
Categories: Lectures, talks and seminars,
2016/09/22 17:30
2016/09/22 19:00
Europe/London
Sarah Perry discusses The Essex Serpent
We are delighted to welcome author Sarah Perry to the Centre For Victorian Studies to talk about her novel, The Sunday Times bestseller The Essex Serpent.
Set in 1893 and firmly rooted in the author’s home county of Essex, The Essex Serpent follows Cora, a keen amateur naturalist convinced that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a previously undiscovered species.
Join us to discuss the difficulties of the Neo-Victorian genre, the scientific discoveries of the nineteenth-century alongside the myth of folklore, and the practice of attempting to re-inhabit the Victorian era. The evening will include a reading from The Essex Serpent and a question and answers session with Sarah.
For those who have not previously attended, the evening will give students an opportunity to talk to Sarah Perry about her work, career and writing process. Is is advisable that attendees read The Essex Serpent before attending the event (but prior reading is not compulsory for attendance).
All students across disciplines are welcome, particularly those with an interest in creative writing, as well as interested staff members. It would be helpful if those planning to attend could register on Eventbrite at but we are happy for attendees to show up on the day without registering if this is not possible.
For information on upcoming events (including the chance to register) please visit the Centre for Victorian Studies website.
Our programme for this term includes 'Anxiety, Anger, & Tears: Emotions & Masculine Identities in the long C19th' with Professor Joanne Begiato (Oxford Brookes) on Thursday the 13th October at 6pm and 'Walking in the Dead of Night: Dickens Nocturnal London' with Professor Matthew Beaumont (UCL) on Thursday the 17th November at 6pm.
Reviews for The Essex Serpent
The Essex Serpent is a novel to relish: a work of great intelligence and charm, by a hugely talented author
- Sarah Waters
Had Charles Dickens and Bram Stoker come together to write the great Victorian novel, I wonder if it would have surpassed The Essex Serpent? No way of knowing, but with only her second outing, Sarah Perry establishes herself as one of the finest fiction writers working in Britain today.
- John Burnside
A big, warm, generous novel that wears its considerable wisdom lightly, The Essex Serpent is an absolute pleasure from start to finish - I truly didn't want it to end.
- Melissa Harrison
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry [is] a joyous and beguiling book that wrapped itself around me rather like its eponymous monster.
- Cathy Rentzenbrink
A blissful novel of unapologetic appetites, where desire and faith mingle on the marshes, but friendship is the miracle. Sarah Perry has the rare gift of committing the uncommittable to prose - that is to say: here is a writer who understands life.
- Jessie Burton
Synopsis of The Essex Serpent
When Cora Seaborne's husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one, and she never suited the role of society wife. Accompanied by her son Francis - a curious, obsessive boy - she leaves town for Essex, where she hopes fresh air and open space will provide the refuge they need.When they take lodgings in Colchester, rumours reach them from further up the estuary that the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam the marshes claiming human lives, has returned to the coastal parish of Aldwinter. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, is immediately enthralled, convinced that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a previously undiscovered species. As she sets out on its trail, she is introduced to William Ransome, Aldwinter's vicar.Like Cora, Will is deeply suspicious of the rumours, but he thinks they are founded on moral panic, a flight from real faith. As he tries to calm his parishioners, he and Cora strike up an intense relationship, and although they agree on absolutely nothing, they find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart, eventually changing each other's lives in ways entirely unexpected. Told with exquisite grace and intelligence, this novel is most of all a celebration of love, and the many different guises it can take.
Moore Auditorium