Cora, a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for superstition, is enthralled, convinced that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a yet-undiscovered species. On arrival, rumours reach them that the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam the marshes claiming lives, has returned to the coastal parish of Aldwinter.

Along with her son Francis - a curious, obsessive boy - she leaves town for Essex, in the hope that fresh air and open space will provide refuge. When Cora Seaborne's controlling husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness. The literary sensation and Waterstones Book of the Year: a thrilling and unforgettable historical novel of love and intrigue now out in paperback Told with exquisite grace and intelligence, this novel is above all a celebration of love, and the many different guises it can take.The Essex Serpent: The number one bestseller and British Book Awards Book of the Year – BookaliciousMY As he tries to calm his parishioners, he and Cora strike up an intense relationship, and although they agree on nothing, they find themselves inexorably drawn together, eventually changing each other’s lives in ways entirely unexpected. Like Cora, Will is deeply suspicious of the rumours, but he thinks they are founded on moral panic, a flight from faith. As she sets out on its trail, she collides with William Ransome, Aldwinter’s vicar. Cora, a keen naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, is immediately enthralled, convinced that the magical beast may simply be an undiscovered species. When they arrive 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. Accompanied by her son Francis, she leaves town for Essex, where she hopes fresh air and open space will provide refuge. 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. A sumptuously imagined novel of passion, ideas and friendship.

The essex serpent book