The Essex Serpent

The slightly-Gothic Victorian tale of a headstrong young widow who delights in nature and discovery and her new-found freedom from a cruel marriage. Cora, and her entourage of lovable and eccentric companions, come to Essex for the air and her amateur passion for palaeontology, and end up enthralled by the local's belief in the return of a feared mythical creature. While there, she finds a deep and untypical friendship/love with a local vicar, Will.

The novel has a little bit of everything, part Gothic beast story, part love story, part historical portrait of Victorian times, part feminism, part socialism, but none of these parts ever take the upper hand, so I mainly see it as a portrait of a wide range of vividly painted characters that range from slightly wacky to stubbornly love-struck to loyal revolutionary, that are all tied to each by love of one sort or another. The more I think about the characters and their bonds, the more I admire the novel. The writing is atmospheric and clever, sometimes very funny, and always quite beautiful.