The Essex Serpent
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The Essex Serpent
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Narrated by:
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Juanita McMahon
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By:
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Sarah Perry
About this listen
Now an Apple TV series starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston
The Sunday Times number one bestseller
Overall Book of the Year and Fiction Book of the Year at the British Book Awards 2017 (Nibbies)
Longlisted for the 2017 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction
The Waterstones Book of the Year 2016
Shortlisted for the 2016 Costa Novel Award
London, 1893. When Cora Seaborne's controlling husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness. 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.
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. 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. As she sets out on its trail, she is introduced to William Ransome, Aldwinter's vicar, who is also deeply suspicious of the rumours, but thinks they are a distraction from true faith.
As he tries to calm his parishioners, Will and Cora strike up an intense relationship, and although they agree on absolutely nothing, they find themselves at once drawn together and torn apart, affecting each other in ways that surprise them both.
The Essex Serpent is a celebration of love, and the many different shapes it can take.
©2016 Sarah Perry (P)2022 Profile Books LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about The Essex Serpent
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 21-10-22
Interesting story
A very good story, though rather rambling, but made especially good with the excellent narration by Juanita McMahon.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 17-05-22
Simply wonderful
Brilliantly written and original story.
First class narration.
Highly recommend a listen. Didn’t want it to end.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 26-05-22
Essex Serpent
The story is well plotted, but I didn’t particularly enjoy the narration; was she reading from an autocue? Strange phrasing, and some odd pronunciation-s (Collect, pulpit Luke - Garrett)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Allison Prebble
- 22-10-23
Loved this!
A really engaging story with well described characters. The reading was great although I was never sure about the way Cora’s accent/ speech impediment was handled!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mary
- 08-10-24
Well written, sensitive to nature and human nature
The book starts well but becomes confused midway with too many characters and events. I found few of the characters sympathetic. I thought the final chapters well judged.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Stephen Grandison
- 25-03-23
Not what I expected.
I tried this due to the adaptation by AppleTV. It was very slowly read. I listened to it at 1.2 speed and it sounded normal. It’s slow going and I made it to the end, but it did find it uninteresting.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- dwight clarke
- 08-03-24
Fantastic narration by Juanita McMahon
Lovely evocation of gothic and sensuality. Immersive and elusive at the same time. You get drawn into the Aldwinter village setting and its characters.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- jenny bond
- 14-03-24
slow burner but worth the read
it took me a little while to get I to the story and the characters. But it is worth pursuing.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Ness
- 20-12-22
Narration Issues
The narrator's voice is droll or overdone, so much so the story is lost on me
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dawn
- 29-12-22
Breath-taking
Quite possibly the best book I read this year! Beautiful in every way. Read it!
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