Uploaded February 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

Cora Seaborne, a keen naturalist newly widowed after a very unhappy marriage, seizes the opportunity to leave London for the peace and quiet of an East Anglian country town, where she learns of the mythical, monstrous Essex Serpent. Befriending the local vicar, who is as anxious to expose the myth as she is in validating it, the two embark on an improbable search, from opposite poles, as inexorably drawn to this dreadful reptile as to each other.

Set in the single year of 1892, this is historical fiction at its finest, and transplants well. It was received rapturously in England when first published and remains a classic of its kind.

More video book reviews at thisoldHoarehouse.com