Rumours of a strange aquatic serpent ignite the fears of a riverside village in Essex. A corpse washes up. A boat goes missing. Children become hysterical. The church simmers with disgruntled parishioners. Into this feverish community saunters young widow Cora Seaborne, a rich Londoner with an eye for fossils and a craving to find the mysterious creature. Meanwhile, her suitors ply their charms.

While I love Victorian melodrama, this book took me weeks to read: I kept putting it down. Perhaps because all the characters are nice. I would have liked more monster. Nevertheless, The Essex Serpent is a serious work - rich in detail, atmosphere, and ideas.

Published in 2016, this is British author Sarah Perry’s second novel, succeeded by Melmoth last year.