Norwich author Sarah Perry takes US by storm with The Essex Serpent
Norwich-based author Sarah Perry. Photo: Jamie Drew - Credit: Jamie Drew
Norwich-based writer Sarah Perry's second novel, The Essex Serpent, has proved a hit with UK readers since its publication in May 2016 and now it's taking the US by storm.
Perry's Gothic tale has wracked up an impressive array of accolades, including winning Waterstones Book of the Year and British Book Awards' Book of the Year.
Set in the 1890s, the story follows widow Cora Seaborne as she discovers her small village is being terrorised by a mythical beast.
Last week the book was released in the US to rave reviews, quickly becoming the best reviewed book of the week according to American website Literary Hub.
MORE: Norwich author Sarah Perry wins big at British Book Awards with The Essex SerpentRon Charles of The Washington Post described it as: 'An absorbing story told in a style that's antique without being dated, rich but never pretentious.'
Similarly, Jennifer Senior from The New York Times said: 'The Essex Serpent is a novel of almost insolent ambition - lush and fantastical, a wild Eden behind a garden gate.'
You may also want to watch:
Dr Perry commented: 'This was my American debut and I must admit I was a little nervous about how a book so deeply rooted in English myth and countryside would travel across the Atlantic - I'm so completely thrilled, and slightly stunned, by its reception. And more than anything delighted for my brilliant American publisher, Custom House!'
• Have you read The Essex Serpent? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.
Most Read
- 1 Tributes to much-loved Laura, 28, after Covid death
- 2 Covid rips through care homes again with deaths almost doubling in a week
- 3 Man seriously injured after crash
- 4 'Isolate from your household' plea as Covid soars in Norwich
- 5 Concern elderly people 'being ignored' as town has no vaccination centre
- 6 'They don't care': Retired couple slam council over 'dangerous' tree
- 7 Norfolk yet to reach peak in latest wave of coronavirus deaths
- 8 Man admits causing death of popular sportsman by dangerous driving
- 9 Part of seventh skeleton discovered in city street
- 10 Minke whale washes up on beach