The Essex Serpent

the long version

London 1893. When Cora Seaborne's husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one, and she never suited the role of society wife. Accompanied by her son Francis - a curious, obsessive boy - she leaves town for Essex, where she hopes fresh air and open space will provide the refuge they need.When they take lodgings in Colchester, rumours reach them from further up the estuary that the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam t