THE ESSEX SERPENT
Book ID/图书代码： 11701216B86966
English Summary/英文概要： 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 the marshes claiming human lives, has returned to the coastal parish of Aldwinter. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, is immediately enthralled, convinced that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a previously undiscovered species. As she sets out on its trail, she is introduced to William Ransome, Aldwinter’s vicar.
Like Cora, Will is deeply suspicious of the rumours, but he thinks they are founded on moral panic, a flight from real faith. As he tries to calm his parishioners, he and Cora strike up an intense relationship, and although they agree on absolutely nothing, they find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart, eventually changing each other’s lives in ways entirely unexpected.
Told with exquisite grace and intelligence, this novel is most of all a celebration of love, and the many different guises it can take.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 1893年，伦敦。当Cora Seaborne的丈夫过世之后，她开始了作为寡妇的新生活，这当中既有悲伤，也有一丝宽慰：她的婚姻并不幸福，她从来没有适应妻子这个角色。她和充满好奇心的儿子Francis一起离开镇上去了埃塞克斯，希望那里新鲜的空气和开阔的空间将为他们带来庇护。当他们住在Colchester时，有传言说神话里那条在沼泽里吃人的埃塞克斯毒蛇又回到了Aldwinter教区的边境。Cora是敏锐的业余自然学家，并不相信宗教或迷信。她坚信那些当地人认为是神兽的可能是以前未发现的物种。她开始寻找其踪迹时，结识了William Ransome，Aldwinter教区的牧师。
和Cora一样，Will也不相信谣言，但他认为谣言是建立在信仰之上的道德恐惧。他试图安慰教友，他和Cora的关系因此紧张起来。尽管他们之间绝无共通之处，两人之间的却有一种无法避免的吸引，并最终出乎意料地改变了彼此的生活。
本书文笔优雅、睿智，是对于爱的礼赞，也展现了爱的不同形式。(LYR)
Awards/获奖情况：本书是值得人们津津乐道的小说：蕴含伟大的智慧和无穷的魅力，作者十分有才华。（Sarah Waters）
即使让狄更斯和斯托克联手写一部伟大的维多利亚时代小说，我不知道是否会超过本书？尽管我们无从得知，但Sarah Perry凭借仅仅两部作品就成为了今日英国最优秀的小说家之一。（John Burnside）
构建大，充满温情，不失睿智。从开始到结束，本书都是绝对的惊喜。我真不希望它结束。（Melissa Harrison）
适合在接下来的假日阅读的书。历史浪漫小说，又有一丝哥特式的扭曲......估计今年在沙滩上也会看到有人在读这本小说呢。（《Vogue》，2016年6月3日版）
不可抗拒的小说，从中喷涌而出的是维多利亚式的哥特风和英国神话。（《每日电讯》，2016年5月28日）
Recently shortlisted for Historical Writers Association Awards for Best Novel of the Year https://twitter.com/KateMayfield/status/885466677923778560
a #1 Christmas 2016 hardback bestseller – it knocked Lee Child’s latest Jack Reacher novel off the top spot and was in the hardback fiction top ten bestseller list for more than 46 weeks. It has been a #3 UK paperback bestseller.
Winner of the British Book of the Year Award 2017
(NIBBIES Awards)
Winner of the Waterstones Book of the Year Award 2016
Shortlisted for the Costa Prize 2017
Shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2017
Longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize 2017
Longlisted for the Baileys Prize 2017
A WHSmith’s Richard and Judy Book Club Summer 2017
The Essex Serpent is a work of historical fiction, set in the 1890s, which, for originality, richness of prose and depth of characterisation is unlikely to be bettered this year ... a remarkable novel. Although Will and Cora provide the focal points for her story, Perry has packed The Essex Serpent with a rich array of equally rounded characters to hold our attention. The novel is full of vivid set pieces ... it is Perry’s ability to conjure up a sense of entire lives unfolding before our eyes that is most impressive. Filled with wisdom about human behaviour and motivations, and written in a distinctive, stylish prose, The Essex Serpent is one of the most memorable historical novels of the past decade. (Nick Rennison Sunday Times 2016-05-22)
One for the holiday suitcase. A historical romance with a gothic twist ... expect to spot a copy on beach towels this summer. (Vogue 2016-06-03)
An irresistible novel that taps the vein of Victorian gothic and British myth (Daily Telegraph 2016-05-28)
It’s prompted comparisons to both Dickens and Bram Stoker and marries the former’s abhorrence of injustice with the latter’s genius for unsettling atmosphere ... Hardy-esque ... a rich and complex novel but also a deeply enjoyable read, with warm humanity at its core. (Jeff Robson iPaper 2016-05-27)
MORE Review..
THE ESSEX SERPENT by Sarah Perry has been chosen for WH Smith’s Richard and Judy Summer 2017 Book Club!
The Essex Serpent crowned British Book Awards’ Book of the Year
About the Author/作者介绍： Sarah Perry1979年出生在埃塞克斯。她拥有皇家霍洛威的创意写作博士学位，并一直在Gladstone图书馆担任驻馆作家，还拥有布拉格联合国教科文组织世界城市文学作家的荣誉称号。她的第一部小说《After Me Comes the Flood》入围Guardian第一图书奖以及Folio奖，并在2014年赢得了East Anglian年度图书奖。她住在诺维奇。
Sarah Perry was born in Essex in 1979. She has a PhD in creative writing from Royal Holloway, and has been the writer in residence at the Gladstone Library and the UNESCO World City of Literature Writer in Residence in Prague. Her first novel, After Me Comes the Flood, was longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Folio Prize, and won the East Anglian Book of the Year Award in 2014. She lives in Norwich.
Format:
Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE
Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE
Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：UK: Serpent’s Tail
US: Custom House/ HarperCollins
Czech Republic: Argo
Denmark: Lindhardt & Ringhof
France: Bourgois
Germany: Eichborn
Greece: Patakis
Holland: Prometheus
Hungary: XXI. Szazad
Italy: Neri Pozza
Lithuania: Baltos Lankos
Norway: Glydendal
Poland: Marginesy
Portugal: Almedina
Romania: Nemira
Russia: Phantom Press
Spain: Siruela
Sweden: Bonniers
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