Cover of The Essex Serpent

The Essex Serpent

Sarah Perry, 2016

British novelist, born 1979. Won the British Book Awards: Fiction Book of the Year in 2017.

The Essex Serpent is a 2016 novel by Sarah Perry. It won the British Book Awards' Fiction Book of the Year in 2017.

Rising Star
  • Readers' Favourite
  • Prize Winner

In historical fiction

On 4 of the 16 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Sarah Perry
First published
2016
Length
448 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Historical fiction, Love story, Religion and faith, Feminist

Is The Essex Serpent worth reading?

4 of the 16 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them the British Book Awards' Fiction Book of the Year and the Costa Novel Award.

Best edition of The Essex Serpent

The edition we link to is the Serpent's Tail paperback (2017), 448 pages.

Publisher
Serpent's Tail (paperback, 2017)
Pages
448
ISBN
9781781255452

How critics, prizes and readers rate The Essex Serpent

Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 33% of the points available on prize lists, against 21% on readers' and booksellers' lists and 0% on critics' lists.

Critics
0%
Prizes
33%
Readers and booksellers
21%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Lists used on this page