Aside from it being a Sunday Times bestseller, I first heard about this book due to Sarah Perry’s residence in Norwich, the fine city of my birth. I was forced to read it fast as it was overdue but I have to say, it was worth the £1.20 in fines.

It was a slow start, however. A story that reminded me of the complexity and multiple narrative viewpoints of Middlemarch with about the same level of initial confusion and the added level of the artificialness of a put on style. The Victorian I found to be heavily put on and it was difficult for me to initially get into the novel because of this. There were moments when it read almost like a translation or an adaption, like Perry was struggling to get her ideas across to a foreign readership.

However, once I was in, I was hooked. Once I got my head around the vast number of cast members it was easy to find myself invested in each one of their stories and outcomes. My favourites being the amiable Charles and Katherine Ambrose, a preference that concerns me slightly as they are clearly set up as the lovely but naive rich aristocrats content to live in their bubble of comfort despite the plight of their peers to awaken their senses to the destitution of those living in poverty in London, right on their doorstep. For me, these two were painted in the best light. Those on the front lines of the fight against the Victorian housing crisis – with clear echoes to our current housing crisis – Martha and Spencer, came across overbearing and annoying. I will say though, Spencer’s character was redeemed at the end.

Our protagonist, Cora Seaborne, never quite won me round. I saw who she was meant to be, a type of modern female, shedding the social constraints of her sex, but didn’t buy it. I read a post recently from a fellow bookstagrammer about how, for all we talk of diversity, literature in still the domain of the educated liberal and I see this often in books. It is very rare to find a true portrayal of a Christian and Perry’s portrait of Cora’s love interest, Will Ransome, was another disappointing example. The reasons for his faith and the manifestation of his faith, were all lacking, and he’s supposed to be the devout clergyman. What’s more, this was yet another book in the line of recent reads in which an extra-marital affair was not only excused but justified; almost portrayed as a good thing. It’s a fine perspective but not true of the way in which the good Christian man is portrayed to be. Where are the Jane Eyre’s who abide by biblical law despite the longings of heart, body and soul?

What worked in this book is that it kept me guessing. Perry uses her literary talents to create imagery that puts the reader into the marshlands of Essex and painted a Victorian England that truly did challenge my preconceived notions and, reading the author’s note, it wasn’t all just the whimsies of her imagination. It was in part gothic and had me questioning the legitimacy of the supernatural creature along with the townsfolk. I truly felt taken along for the ride and appreciated the twists and turns.