OR

It’s late 19th century England, and newly widowed Cora Seaborne takes to the countryside for much-needed fresh air and freedom with her son and his nanny. There she finds herself intrigued by stories of a fearsome, murderous creature. She and the local vicar are suspicious of the rumors but also deeply curious. The trio—Cora, vicar, and serpent—find their lives intertwining in unusual ways. The New York Times calls the novel “lush and fantastical, a wild Eden behind a garden gate.”

Discussion leader: Mary Dono