I reviewed The Essex Serpent back in 2019, and in a passing comment said “I am … convinced that this would make a hugely popular television series in the right hands.”
Well I am glad to say someone agreed, because the novel is now being televised on Apple TV with the first two episodes being released yesterday. The leads – Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston – look perfectly cast, and the production wisely filmed extensively in Essex itself.
I’m not on any commission from Apple TV – I don’t even have a subscription – but it is nice to see a novel that demanded to be filmed finally making it to the screen. I think a television adaptation (as opposed to a film) is a much more sensible way of telling this atmospheric story, giving the characters time to develop rather than rushing everything to an end in 90 minutes. I hope it does it justice.
The Reading Bug 