The Essex Serpent: the real myths, folklore and heroines inspired by the county

By Elelia Ferro, Assistant researcher in Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies, University of Essex

Enticed by rumours of a mythical creature haunting the Blackwater marshes in Essex, England, recently widowed Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes) leaves London for the village of Aldwinter. Cora is chasing her dream of becoming an amateur palaeontologist and believes that science can explain the creature while also allaying the fears of the superstitious locals.

Set at the tail end of the Victorian age, the novel draws on the history of a period when many scientific discoveries were being made, which were often in conflict…

Read complete article

~	South Africa’s youth are a generation lost under democracy – study

~	Why reading and writing poems shouldn’t be considered a luxury in troubling times

~	A Hong Kong Facebook group on shop closure strives to survive allegations of inciting discontent

~	Vaping now more common than smoking among young people – and the risks go beyond lung and brain damage

~	Burkina Faso: Army Massacres 223 Villagers

~	Lebanon: Stepped-Up Repression of Syrians

~	Africa’s High Teenage Pregnancy Rate Demands Strong Response

~	Inflation is slowly falling while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain the CPI

~	‘It bucked our lads up wonderfully’: the lightning-quick battle that marked the birth of the US-Australia military alliance

~	If plastic manufacturing goes up 10%, plastic pollution goes up 10% – and we’re set for a huge surge in production