Sarah Perry | |
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| Born | (1979-11-28)28 November 1979 (age 45) Chelmsford,Essex, England |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Alma mater | Royal Holloway, University of London,Chelmsford County High School for Girls |
| Chancellor of theUniversity of Essex | |
| Assumed office 1 August 2023 | |
| Vice Chancellor | Anthony Forster |
| Preceded by | John Bercow (vacant 2021-2023) |
| Website | |
| www | |
Sarah Grace PerryFRSL (born 28 November 1979) is an English author. She has had four novels published:After Me Comes the Flood (2014),The Essex Serpent (2016),Melmoth (2018) andEnlightenment (2024). Her work has been translated into 22 languages.She was appointedChancellor of theUniversity of Essex in July 2023,[1] officially starting in this role on 1 August 2023.[2]
Perry was born, the youngest of five sisters, inChelmsford,Essex, into a family of devoutChristians who were members of aStrict Baptist church. Growing up with almost no access to contemporary art, culture, and writing, she filled her time with classical music, classic novels and poetry, and church-related activities. She says this early immersion in old literature and theKing James Bible profoundly influenced her writing style.[3] She attendedChelmsford County High School for Girls. She married her husband Robert Perry at the age of 20. She graduated from Anglia Polytechnic University (nowAnglia Ruskin University) with a degree in English Literature, then worked briefly in the Civil Service.
Perry has aPhD in creative writing fromRoyal Holloway University where her supervisor was SirAndrew Motion. Her doctoral thesis was on theGothic in the writing ofIris Murdoch, and Perry has subsequently published an article on the Gothic inAeon magazine.[4][5]
I wrote about the power of place in my PhD thesis, particularly the importance of buildings in the Gothic (a genre which I find myself inhabiting without ever having meant to). Fiction in the Gothic inheritance makes much of the potent importance of the interior, from the castle where Jonathan Harker finds himself holed up to Thornfield, and from the suburban homes in Hilary Mantel'sBeyond Black to the ghastly crypts inThe Monk.
In 2013, she was awriter-in-residence atGladstone's Library.[6]
Perry won the 2004Shiva Naipaul Memorial prize for travel writing for 'A little unexpected', an article about her experiences in thePhilippines.[7][8]
In June 2018, Perry was elected Fellow of theRoyal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative.[9] In October 2019 she was awarded the title of Honorary Doctor of Letters by Anglia Ruskin University.[10]
Perry's debut novel,After Me Comes the Flood, was released in 2014 by Serpent's Tail, receiving high praise from reviewers including those ofThe Daily Telegraph andThe Guardian.[11] The novel tells the story of a man named John Cole who wanders into a strange world while seeking out his brother amidst a drought.John Burnside, writing forThe Guardian, called it "extraordinary" and "a remarkable debut".[12]
Her second novel,The Essex Serpent, was also published by Serpent's Tail in 2016. Inspired by the myth of a sea serpent on the Essex coast, it tells the story of a Victorian widow, Cora Seaborne, and the friends who surround her after the death of her bullying husband. Cora is intrigued and compelled by the possibility of the serpent's return, but clashes with the local vicar, William Ransome, who is determined to lay superstition to rest in his rural parish.
The novel is again written in a gothic style, and explores themes of goodness, friendship, superstition, and love and once again received positive reviews; John Burnside, quoted on the book's cover, writes: "Had Charles Dickens and Bram Stoker come together to write the great Victorian novel, I wonder if it would have surpassedThe Essex Serpent? No way of knowing, but with only her second outing, Sarah Perry establishes herself as one of the finest fiction writers working in Britain today."[13]
The Essex Serpent was nominated in the Novel category for the 2016Costa Book Awards[14] and was namedWaterstones Book of the Year 2016.[15] It was placed on the long list for the 2017Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction.[16] It was adapted for alimited series on Apple TV+ in 2022.
Her third novel is titledMelmoth, and was inspired byCharles Maturin's gothic novelMelmoth the Wanderer.[17] It was published by Serpent's Tail in October 2018.[18]Melmoth was shortlisted for the 2019Dylan Thomas Prize.[19]
Perry's fourth novel,Enlightenment, was published byCape in May 2024.[20][21][22]The Times Literary Supplement called it an "uplifting perspective on the relationship between faith and facts" and "a delicate piece of misdirection."[23] It was longlisted for the 2024Booker Prize.[24]
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by John Bercow | Chancellor of theUniversity of Essex 2023- | Incumbent |
