Sarah PERRY : The Essex serpent - book review

When Cora Seaborne's brilliant, domineering husband dies,she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness : her marriage was not a happy one. Wed at 19, this woman of exceptional intelligence and curiosity was ill-suited for the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space in the wake of the funeral, Cora leaves London for a visit to coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive 11 year-old son, Francis, and the boy's nanny, Martha, her fiercely protective friend.

While admiring the sites, Cora learns of an intriguing rumor that has arisen further up the estuary, of a fearsome creature said to roam the marshes claiming human lives. After nearly 300 years, the mythical Essex serpent is said to have returned, taking the life of a young man on New Year's Eve. A keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, Cora is immediately enthralled and certain that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a previously undiscovered species. Eager to investigate, she is introduced to local vicar William Ransome. Will, too, is suspicious of the rumors. But unlike Cora, this man of faith is convinced the rumors are caused by moral panic, a flight from true belief.

These seeming opposites who agree nothing soon find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart - an intense relationship that will change both of their lives in ways entirely unexpected.

Lots of readers loved it, raved about it, which is why I borrowed it at the library, yet it was very hard for me to get into that book. The feminist part did not touch me, the characters did not touch me - I did not like Martha most of all, always aggressive and possessive - the acclaimed depth of it all - spiritual and sentimental - I did not find. 
I felt like I was reading plenty of things that I love and love to read about and should have made a better than average book, but were merely brushed here and there to form a superficial story.
Worse, it was boring ! I persevered, I did, I swear ! And those quotes everywhere, as if the author wanted to prove us how cultivated she was. But as I neared page 150, I thought about all the lovely books waiting for me to read them and I found no reason to punish myself with reading one I didn't like. Hence the DNF.