1866. In a coastal village in southern England, Nell picks violets for a living. Set apart by her community because of the birthmarks that speckle her skin, Nell’s world is her beloved brother and devotion to the sea.
But when Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders arrives in the village, Nell is kidnapped. Her father has sold her, promising Jasper Jupiter his very own leopard girl. It is the greatest betrayal of Nell’s life, but as her fame grows, and she finds friendship with the other performers and Jasper’s gentle brother Toby, she begins to wonder if joining the show is the best thing that has ever happened to her.
In London, newspapers describe Nell as the eighth wonder of the world. Figurines are cast in her image, and crowds rush to watch her soar through the air. But who gets to tell Nell’s story? What happens when her fame threatens to eclipse that of the showman who bought her? And as she falls in love with Toby, can he detach himself from his past and the terrible secret that binds him to his brother?
Moving from the pleasure gardens of Victorian London to the battle-scarred plains of the Crimea, Circus of Wonders is an astonishing story about power and ownership, fame and the threat of invisibility.
The Review
CIRCUS OF WONDERS
I’m not sure you’re supposed to feel this passionately about the MC but I think I inadvertently transferred some anger from reading A LITTLE LIFE and it landed at the feet of this one.
I hated the father in the story for who he was and what he did. I hated her brother, who was lost and her handler, who was out for himself despite himself. I hated the main character for becoming what she did.
So much emotion.
And then it kind of fizzled.
Once the story was laid out and the world was built I felt a big drop in presence. I disconnected with the story at some point and all of that hatred and passion from the beginning of the book did not carry the plot.
I feel drawn to stories of the circus for a multitude of reasons but the way the circus is used in this book, as an exploitation of the human predicament, I didn’t enjoy this concept as much as I would’ve liked.
I think this book will appeal to readers looking for a historical fiction story with strained familial dynamics, oddities and spots of intrigue.
For me, ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy!
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