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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.
About the author
Elizabeth Macneal was born in Scotland and now lives in East London. She is a writer and potter and works from a small studio at the bottom of her garden. The Doll Factory, Elizabeth's debut novel, was a Sunday Times bestseller, has been translated into twenty-nine languages and has been optioned for a major television series. Circus of Wonders is her second novel.
Summary
The spellbinding novel from Elizabeth Macneal, author of the&i> Sunday Times&/i> bestselling &i>The Doll Factory&/i>, &i>Circus of Wonders&/i> is set between a spectacular circus in the pleasure gardens of Victorian London, and the battle-scarred plains of the Crimea. It is an astonishing story about power and ownership, fame and the threat of invisibility, and one womans determination to tell her own story.
Foreword
The spellbinding novel from Elizabeth Macneal, author of the Sunday Times bestselling The Doll Factory, Circus of Wonders is set between a spectacular circus in the pleasure gardens of Victorian London, and the battle-scarred plains of the Crimea. It is an astonishing story about power and ownership, fame and the threat of invisibility, and one woman's determination to tell her own story.
Additional text
Expansive and tender . . . it really pulls you into this fascinating world.
Report
Circus of Wonders is a soaring, tumbling, whip-cracking book. Elizabeth Macneal has brought an extraordinary group of characters together in these pages; the result is a glittering world, a story as moving as it is deeply entertaining Daniel Mason, author of The Piano Tuner
