Ratings4
Average rating3.8
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.
Reviews with the most likes.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)
Actual review closer to 2.5 stars. I struggled with this. The story and the characters didn't grab me and keep my attention. It felt like something was missing for me.
While the story manages to bring to live what it set out to do - a more intimate and truthful vision of what it could have been like to be a freak in Victorian London - the personal destinies of the main characters fell flat for me. Besides that, the feminist twist the writer gives the trajectories of those same characters seems contrived to say the least. Having said that, the novel sheds a much-needed light on a lesser known era and experience.