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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The writing is beautiful and though it took me a week to read this, it was less that it was slow and more so that I wanted to enjoy each part. I felt that the book lost steam as it went. The idea, setting, and style are great, but the characters (other than a few) felt a bit unexplored to me. The first 95% of this felt like a subplot to a larger book. The last line was fun and made me want to reread the book. Essentially: worth reading, but I felt very distant from the characters, and the plot felt like a subplot.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Novel set in LONDON
I had to jump on Goodreads to say how much I am enjoying this book. I haven't even finished it yet but am taking it slow so I can absorb and immerse myself in all of the wonderful atmosphere, scene setting and prose that this novel has. It might be about circuses and freak shows but the essence of it is humanity and it's very moving.
What a story and Tilly! oh I love her! Theo is a complex boy and someone is mistreating him so I want to smack them right now. Tilly is misunderstood and used by those who are supposed to love her.
Oh there is so much to this novel! I am indeed fascinated with it so the title fits! Right, I'm back to it. I will report back shortly.
I had to jump on Goodreads to say how much I am enjoying this book. I haven't even finished it yet but am taking it slow so I can absorb and immerse myself in all of the wonderful atmosphere, scene setting and prose that this novel has. It might be about circuses and freak shows but the essence of it is humanity and it's very moving.
What a story and Tilly! oh I love her! Theo is a complex boy and someone is mistreating him so I want to smack them right now. Tilly is misunderstood and used by those who are supposed to love her.
Oh there is so much to this novel! I am indeed fascinated with it so the title fits! Right, I'm back to it. I will report back shortly.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Identical twin sisters Keziah and Tilly are alike in every way, except that Tilly hasn’t grown an inch since she was five. Coerced by their violent and manipulative father into using their talents to promote his ‘miracle’ cure-all, they’ve spent most of their lives on the road. But when Keziah and Tilly are sold by their father to the mysterious Italian known as ‘Captain’, they find themselves joining a theatrical ‘family’ of human curiosities and heading for the bright lights of London.
Would-be doctor Theo, on the other hand, has been raised in relative stability and comfort but with very little love. His grandfather, Lord Seabrook, despises the medical profession in spire of his own interest in anatomical ‘curiosities’. When Lord Seabrook remarries and a new heir for his estate is procured, Theo finds himself cast out of his childhood home. Determine to pursue his dreams, he answers an advert placed by ‘gentleman anatomist’ Dr Eugene Summerwell.
Summerwell’s ‘Museum of Anatomy’ is home to Captain and his family of performers, freaks, and outcasts, Tilly and Keziah included. But as Theo, Keziah, and Tilly’s lives become intertwined, they soon realise that there is darkness lurking beneath the surface of their glittering new world. And, if they’re not careful, the web of lies and deceit that surrounds them could soon entangle them all.
The Fascination is a suspenseful tale that digs into the dark heart of the world of Victorian showmen and casts a light upon the often grim realities that lay behind fairs, showgrounds, and the theatrical marvels of the age. The era’s fascination with human ‘curiosities’ is thoroughly explored in the novel, as are the disturbing connections between the spectacles seen in Burlington Hall and Drury Lane and the anatomist’s ‘theatre’. Both worlds are vividly brought to life by Fox’s luminous prose, which pulled me right into the dark heart of Victorian England.
Tilly, Keziah, and Theo all make for empathetic protagonists in the face of almost insurmountable challenges and dangers. I really enjoyed the way in which each character’s motivations and vulnerabilities are explored, as well as the relationships that develop – and are uncovered – between them. Essie Fox also has a real talent for writing villains – there are several characters in here that I could quite happily have swung for(!) – and isn’t afraid of portraying the often heart-wrenching realities of life for her more vulnerable characters. As a result, content warnings should be noted for period-relevant attitudes towards – and language reflective of – disability, domestic and physical violence, emotional abuse, alcohol and drug use/abuse, coercion/coercive control, medical trauma/detail, and confinement. These topics are dealt with sensitively however it clear that Fox has done a great deal of research to really immerse her reader in the period and it’s details, however unpalatable they might be to modern readers.
Although I did find the book a little slow to start with, the pace really picks up once all the characters some together at Dr Summerwell’s ‘Museum’ in the second act, and the slow burn of tension built up in the first part of the novel really pays off towards the end, when all the threads are skilfully drawn together for an explosive – and unexpected – finale.
Fans of Elizabeth Macneal’s Circus of Wonders and Imogen Hermes Gower’s The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, will find much to enjoy in the rich detail and evocative stylings of The Fascination, with its immersive depiction of Victorian showmanship and the darker undercurrents that lie beneath the surface glamour. Offering a surprisingly sweet coming-of-age tale wrapped within a darkly Gothic tale of secrets and deception, The Fascination is sure to fascinate plenty of readers come release day!
NB: This review also appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Would-be doctor Theo, on the other hand, has been raised in relative stability and comfort but with very little love. His grandfather, Lord Seabrook, despises the medical profession in spire of his own interest in anatomical ‘curiosities’. When Lord Seabrook remarries and a new heir for his estate is procured, Theo finds himself cast out of his childhood home. Determine to pursue his dreams, he answers an advert placed by ‘gentleman anatomist’ Dr Eugene Summerwell.
Summerwell’s ‘Museum of Anatomy’ is home to Captain and his family of performers, freaks, and outcasts, Tilly and Keziah included. But as Theo, Keziah, and Tilly’s lives become intertwined, they soon realise that there is darkness lurking beneath the surface of their glittering new world. And, if they’re not careful, the web of lies and deceit that surrounds them could soon entangle them all.
The Fascination is a suspenseful tale that digs into the dark heart of the world of Victorian showmen and casts a light upon the often grim realities that lay behind fairs, showgrounds, and the theatrical marvels of the age. The era’s fascination with human ‘curiosities’ is thoroughly explored in the novel, as are the disturbing connections between the spectacles seen in Burlington Hall and Drury Lane and the anatomist’s ‘theatre’. Both worlds are vividly brought to life by Fox’s luminous prose, which pulled me right into the dark heart of Victorian England.
Tilly, Keziah, and Theo all make for empathetic protagonists in the face of almost insurmountable challenges and dangers. I really enjoyed the way in which each character’s motivations and vulnerabilities are explored, as well as the relationships that develop – and are uncovered – between them. Essie Fox also has a real talent for writing villains – there are several characters in here that I could quite happily have swung for(!) – and isn’t afraid of portraying the often heart-wrenching realities of life for her more vulnerable characters. As a result, content warnings should be noted for period-relevant attitudes towards – and language reflective of – disability, domestic and physical violence, emotional abuse, alcohol and drug use/abuse, coercion/coercive control, medical trauma/detail, and confinement. These topics are dealt with sensitively however it clear that Fox has done a great deal of research to really immerse her reader in the period and it’s details, however unpalatable they might be to modern readers.
Although I did find the book a little slow to start with, the pace really picks up once all the characters some together at Dr Summerwell’s ‘Museum’ in the second act, and the slow burn of tension built up in the first part of the novel really pays off towards the end, when all the threads are skilfully drawn together for an explosive – and unexpected – finale.
Fans of Elizabeth Macneal’s Circus of Wonders and Imogen Hermes Gower’s The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, will find much to enjoy in the rich detail and evocative stylings of The Fascination, with its immersive depiction of Victorian showmanship and the darker undercurrents that lie beneath the surface glamour. Offering a surprisingly sweet coming-of-age tale wrapped within a darkly Gothic tale of secrets and deception, The Fascination is sure to fascinate plenty of readers come release day!
NB: This review also appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com as part of the blog tour for the book. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Alcohol