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A review by thelibraryofklee
Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal
"All her life, she has held herself like a bud, so small and tight and voiceless. She has not realised the potential that lies within her, the possibility that she might unfurl, arms thrown wide, and take up space in the world."
It is 1866, and Nell, a girl with vitiligo, is torn from her village when her father sells her to a circus owned by Jasper. Jasper dreams big, while his brother Toby, exists in his shadows. Nell is provided the opportunity to embrace her differences, but at what cost?
Oh 19th century, you are so cruel. This is a dark, emotive read about the intricacies of human nature set in the world of the circus. Humans could be bought and sold, made to perform for awestruck audiences. The world building is divine - we start in a small village of Nell's birth, and then transported to the heart of London, with flashbacks to the Crimean War. Macneal has done an amazing job of giving just the right amount of detail to capture the environment and atmosphere. Nell is a beautifully tragic character - a girl confined to the corners of the room in her village life, taunted and unaccepted. Despite the nature of her journey into the circus, it provides her with an opportunity to be someone new. The brothers, Jasper and Toby, share a complex fraternal bond. The characterisation is fraught with complex connections and heartbreaking bonds throughout - there is no black and white, only the ethical grey soup we are required to ponder. This is really a wonderful piece of historical fiction.
What I like about historical fiction is the additional paths I am led on. Particularly heartbreaking is the nod to Charles Byrne, the Irish giant, who at his death asked to be interred in the ocean, but remains to this day on display in a museum. This book brings to the forefront the complex ethics of humanity, and how those ethics are still being argued in modern day society.
"She feels a power then, a whisking deep within her, as if she might be capable of anything. As if this girl in the photograph could soar across that tent with its shivering lamps and feel the burn of a hundred eyes on her, and she would not care at all."
It is 1866, and Nell, a girl with vitiligo, is torn from her village when her father sells her to a circus owned by Jasper. Jasper dreams big, while his brother Toby, exists in his shadows. Nell is provided the opportunity to embrace her differences, but at what cost?
Oh 19th century, you are so cruel. This is a dark, emotive read about the intricacies of human nature set in the world of the circus. Humans could be bought and sold, made to perform for awestruck audiences. The world building is divine - we start in a small village of Nell's birth, and then transported to the heart of London, with flashbacks to the Crimean War. Macneal has done an amazing job of giving just the right amount of detail to capture the environment and atmosphere. Nell is a beautifully tragic character - a girl confined to the corners of the room in her village life, taunted and unaccepted. Despite the nature of her journey into the circus, it provides her with an opportunity to be someone new. The brothers, Jasper and Toby, share a complex fraternal bond. The characterisation is fraught with complex connections and heartbreaking bonds throughout - there is no black and white, only the ethical grey soup we are required to ponder. This is really a wonderful piece of historical fiction.
What I like about historical fiction is the additional paths I am led on. Particularly heartbreaking is the nod to Charles Byrne, the Irish giant, who at his death asked to be interred in the ocean, but remains to this day on display in a museum. This book brings to the forefront the complex ethics of humanity, and how those ethics are still being argued in modern day society.
"She feels a power then, a whisking deep within her, as if she might be capable of anything. As if this girl in the photograph could soar across that tent with its shivering lamps and feel the burn of a hundred eyes on her, and she would not care at all."