ebfswim 's review for:

Theatre of Marvels by Lianne Dillsworth

4.0

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A very fun read in an unusual setting, I adored this book. Highly focused on the characters, this book centers on Zillah, a black woman, playing the character of Great Amazonia (a wild woman from the African jungle) in a London theatre. While born of a slave mother, she is free, and because of her role as Amazonia (providing her with wages allowing her to live independently), she must hide her identity. She struggles with living without pretense but her status as a black woman makes her rising in British society unattainable. Her lover, a wealthy lord, adds further conflict to her aspirations. When her employer kidnaps additional Africans for his new heinous acts, she begins to question her life's choices. There's adventure, mystery and romance in the story and yet it explores the history of marginalized groups in Victorian England. Highly entertaining, this book also had surprises and gave me food for thought days after I finished it.