Published By: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 336
Released On: 01/05/2025
1910. With the disappearance of her mother and the sudden death of her father, Lena instantly loses any security she has within the circus she has known all her life. She is advised to sell the carousel her father cared for like a child and look for a husband, or a job in a factory.
Until flame-haired Violet, known to all in the fairgrounds as ‘the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived’, suggests they go it alone with their own, all-female act. With her outspoken ways and her refusal to marry, Violet is as much an outcast as Lena. What do they have to lose? Recruiting new performers including bareback horse-rider Rosie, on the run from her abusive father, and Carmen whose rainbow ribbons hide the darkness in her past, the four women form an unbreakable bond.
Thrust into a harsh and dangerous world that treats them with suspicion, disdain and even violence, they must forge their own path in search of freedom, security, and love.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I have wanted to read this book ever since I first heard about it and so was thrilled to receive an early digital copy. I’m not going to lie, I did think this was a non-fiction book beforehand, and I do kind of wish she also writes a non-fiction book based on women circus acts.
I don’t like the circus as a general rule, I’ve never really understood the appeal, and yet I seem to keep being drawn to novels about them.
This is the very definition of female empowerment in a time where men ruled. But it’s not just for tick box exercises – this is true feminism and it’s done in such a great way without it sounded forced.
From the synopsis, I thought this was Violet’s story, but for me it’s actually Lena’s. Emma has created some interesting characters that show a whole spectrum of women in the 1900s.
I don’t know much about circuses and fairgrounds and whatnot, but I’ve learnt so much through books like this one and William Hussey’s Jericho series. It’s a more fascinating world than I thought it would be.
I will say that I found it a bit slow to get going. I understand you need to build the story and the characters but I did fine the first few chapters a little slow. It didn’t thrill me right from the off. Not to say it wasn’t good because it was, but I felt my attention going somewhere else at times. But once it hits the fan, it’s very full on, and I’d have preferred if some of that had been spread out a little more through the rest of the book instead of relying on the sections towards the end.
I believe this is Emma’s debut and I think it’s a very promising debut. There were some pacing issues which meant the first half didn’t really hold my attention as much as the second. But the characters are well created and developed, the relationships were strong, and the historical aspect seemed on-point. Very enjoyable storytelling.
Books By Your Bedside 