I haven't read much Historical Fiction and it did take me a little while to get into this book. I fell in love with the characters and I loved how we saw the story from multiple perspectives, really giving me an insight into the brothers' relationship and what motivated Jasper.

I loved being engulfed in this world and I loved the way this world was crafted so I could really feel as if I was there.

I gave this book a 4 star as I did feel like there were some parallels with The Greatest Showman - and I know Barnum was referenced as he really paved the way for this sort of entertainment - however the fire that brought it all down at the end just niggled me for this reason. I would also have liked to seen more moments between Pearl and Nell - as although I became attached to Nell, I didn't really feel anything towards Pearl.

I really loved this. I liked the historical setting of the circus - I thought the writing style was beautiful and the description was vivid and colourful which really brought the circus to life for me. I also enjoyed the discussion of other famous circuses and acts all of which are historically accurate - this really added to the story for me. It is fairly slow paced, and so although quite a lot happens it does feel more character driven than plot driven - which is not a problem for me at all! There is also a slight element of mystery involved, and I always love a bit of mystery in pretty much any genre. The three main characters who we hear from in the book are very real and three dimensional. They all have flaws and say and do things that they probably shouldn't, but are still likeable (at least the two that we are supposed to like!) So all in all, a really enjoyable read for me, and one I would recommend to people who enjoy slower paced historical fiction which is beautifully written.

Firstly, I am still on cloud 9 from being accepted to read this book! The doll factory was my favourite read of last year so when I saw Elizabeth’s new book was up to request I was very excited. Then I was accepted!

It did not disappoint! It had the same eerie, gothic and historical feel to it. Strange characters that you oddly loved, romance, mystery and something ‘different’.

I really liked Nellie, she was a character that you instantly wanted to protect even though she was such a strong female role! In fact all the women in the book were very strong and it gave off a sense of women empowerment!

I loved the storyline, it had a feel of the greatest showman to it and that is my all time favourite film! So this book was perfect! I liked how each part would have a quote from a showman. It made the book almost feel a real story.

The pace was great as it kept you engaged throughout. The story was told through each characters perspective and it worked really well, I liked seeing just how different each character were and how each character perceived something similar or so differently.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I would highly recommend others to read. Particularly if they like the historical, gothic type books.

Thank you so much NetGalley, pan Macmillan and Elizabeth for this amazing opportunity!

This book is a must read. When the main characters, brothers Jasper and Toby, were young, they dreamt of owning a circus. This eventually comes to fruition, after a spell in the Crimea War which left Toby with some painful memories, Jasper, as the more confident and ambitious brother, is the ring master and leads his troupe with fear. Toby, quieter and more submissive works hard to help run the circus, but always in his brother’s shadow. Jasper is continually searching for the best act for his circus and will buy exotic creatures from around the world as well as human ‘freaks of nature.’ Most of the people obtains are outcasts, objects of ridicule and mockery in the world outside the circus. However, when they become a member of the troupe, they become accepted and are able to be themselves, without fear of shame or humiliation. Jasper drives on with his quest to create the most fantastic circus and borrows a large sum of money with the threat of death if unpaid. Even through Jasper have achieved a fantastic show, he is still unfulfilled and drawing on similar ideas to Frankenstein, he engineers a whole new act. This however, is not a successful as he imagined and dire consequences follow.
A very engaging book which I would recommend.

I loved this novel so much! Macneal writes wonderfully and whilst reading I felt like I was in Victorian England, she manages to include a lot of rich detail without it becoming tedious.

The storyline was intriguing, with events happening in the present closely entwined with an account of a suspicious death and I enjoyed how they ran parallel to each other. The characters of Nell and Toby were my favourties however I also found Jasper a fascinating character to follow.

There were various themes, feminism being one of them however it was subtle and done in a manner that was almost unnoticeable - I prefer this to being bashed over the head with it.

A really enjoyable read, I'll be recommending to several of my friends.

Circus of Wonders is historical fiction at its best. The main characters are fictitious but they live in a very definite time and place, Queen Victoria's London, where money is to be made by the unscrupulous by parading those who are in any way different as freaks, abnormalities and objects rather than people. Nell, born with birth marks covering her body into a poor rural family, is thrown into this world,when her drunken father sells her to the showman Jasper Jupiter. Jupiter transforms Nell into Nellie Moon, a flying artist. While at first desperate to go home Nellie soon realises that her life in the circus is more comfortable for her than at home where she was shunned and hidden for her difference. This is not only Nell's story however. It is also the story of Jasper and his brother Toby, the former the swaggering circus owner and the latter his shy younger brother, forever in Jasper's shadow. The narrative switches between the circus world and the Crimean War where Jasper was a soldier and Toby a war photographer. The power of story is a thread throughout the book, with Nell and Toby sharing fairy stories with each other but also with stories being created by showmen about their troupe, stories being told in photographs and also in press reports and stories being developed to hide secrets. Another strong theme in the book is relationships be they between siblings, lovers, friends or parent and child. The tensions and dilemmas raised in relationships are explored thoroughly - loyalty is never straightforward.
I loved this book, even more than Macneal's 'The Doll Factory' which was superb. The plot, the characters (major and minor), the settings were all really strongly developed. I will certainly re-read this book and will recommend to my book group and to friends.
Thank you to the publisher, via Net Galley, for providing me with a complimentary ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

Circus of Wonders is the story of two brothers haunted by the horrors of the Crimean War who set up a circus. It is also the story of a young girl ostracized from her village because of her birthmarks/leopard spots who finds somewhere she can be accepted when she joins the circus. Thrown into this mix is all the fun of the fair, the found family trope, betrayals, romance and even a cameo from Queen Victoria.
I enjoyed reading this. It was beautifully written and a very vivid depiction of entertainment during the 19th century. If you liked The Greatest Showman, you'll really like this! I will definitely be looking for more books by Elizabeth Macneal.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Having enjoyed the doll factory, and enjoyed the reading style, I was looking forward to reading this. The writing in this book is even better! Love it, highly recommend

❌DNF❌
#circusofwonders by #elizabethmacneal @panmacmillan @netgalley

So the greatest showman this book is not, but perhaps that’s an little unfair....

So I’ll start by saying it’s not a bad story; I’m 60% of the way through and have enjoyed getting to know the cast of characters and all the wonders of Jasper Jupiter’s Circus.

The story is a simple one and really didn’t light any fires for me but equally it is nice and interesting. I feel for people who enjoy a slow pace and a nice easy story will probably enjoy this one.

For me though, the plot just moved so slowly towards anything of substance that I really found it hard to keep my interest. Although I’m a big fan of historical fiction and books based around circus’s, this one has just missed the mark and I’m ready to move on to something else.

This has really excellent reviews elsewhere so don’t be too put off!

➡️for synopsis

Thanks to #netgalley and #panmacmillan for allowing me to read this one early.

-Emily

@the_book_girls_1

A worthy successor to The Doll Factory. I really enjoyed this, particularly having the same story told from different view points.

I found myself totally immersed in the life of the Victorian circus and all the people who worked so hard to make it a success. It has a feeling of magic about it, but also very gritty and real. A great read.

Let me start by saying this is a very mixed review - even as I post this I still haven’t made up my mind whether I enjoyed the book or not so I feel 3 stars is a reasonable rating.

What I liked:
• Macneal is a talented writer; her descriptions of the circus and her storytelling was a highlight; incredibly detailed but not overly so.
• A lot of research clearly went into this book, the outcome a very realistic and macabre Victorian world.
• Jasper’s characterisation was complex and powerful. I may not like the man but Macneal done an amazing job at portraying him!
• The foreboding was real and I really felt the tension build...

...which leads me to what I didn’t like:
• I was on tenterhooks waiting for the snap...which unfortunately didn’t come for a good long while. Honestly, the story seemed to lose its way a little.
• By the time we reached the climax, the plot felt flat and disappointing.
• I didn’t wholly connect with Nell, which is a shame considering she’s the protagonist.
• I love an epilogue but this ending wasn’t my cup of tea. I was content on one hand but disappointed at the final outcome.

Overall, I’m glad I read this book, it has some excellent qualities but there were some parts that felt lost to me.

If you enjoy circus-themed fiction, this is one for you!

The year is 1866 and Nell is working in a small coastal village picking violets. Protected by her brother because of her unusual appearance she is startled to find herself being watched by a strange man. The man comes from the travelling circus, pitched nearby and run by his brother, the magnificent Jasper Jupiter. Nell's drunken father takes the opportunity to sell Nell to the circus as a wonder.
Initially she feels betrayed by her family but she soon comes to settle into circus life and when Jasper makes her the star of his show she realises that she loves performing and revels in the delight of the crowd.
But all good things must come to an end and Jasper cannot stand to be upstaged by one of his performers which leads to the final scenes of the story.
I very much enjoyed this novel by Elizabeth Macneal. I have not read her previous books but have now added it to my tbr list. I particularly loved the attention to detail - the descriptions of the circus and Victorian London and the incredible fighting, complete with audience, in the Crimean War. The abysmal living conditions of the poor are constantly contrasted with those of the rich, even down to the differences it made on the battlefield.
Relationships form a central theme in this story: the bonds between the Jasper and his brother, Nell and her brother and Nell and the other women in the circus. Most of the characters shine when they are playing a part - Nell when she is on stage, Toby when his body has been painted, and Jasper when he stands in the circus ring. Underneath they are still vulnerable and open to the abuse and ridicule of others and it is only when Nell realises that although she is a star it is Jasper that still controls her that she finally manages to break free.
Compelling writing and story telling with the present tense giving it an immediacy. I very much enjoyed this and loved the attention to detail.

1866 and the world is a very different place to now. Nell lives in a small village with her father and brother, working on a flower farm. Nell is different, and the locals do not let her forget it. Despite her brother looking after her, Nell is still subjected to ridicule and taunts.

This story tells us what happened to Nell and how she became the toast of London, even presented before Queen Victoria, if only for a short time.

The subjects raised in the book are unbelievable in today’s society and do make difficult reading at times. The story is interesting, well written and certainly doesn’t shy away from the appalling treatment of “The Wonders”.

I do feel the book was too long and certain aspects of the story, such as the initial meeting between Nell and Toby, a little contrived.

A worthy 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley.

Circus of Wonders is the second novel by Elizabeth MacNeal, and is set in the Victorian time period in the same way her first novel, The Doll Factory was.

In the Circus of Wonders we meet Nell, a woman who works picking flowers in a small provincial village in England. Nell is an outcast because of the unusual birth marks that speckle her skin, even her own father treats her with suspicion and thinks she may bring bad luck.

Then Jasper Jupiter's Circus of Wonders arrives in Nell's village and changes her life forever.

The book is set in the heyday of travelling circuses, Barnum was world famous at this point, along with names like Tom Thumb and the conjoined twins Chang and Eng. The circus was a very different attraction to the one we know now, with clowns, jugglers and trapeze artists. In Victorian times unusual people were just as likely to form part of the attraction as animals or clowns. The "freakshow" was just as big a money spinner as the sight of an elephant or lion. And Nell with her unusual skin is a prime candidate to appear in such a show.

Jasper Jupiter adds Nell to his show (not that she gets much choice) and sees her as the attraction which will make his fortune, get him off the provincial circuit and into London where there is money to be made. Jasper is a former soldier who fought in the Crimean War, and he rules his circus with a rod of iron, not sparing the whip for anyone who doesn't meet his high expectations.

Alongside Jasper is Toby, his younger brother, who also went to the Crimea but as a camera operator with the specific mission of taking patriotic photographs for the newspapers back in England, an early form of propaganda, to show the people that the war was going well. Both Toby and Jasper are carrying a shared secret from their time in Crimea which clearly weighs heavily upon them both.

Slowly Nell adjusts to life amid the circus folk and begins to enjoy working there. It's clear that she has a form of freedom in the circus that she could never have aspired to in her old life, and being amid the other show people is a relief for her, she is no longer the odd one out and she cannot imagine returning to her old life. Nell’s act of flying beneath a balloon, attached by ropes, while wearing wings of iron has a real Icarus feel to it, with its foreshadowing of doom.
Jasper Jupiter however is slowly being consumed by his own ambition, and as adulation piles up at Nell's door he is frustrated with the lack of recognition for himself, which he feels he rightly deserves and his increasingly frantic attempts to go bigger than any circus before lead to a further life altering event for all those at the circus.

One of the things I really loved about the book was the way Macneal highlights the competition between circus owners, all lining up to get the next big thing into their tent to bring the crowds. The show people are treated as assets, that can be bought and sold at will as their value goes up or down. Even babies and young children are not immune from this, as we see when Jasper "buys" Pearl, a young albino girl. She is just a chattel in his hands, the same as his lion or elephant.

Macneal injects real historical drama into the book with mentions of genuine Victorian show people, such as Sarah Baartman, the Hottentot Venus and Charles Bryne, the giant, who wished for his body to buried at sea to avoid dissection, but was thwarted in his wish by John Hunter who put Bryne's bones on display at the Hunterian Museum. As a side note, Byrne's bones remain at the museum, though no longer on display and it is only recently that calls have been made for his remains to receive a proper burial, though this has still not happened. The treatment of the show people at Jasper Jupiter’s is sadly therefore very much rooted in reality, as the sad lives of the real circus people illustrate.

I really enjoyed the book, it felt like a real insight into the lives of the people behind the Victorian circus and how the attitudes of the time made such a spectacle possible. Nell’s story is compelling and the plot moves along at an enjoyable pace. The historical detail is interwoven neatly into the story adding an additional facet to the book. I would highly recommend for fans of historical fiction.

I adored this book. Elizabeth Macneal is an extremely gifted writer and this feels like a natural successor to The Doll Factory. Her use of revolving narrators works well throughout and I personally connected with the idea of "difference" in this novel a great deal.

What a brilliant book! I was a big fan of The Doll Factory but Circus of Wonders is even more captivating. I felt I had run away to Jasper Jupiter’s circus, the descriptions are so clear and at times raw. Jasper’s ambition leads him into terrible situations and this makes for a very exciting read. I enjoyed the story of Jasper, his loyal brother Toby, and talented Nell, whose father sells her to the circus. I loved the Victorian setting and felt immersed in it, thanks to Elizabeth Macneal’s powerful storytelling. A great read!

The Introduction sets us in the circus and also introduces us to Nell, a girl with a spotted skin discoloration. She and her brother go to the circus, like any normal children, and try to ignore the comments that people make about Nell's skin.

Soon after, Toby, the circus owner's brother, comes across Nell and develops a fascination for her.

I had mixed feelings about this one early on. I love circus stories! But I detest whole novels written in present tense and strongly believe it should only be used in small doses like Dickens used to do in the occasional chapter.

Nell's first meeting with Toby didn't really ring true with me and I found the characters rather cardboard. The present tense writing kept the plot from drawing me in and it never really attained the atmosphere of the magic of the circus that I'd hoped for. I also found the ending rather flat.

4.5 Stars in total, many thanks to Netgalley & Pan Macmillan for the chance to read this before publication, thoroughly enjoyable read, immersing you in the Victorian period it's a delightful story that will keep you reading long into the night. The book is full of colourful characters, each with a unique story. Highly recommended!

A worthwhile read that highlights some significant social issues and attitudes of the time.

Rating: 2.5/5

I find myself caught very much in two minds on this one. As I pen this review I am still deciding whether this should sit as an upper end 2-star rating or a lower end 3-star. (I will have convinced myself one way or the other by the time I reach the end!)

The story is set in Victorian England and revolves around three central characters: Jasper is the eponymous circus showman and owner of Jasper Jupiter's Circus of Wonders; his brother Toby, who is more physically imposing, but lacks Jasper's entrepreneurial flare and extrovert charm; and Nell, a young woman from a small village who feels ostracized from her local community as a result of the extensive birthmarks on her skin.

The relationship between the two brothers is not always an easy one and there are elements in their shared history, both from childhood and from their time fighting in the Crimean War that feed into this tension. When Nell is purchased from her father by Jasper to become part of his circus, the strain on the relationship between the brothers is also increased.

Elizabeth Macneal is a gifted writer and her descriptive writing can be extremely evocative. "Circus of Wonders" transports the reader back to a period when society and attitudes were very different to those of the 21st century. The author paints a vivid picture of that time and of the world of the travelling circus within it. Anyone who has seen the movie "The Greatest Showman" will make an immediate read-across and, indeed, P.T. Barnum is referenced several times in this novel, along with other contemporaries.

In spite of this, I still found aspects of the novel disappointing. Although the story is set in the Victorian era I felt that the book failed to emulate certain dramatic elements that were such an integral part of much of Victorian literature. Many of the notable wordsmiths of the time had their work serialised. In the absence of television, their stories really were the serial dramas of their day. In order to keep readers coming back for the next instalment the writers needed to entice them with a cliffhanger at the end of each episode. Once collated into the format of a novel these undulations of expectancy were still evident. I feel that "Circus of Wonders" could have benefitted from a similar approach, as plot developments did feel a little flat at times.

Overall, it is certainly a worthwhile read and highlights some significant social issues and attitudes of the time.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

It’s May 1866 and Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders, full of living curiosities, comes to the coastal resort where Nell lives. Nell grows miniature flowers to sell in London and is regarded by locals as a ‘freak’ because of her prominent birthmarks. Nell’s father sells her to Jasper for £20 betraying her, giving her no choice and exerting his power and control over her. What follows is a captivating tale, full of atmospheric magic and mystery. The story is told by Nell. Jasper and Toby, Jasper’s brother.

This is a mesmerising read that immerses you in the circus world of the late nineteenth century and interweaves the narrative effortlessly with the Crimean War where Jasper serves as a soldier and Toby photographs. The sections in the war, especially at Sevastopol show the horrors of this war and are very dark with Toby in particular deeply affected by it and riddled with guilt. The colourful circus storytelling provides a stark contrast to the war although there are some similarities of the emotions felt. The quality of the writing is exceptional, you feel the characters emotions, see the sights, sounds and smells of both circus and war which comes to life before your eyes. It feels like a fantasy in places which is reinforced via references to fairytales. The characterisation is excellent, Jasper is powerful, in control, his temper can be terrible, he has a voracious appetite for success and as a consequence overreaches. Toby lives in his shadow but shows on occasions demonstrates that he has far more potential than he has self belief. Nell transforms through the circus, she’s fulfilled, she realises she has potential, the life is exhilarating and exciting and she finds strong friendship from Stella, the bearded lady, as well as Toby. There are occasions where it becomes very tense as you wonder where Jaspers ambition will go next and the story builds and builds to a crescendo where it will go one of two ways. There is so much you could comment on in this book as it contains so much from love to jealousy and hate, guilt and sadness and strong fraternal bonds. The end feels right, it touches your heart and fits the narrative.

Overall, this is a wonderful book. I love the colour of the circus, the complexity of the characters and the beauty of the writing which at times feels lyrical. It’s a fantastical tale which captivates and dazzles like the circus itself.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Pan McMillan, Picador for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.