I'm not normally a reader of historical fiction such as "Circus of Wonders", although I had read the author's previous book, "The Doll Factory" and thoroughly enjoyed that. I have to say that I think this one was even better and may convert me to this genre. Elizabeth Macneal transports you to Victorian England and the world of circus curios so completely that you become totally immersed in the atmosphere of those times. It was a beautifully written book and I loved it, although I found the ending a little less satisfactory than I would have liked. Highly recommended.

This is the story of Nell, a young girl covered in birth marks, whose father thinks that she is a bad omen and sells her to the circus as a living curiosity. It is a beautifully written book, which is skilfully crafted to allow the reader to experience the sights, sounds and smells of Nell’s life. However, it is more than just a book about a ‘curiosity’, it is a book about love, heartbreak, jealousy, ambition, the strength of friendship and what it is to be different.

Nell is a wonderful character, who overcomes adversity and uses her difference to make a life for herself. I admired her courage and her confidence, although like most of us the bravado hides the sadness difference can bring. As the mother of a disabled child, I could empathise which her desire to shirk from the all to familiar stares, but was delighted that she learned to use that difference to create a world for herself. However, it was still tinged with a sadness that it was as a curiosity and not because of her skill, grace and beauty.

Elizabeth MacNeal writes beautifully, she evokes a sense of place and time, and her books are a delight to read. They are also a feast for your senses and I felt that I was also sitting in the front row of the circus, amongst the sounds, sights and smells.

Her characters are a joy, the women in particular are strong and courageous, despite the struggle they face every day because of their appearance. It reminds the reader that appearance is only skin deep and that what is inside a person is far more important.

The book also looks at the destructive nature of ambition and how it can destroy lives. It looks at how people can, and sadly still are, treated as commodities, and that money does not buy you humanity, good taste or kindness.

I really loved this book, and I was genuinely sad when it ended, Nell is a wonderful character, and whilst there is hope and success, there is also tragedy and it was able to make me feel both joy and sadness.

Thank you to PanMacmillan and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Set in 1866, this is the story of Nell, a girl covered in birthmarks and two brothers, Jasper and Toby. The story is told through the shifting perspectives of each of the three characters. Nell is sold by her father to Jasper for display in his circus. Having spent all her life hiding away from people, Nell finds her new life very liberating. Nell begins a relationship with Toby but this and her growing success causes tension with Jasper. Set against Nell's personal journey is the slowly revealed story of Jasper and Toby's experiences in the Crimean War. There is an underlying sense of threat as the characters lives seem poised on a knife edge.
This is a story of belonging, difference and acceptance. It is also about love and connection. Beautifully written, the hardships of the historical period are vividly brought to life. As the characters try to frame a new narrative for their lives the story becomes more and more poignant.
A well-crafted and emotional read.

Elizabeth Macneal’s descriptive prose instantly transports the readers to Victorian England. I could clearly visualise the colours, the sounds and the smells of circus life. I enjoyed the three different perspectives from Nell, Jasper and Toby as it gave an interesting insight into each character's personality. Nell is a really likeable, relatable protagonist and I really enjoyed watching her confidence grow.

I loved escaping into a world of mystery and intrigue and felt disappointed to finish the book, despite what I felt was a satisfying ending.

You can find my full review at https://mmbbookblog.com/the-circus-of-wonders-review-elizabeth-macneal/

This was an immersive and captivating tale of a Victorian circus and the lives of those living in it, with a lingering eerie sort of atmosphere.

"She's a bad omen, and I said it the day she was born."

When Nell's father sells her to the circus, she realises this could be a chance to take control of her life. She can be powerful, "the eighth wonder of the world" instead of the village freak with the birth marks speckled across her body. I won't attempt to rehash the summary more than that - for once I think the description given with this book does the story justice!

"A life of being both intensely visible and unseen."

There are powerful themes woven throughout Circus of Wonders: the fascination and disgust directed towards those who are different and viewed as "ugly", the desperate need to belong and be loved, the desire for recognition and power above all else, and the realisation that love alone is not enough.

There is no magical realism or fantasy in this book, and yet the writing brought the feel of it anyway. It was the same wonder and magic I imagine the audience of the circus might have felt. It's a testament to the writing that this feeling persisted despite the book peeling back the circus curtain and showing the dirt, cruelty, and sweat behind the scenes.

I deeply appreciated that whilst the society within this book treated the circus people with fascination, disgust, and even fear (accurate to the era in which it is set), the tone of the book itself did not. Instead Elizabeth Macneal gave us real, flawed, and complex characters. They came alive reading this, and I almost forgot that they weren't actual people. There were people I despised but understood, as well as those who weren't good people but I liked anyway - there was rarely a dichotomy between good and bad: the lines were blurred.

I really loved reading this book, and it is just shy of 5 stars because for some reason that I cannot place, I didn't finish it and go "wow".

*Thanks to netgalley and picador for a free eARC in exchange for this honest review.

Out May 13th, 2021.

Not having read ‘The Doll’s House’ – it is on my shelf and I will do so now immediately, I didn’t realise what a treat was in store by reading ‘Circus of Wonders’.
A magical book, at the heart of which, Nell, born with skin covered in birthmarks is sold by her father and ends up performing at a circus run by Jasper Jupiter and his brother Toby.
We are given an engaging look at both the wonders of the circus and its dark underbelly and this is reflected in Toby’s account of his exploits at the Crimea, where battles were often watched by spectators. The viewers’ appetites for watching macabre things in this period is beautifully drawn by Macneal.
My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a review copy of this excellent book.

If you loved Elizabeth Macneal’s debut, The Doll Factory, which I did, you will absolutely adore this utterly captivating, meticulously researched second book which I think is even better.
Richly detailed, it’s the tale of Nell, a young woman whose skin is peppered with birth marks, living in a coastal village and ostracised by the villagers because of her ‘difference’.
When her father sells her to a travelling circus, the series of events which follow and the sheer skill of Elizabeth Macneal’s storytelling, (not one word is superfluous to the narrative) keeps the reader enthralled to the very last page. This is a powerful novel and the author certainly doesn’t shy away from including the squalor of life in Victorian England or the horrors of the Crimea war. The author draws a particularly interesting parallel between onlookers watching a battle unfold on the field of war and the spectators watching the circus acts.
Every character, as well as the three main ones, Nell, Jasper and Toby, is fully imagined and so carefully drawn, they feel immensely real and will linger in this reader’s mind long after reading.
If I could give this book more than five stars, I would. It really is one of the best books I have ever read and I feel truly privileged to have been given the opportunity to read it before publication.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC, this is my honest review.

I loved this novel which had that rare power of completely transporting me into the 19th century and into Nell’s life. I read this in one sitting barely coming up for breath as I raced through it. Elizabeth Macneal is so skilful in every way, her ability to set the physical scene from the battles at Balaklava to a British coastal beach with a boulder for diving off, to London’s pleasure gardens all of them totally three dimensional and as vivid as a modern day photograph. Though having mentioned photographs, I could see all of Toby’s in my minds eye too. Into these wonderful scenes, teeming with life and activity she places these incredible characters, Nell a 19th century feminist in the making, gentle Toby with his secret garden, and the desperate, visionary and eventually unhinged Jasper.
I loved watching Nell grow as a person but the ending wasn’t what I hoped for, and good because real life isn’t about giving other people the ending they want. Nell got the ending she wanted and that is just right.
The epilogue was heartbreaking but also heartwarming; I laughed out loud when I read what Pearl’s act was!
This is a story about family and what those familial ties mean and whether your family is who you are related to by blood or who you choose. It is a story of love and the power of love to inspire, encourage, support and to wound sometimes deeply. It is also the story of power, who has it, how they wield it and what the results of that power has on the lives of other people.
I have the authors other novel on my Kindle so excuse me while I go and immerse myself in that one!

I loved Elizabeth Macneal’s first novel and boy do I love,love,love this one too! Once again this author has me hooked by the characters and the evocative nature of her descriptions of the circus and the era. Another five star novel.

Another success for Elizabeth Macneal!
We meet Nell, a young woman with birth marks dotting her skin, who is searching for her purpose in life in a small village. Ridiculed and treated like an abomination. she feels as though she will never fit in with those around her.
Joining Jasper Jupiter's circus (though not by choice) allows her to forge friendships and bonds with those who are also considered 'wonders'.
The circus itself is so captivating that I felt as if I was there, watching Nell, Stella and Brunette as they preformed to a dazzled crowd.
A heart-breaking, moving and beautiful tale of what it means to truly belong.
(Giving this novel 4* simply because Macneal's previous novel 'The Doll Factory' totally entranced me and I felt this book fell ever so slightly short of that!)

A very engaging read with some great characters, kept me turning the pages to see what happens to Nell. Two brothers who fought in the Crimea, dream of owning a circus together. When they realise their dream, things start to turn sour when a young woman called Nell, covered in birthmarks which mark her as different joins the band of "freaks" who work in the circus. Sadly I found the ending slightly disappointing as it felt rather rushed. But the great writing and fascinating story were compensation.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review.

I’m a huge fan of The Doll Factory and was so excited to get an advanced copy of this book. I was not disappointed- I loved Circus of Wonders!

Nell, a girl speckled with birthmarks, is taken from her village by Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders after being sold to him by her father. She (and we) are immersed into the macabre world of the Victorian public’s obsession with freaks and curiosities brought to life by wonderfully descriptive prose. Her journey to accepting who she is, is intertwined with those of Jasper and his brother Toby. Jasper sees Nell as his ticket to fame and fortune, to being bigger than PT Barnam. But will his greed lead to his downfall? And Toby, his gentle, quiet brother by Jasper’s side since they were children but is there a secret between the two brothers?

A story of power, obsession and truth with a troupe of curious and complex characters. I couldn’t put this down!

This book was absolutely amazing and so incredibly researched, Elizabeth Macneal has done it again. First the Doll Factory and now The Circus of Wonders, I love this type of historical fiction!
A story how fame and fortune isn’t everything and how looks shouldn’t rule how people view others. Such an incredible plot with so many modern takes on the historical situations. Telling many different stories in one book takes some doing, but Elizabeth Macneal seems to do it effortlessly.

If you get a chance to purchase a copy of this book when it is released, please do as it is absolutely stunningly written!

Elizabeth Macneal's 'The Doll Factory' has been on my wish list for a while and after reading this novel, I'm going to get a copy as soon as I can. This was such a moving and enjoyable read even though the subject matter is one that can be quite difficult. We are taken to the world of the Victorian circus where the appetite was for 'freaks of nature'. A world where those who were 'different' were bought and sold and became commodities to be displayed to the general public and even Queen Victoria herself. This is something that fills us with revulsion today. However, the author does not allow us to view the circus performers that we meet as victims, as objects. She gives us real people with their own stories and she allows us to understand the fine line between being owned and exploited by the circus owner and them finding that they have a purpose and a self worth.

The novel is about Nell, a young flower-picker who was born with birthmarks covering her body. She works in the heat of the fields with every inch of her skin covered, she does not want to draw attention to herself. You get the impression that the other villagers only half accept her and her brother, Charlie, is always there to protect and shield her, a relationship which does not allow her to be herself. When Jasper Jupiter's Circus of Wonders comes to the village, Nell's father seizes the opportunity to sell his daughter and she is taken away to become one of Jasper's performers.

The story is told through the voice of Nell, the circus owner, Jasper Jupiter and Toby, who is Jasper's brother. As we read each chapter we learn about Nell's feelings, her growing confidence, her hopes. We also learn about the relationship between Jasper and Toby and their experiences in the Crimean War. We are taken from the circus back to the Crimean war and the author combines these two periods beautifully to reveal the truth about fact and fiction, stories and lies, truth and secrets. She also makes us compare the relationship between Nell and her brother to the relationship between Jasper and Toby.

There is so much more I could say but I don't want to give too much away. The ending? It is satisfying, it is the right one and your heart swells even if you have a tear in your eye. I absolutely loved it.

I haven't read The Doll Factory but I will now
I thought this book was incredible. Set in Victorian England Nell is sold by her father to a passing circus as a freak. The author didn't pull her punches over this and we really get a strong sense of Nell's outrage and bewilderment. I immediately connected with Nell as a character and was rooting for her the whole way through. I loved Stella too-so much wisdom and insight. This book did challenge my perceptions of circuses especially of this era.
Absolutely well worth a read, a unique and inciteful read. Very well written and skilfully crafted believable characters. A tour de force

Victorian life on the margins: Crimean War veterans and other outcasts

Elizabeth Macneal’s Circus of Wonders is a perfect read for the bleak sameness of another lockdown, immediately immersing the reader into a crowded, bustling world full of close encounters in another world entirely – a very real one (this is not magic realism) though it deals with manufactured illusion.

This wonderful book centres on the stories of three central characters, though others are also woven within. The phenomenon of the freak show (like Barnum and Bailey’s) is a growing business opportunity, and also one which can offer employment to those outcast from society because of physical difference.

Jasper and Toby are brothers, close but dissimilar. Jasper is full of drive, an adventurer, an entrepreneur, charismatic, imaginative, domineering. A man who lives in the centre, with the magnetism to pull people into his dynamic orbit. Toby is slower, introspective, emotionally tender, and a watcher of others, rather than one who grabs life and diverts it to serve his own desires.

Back from the darkness of the Crimean War, Jasper has created his ‘Circus of Wonders’. A travelling circus, with Victorian ‘freaks’ – a giant, a dwarf, a bearded lady, wild animals, he is always on the look out for other ‘freaks’ to add to his troupe, to construct their freakery into crowd pulling presentations. Toby is the stage manager/carpenter/gofer responsible for day to day management, who photographs the acts, creating merchandise.

The central character round whom the main dramatic arc of the story revolves, is Nell, a young woman with a skin disorder, spotted like a leopard. She lives in poverty, and is a flower picker, in a village whose major source of employment is the creation of floral bouquets. Nell is a wonderful creation, an outcast, a source of shame and the butt of cruelty, because of her appearance, she is both someone who wishes to be unseen, yet has yearnings for wider horizons, and more intelligence, creativity and spark than others see

When the travelling circus comes to town, offering a brief enchantment to the locals, these lives dramatically collide

Characters, narrative, atmosphere and rich writing beautifully mesh. I was gripped by this, from first to last. And must particularly mention, without spoilers, that last. It was stunningly done, complex and satisfying on so many levels

I was interested to read that as well as being an author, Macneal is also a potter. This makes sense in her writing – there is a real pleasure in physicality, in how things work, practically, how objects are put together and made. The rooting in physical reality is what makes this such a three dimensional read

I somehow missed getting Macneal’s first, The Doll Factory, because it was compared to another writer of this kind of historical fiction, whose work I thought oversold, so thought Maclean might be similar. Not at all! I have now bought her first

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital arc of Macneal’s Book of Wonders!

This is Elizabeth Macneal’s second novel and after The Doll Factory I knew I had found a new favourite author and I would want to read everything she published.

This book covers some similar themes to The Doll Factory but revolves around Nell who is living in a small village and has a condition where she has birth marks on her skin which make her an outsider among the villagers and within her own family. She becomes part of Jasper Jupiter’s circus and finds fame there and the possibility of a new life, however there are secrets and mysteries here too and is this circus life all Nell wants it to be?

This is more accomplished than The Doll Factory, Macneal’s writing is brilliant but this has a slower start and a bigger build up and is less of a thriller. Macneal is not afraid to show the true horrors of life in the Nineteenth century, the dirt, poverty, illness, death and this grounds the novel very well. The characterisation is also brilliant and the mysteries and secrets are slowly revealed to the reader and the characters definitely feel real. As with The Doll Factory Macneal excels at writing morally ambiguous characters, Jasper in this novel and Silas in The Doll Factory, this shows great skill and are the best parts to read. The drama is also built very well and is exciting to read.

I love most the exploration of the various themes of the novel: Nell wanting to change her life and the circus being somewhere she can be recognised for her performing skill rather than simply victimised and laughed at, however she is owned by Jasper and he makes money from her. The subject matter of freak shows and disfigurement are well handled and both sides are shown with Nell and Stella wanting to perform and seeing power in this but Brunette wanting to live a normal life and not be on show. The circus is glamorous on the outside but the reality is different with use of deceit and costumes and fake back stories for the performers and this is a brilliant mirror for the Crimean War aspect of the story where Toby is taking propaganda photos to show the war in a more positive light which departs from the reality. Then there is the general theme of stories, who tells our story and who has the right to? Macneal really makes the reader feel for all of the characters and how they have been shaped by their lives, pasts and dreams for the future. The sibling relationship in this novel is also done very well and is another thing Macneal excels at with the connection between Toby and Jasper and their childhoods and all they have done together.

I had a few small issues with the novel, I much preferred this ending to the one in The Doll Factory, this was more nuanced, however I felt like the end and this was signalled from quite a way off which detracts from the drama of the end because I was expecting the ending and found it a bit of a let down, also I found the romance to be a bit of a plot device in that it was needed for tension between the brothers but I did not find it believable it seems like convenience and that he was really the only love interest there and it was a bit instant attraction which I don’t really like.

I would highly recommended this book, the writing is brilliant and Macneal has created an unforgettable setting and characters.

Set in 1860s England and the battle camps of the Crimea ,the story begins with Nell-a girl from a small coastal village born with visible birthmarks for which she is ostracised. That is, until the Circus Stops by and Nell’s father sells her to the Circus’ Owner and Ringmaster,Jasper Jupiter.

Nell feels betrayed and uncertain in this new life but, soon befriends the other performers and Toby,Jaspers’ brother. As Nell’s fortunes rise with her confidence and budding relationship with Toby, Jasper’s own starts to crumble.

Following the Perspectives of Nell,Jasper and Toby; Elizabeth Macneal expertly tackles the topics of exploitation,control, jealousy and greed whilst weaving a tale of love,Survival and ultimately hope.

The prose is so vividly descriptive and well researched-I’d say this was a more realistic look at the lives of Circus Performers of the era than I’ve seen elsewhere in fiction and Media.

This is the first book from Macneal that I’ve read,but I know it’ll definitely not be the last. I’d recommend to fans of the Night Circus or historical fiction, your guaranteed to be gripped from the first page to the last.

And also wanted to say a massive thank you to Net Galley for this ARC.

Totally engrossing! I was completely immersed in the world of Victorian England and Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders. Jasper fancies himself as the English equivalent of Barnum, and is driven to discover new wonders to make him the most famous showman, no matter what it takes. A new wonder, Nell, who has skin patterned by birth marks is his newest and greatest discovery and she is sold to him by her father. Jasper’s brother ,Toby is drawn to Nell as is his brother. Who will she choose? What is the dark secret the two brothers share?
I didn’t want this book to end and read it in a few days, resenting the necessary interruptions to my reading! The descriptions are very evocative. I found it a fascinating depiction of circus life in these times and a gripping story. Thoroughly recommended. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me access to an ARC in return for an honest review.

I was a huge fan of Macneals first book, The Doll Factory, so I was really excited to read this. This is the story of Nell, a young woman covered in birthmarks who is shunned by many of the locals in her small village. But she is sold by her father to a travelling circus that specialises in human curiosities. Run by Jasper with his brother Toby, the Circus gives Nell comfort and acceptance. But Jaspers overwhelming greed and ambition drives the circus into dangerous territory and Jasper sees his troupe as little more than profit makers. Meanwhile Nell grows in confidence as she finally feels accepted for who she is.

Vivid, atmospheric and a brilliant heroine, I loved it.