I was offered this book as an ARC via NetGalley and found it to be an engaging read. The main protagonist was well rounded and Lianne Dillsworth dealt well with the challenge of tackling the issues of identity and self-acceptance.

I love historic novels and this was glorious. fabulous descriptions that took you back in time and a fabulous storyline which had me staying up too late.

I wanted nothing more than to fall in to this book and to adore it.

Sadly, I found the writing style very hard to read and this made me uncomfortable
Sometimes the book felt as though I were reading something aimed at the YA market and then it would completely change.

‘𝐆𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡? 𝐍𝐨, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞. 𝐀𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐞𝐡? 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲- 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.’

As someone who works in theatre, I was blown away by this book - its always a pleasure reading books based on the theatre. Zillah is a proud, strong, independent Black woman, born free and growing up in the slums of Victorian London.
Zillah wants more from life, and when the opportunity to step out with a Viscount offers her the escape she is looking for, she takes it.

This book explores themes of race and class while provoking the reader to think critically of the Victorian practices of treating people who are other as animals. It will break your heart to read some of the treatments that characters like the Leopard Woman faced. It is a story that is filled with the glamour and spectacle of the theatre while showcasing the horrors that lie beneath.

‘𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞.’

I retceived an ARC of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful for the opportunity.

Zilla ia a young woman of mixed race trying to make her way in life without ever being a servant to anyone. AT this time she is employed by Crillick's theatre as an "Amazonian".

I found this book very hard going. I could not like Zillah nor any of the other characters. In fact I will struggle to remember their names in a few days. Essentailly Zillah becomes involved in freeing "freaks" of nature that Crillick is using to create his "theatre". The author fails to build a believable storyline the planning and carrying out of this daring rescue taking only overnight to achieve once their location had been established. It all seemed much too easy and so didn't really fire my imagination. I cannot say i would be looking to read more by this author

Theatre of Marvels is a beautiful and immersive exploration of class and race with a Victorian theatre back drop that wholly catches the readers imagination.

This one was a lovely read. I really enjoyed reading this one. I just love this kind of books.
4 stars read for me

⭐️ 4 ⭐️

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC, in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I occasionally like to dip my toe into historical fiction and thoroughly enjoyed my gritty journey back in time to Victorian London.

Beautifully written by Lianne Dillsworth, the detailed, well-described setting provides the perfect atmospheric backdrop to a gripping, entertaining read.

Zillah is a likeable, relatable protagonist and I loved watching her character develop as the story progressed; I totally rooted for her from beginning to end. Her supporting cast are a mixed bunch, mostly downright detestable.

Theatre of Marvels is a poignant, thought-provoking read and a fabulous debut novel.

Featuring a defiant heroine for our times and a theatrical world of fragile dreams and ruthless ambition, THEATRE OF MARVELS shines a light on the experience of being Black and British in Victorian London through one woman's journey to live her life on her own terms.

Tell it like it is
Loved Zilah and her straight talking, not too many descriptions just feelings, happenings and honesty.
Zilah is an orphan, her colour is her ticket to fame, acting as an Amazon in the theatre, she is in fact from the London slums, her Mother was a slave.
She realises that she is untrue to her heritage when she discovers various coloured and strange people being taken advantage of her manager .
Her lover is a Viscount who she sees as a way out of the theatre and poverty.
This novel rolls along at an exciting pace, showing the dark side of some people and the morality of others.
Thank you Lianne and NetGalley

Set in Victorian London, this is the story of Zillah, a mixed race woman who appears on stage as Amazonia, a tribal woman from Africa. Neither black nor white Zillah struggles to find her place in the world until she realises sje doesn't need to fit in to other people's expectations. A reasonably easy read which I enjoyed.

I really wanted to like this one as from the blurb it felt right up my street, but I couldn’t get with it at all. A dark tale in Victorian times highlighting the differences between those born to privilege who are easily shocked and those who are not of their world and are abused to provide entertainment for the privileged.

This book swiftly carries you from one chapter to the next, sweeping you up into Zillah’s story as she fleets from place to place trying to collect answers, and the next thing you know, you’re already halfway through the book. While I admire the character development here, and it covers some important topics, the plot fell just a little flat for me. The pacing works well, I just wish it had aimed a little higher. The writing felt a little too simple for my tastes, but that’s understandable as this is a YA novel.

The Victorian setting was very atmospheric and gritty. The author was not one to sugar coat the hard labour and prejudices of the working class (especially women and people of colour).

I did only give this book three out of five stars, as I found the story took some time to build up to the climax. It was slow paced even for me. This book is about identity, class and colour in the underbelly of Victorian London. I think this will work for plenty of readers, so if you’re looking for a light and quick read!

Amazonia is the star of Crillick's theatre, a wild woman from darkest Africa. In reality Zillah is the daughter of a slave, brought up free but struggling to survive in Victorian London where her skin colour means she is ostracised by both parts of society. Taken as a mistress by a Viscount, Zillah sees a different side to noble society but when she meets an educated black man she has an awakening of conscience.
I really loved the different perspective that this book shows, the reality of life for the recently freed slaves in early Victorian London. There is a lot of detail about the theatre, about life for the poor and the rich and about philanthropic ideas such as the repatriation to Sierra Leone. It is an entertaining read with some emotive parts.

Zillah is a mixed-race actress from the East End of London but every night at Crillick's theatre, she plays the role of the Great Amazonia, a warrior princess who was reportedly kidnapped from a tribal community in the jungle. Zillah sees this as a job and nothing else: she doesn't see that she is doing anything wrong. That is, until a handsome stranger, Lucien, comes to see her perform. Through this friendship, Zillah is forced to acknowledge that in pursuing this lie, she is perpetuating racism and stereotyping, dehumanising a whole race of people as being nothing more than a novelty and, more importantly, being a smoke screen for genuine exploitation. When Crillick gains some new "acts" for his new theatre of "oddities", Zillah swears to liberate them.

I enjoyed reading about Zillah's personal growth as she develops from a spoilt, tunnel visioned and materialistic character into a brave and righteous character who, in helping others find their freedom, is also forced into embracing her own heritage.

Whilst these issues could have been explored in more detail, the book did tackle some big themes: racism, stereotyping, exploitation and slavery, to name a few. Some of the scenes in the book were harrowing and disturbing but important to be shared nonetheless.

The characters were not as developed as I would have liked and some of their character traits and flaws led for some frustrating reading for sure, particularly at the end of the book.

All in all, an enjoyable read that attempts to tackle some important social, political and ethical issues with an interesting plot running alongside. I would recommend it to fans of historical fiction and those that enjoyed Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth McNeal and Things in Jars by Jess Kidd.

Thank you to Netgalley, Hutchheinemann Publishers and the author for the e-arc of this book, available to buy now ♥️

THEATRE OF MARVELS wasn’t what I expected. Historical YA (with no SFF factor) can be tricky to find, so when I saw that this was a Victorian-era story, focused around a theatre show, and with a mixed race protagonist, I jumped right in without looking much further at the blurb.

I made a good choice, because THEATRE OF MARVELS was wonderfully compelling.

I’d assumed the ‘show’ itself would feature more largely in the plotline, and while it is important, THEATRE OF MARVELS is really Zillah’s own personal story — what she’s willing to sacrifice for someone else, and who she wants to be.

The settings — from plush Georgian townhouses, to the backstage spaces, to overcrowded slums and bustling docks — are all vivid and alive. Dillsworth manages the glitz and the grit of her juxtaposed worlds incredibly well, and paints an atmospheric picture of Victorian London from a point-of-view rarely seen. The characters are intriguing and Zillah herself manages to be both complex and compelling as she sorts through her feelings and relationships with the various acquaintances, friends, and allies.

The story is well-balanced, combining historical detailing with a pacy YA plot. It kept me guessing as to how Zillah’s choices would play out right until the very end.

I had slightly mixed feelings about this book. For the most part I was invested in the characters journey and in the development of the story.
I didn't realise that this book was YA when I requested it, however that didn't bother me at all because I actually found the writing and the characters to be very mature. I thoroughly enjoyed the serious messages regarding identity, discrimination and race that were spread throughout this book and I felt like this is an essential novel to stock in any school/YA library collection. However, I did find the story slow moving and I didn't feel like the novel was as in-depth as I hoped it would be.
My biggest issue with this story and the reason I lowered my rating from 4 to 3 stars is because I found the ending to be rushed and also very bizarre and out of character. The final few chapters seemed to come completely out of left field with very little build up and that left me feeling unsatisfied with the conclusion which was a shame as I had thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book.

I usually love historical feminist novels and I wasn’t disappointed in this one.

Zillah is a strong character who tries to make a better life for herself in the harsh Victorian London (especially for Black women), working in a circus and dating a gentleman. And it doesn’t really matter that the circus is actually a freak show and that she doesn’t really love the man – does it?

When she meets Lucien, she realizes that she has been denying her origins all along and that other people might need her.

But I mostly like that Zillah finally understands that she doesn’t need anyone else to be happy – she is strong enough on her own. The historical setting is beautifully described and the atmosphere truly gripping.

Zillah is a black actress, playing at Crillick's Variety Theatre, where she betrays her roots and plays Amazonia from the jungle. The crowd love her. Her fellow thespians resent her meteoric climb to become the headline act. She is squired about (albeit secretly) by Viscount Vincent Woodward.

One night she spies a black man in the audience - Lucien - and her life changes direction, she realises the character she is playing is promoting prejudice and the image of the ignorant native. Then she discovers that other 'freaks' are being mistreated by the theatre owner, and makes her plan to seek revenge.

The result is an interesting story, making the reader think about colour, prejudice and how slaves were perceived and treated in the nineteenth century. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK and Cornerstone for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set in Victorian London and the growing fascination with 'the exotic', this is an intriguing book that follows Zillah, the girl who performs each night playing the part of the great Amazonia warrior.
Surviving amongst the seedy world of the working class stage performers, the mixed-race orphan Zillah is initially thrilled to be given the star turn in Crillick's theatre. As she attracts the attention of the upper classes keen to have her perform for them she starts to question the ethics of what she is doing, and when she witnesses the barbaric treatment and subsequent disappearance of another performer, she makes her plans for a rescue and then escape.
Part thriller, part coming of age story and part social commentary, this book covers a lot of ground, it is aimed at the YA audience, so felt too superficial for my own taste, but I can see this appealing to a wide audience.

My thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

Theatre of Marvels is a delicious, wild, gorgeous book. It’s also a book about racism and class, while managing to be magical and lush. Luanne Dillsworth is a gifted writer and weaves words with skill. Her characters leap off the page and into your heart. And yes, I know that sounds cheesy as hell, but it’s true. The sense of place is potent, and you can imagine yourself right there next to Zilla in Victorian London. I highly recommend this book to everyone!!!!!