This is a beautifully written gothic novel, featuring the dark and light sides of London, and of the human soul.

I’m always concerned about authors getting London right, and Ms Dillsworth could be as much of a Londoner as I was. She brings the poverty and the contrasting wealth into sharp focus, yet clearly shows the subtleties in the strata of the rich, too. In some ways I found this heavy-handed, in particular with Zillah’s constant references to St. Giles. It seemed to interfere with the flow, for me, at any rate. But there was much to fear from the seedy showman Crillick, and at the point of his introducing his new act to his ‘party’ of cronies I began to feel distinctly uneasy. Full marks to the author for some great tension-building.

I’m not sure I agree with the last line of the blurb. It shines a light as much on the hypocrisy and arrogance of Victorian society; black or anything else not white and male and English (English, not British!). And that Victorian hypocrisy in not dead, by a long way, however deep we thought we’d buried it.

A wonderful tale of knowing who we are and our place in the world we live in. Zillah is a brave woman, fighting for her place in a world where women and especially black women are disregarded as having no place in society. Her character as Amazonia is her journey out of the poverty, but she isn’t happy with the price she has to pay. I really enjoyed some of the secondary characters in this story, Barky and Elvira with Ethel are great additions to Zillah’s world and provide huge comfort to her in times of need. A wonderful mix of historical fiction and tale of morality.

I thought this book was well written and dealt with racism which was interesting to read in this time period.

Zillah is a performer at Crillick’s Theatre she is the Amazonian who dances and entertains the crowd. We see how Zillah was brought up in London she is half caste and feels she has never fitted in. She discovers that woman is not being treated right and feels she must do something about this.

I felt the main character was a strong woman and did think the ending was not what I expected but really enjoyed the book and certainly.gives you food for thought..

Would I recommend this book to you to read yes I would.

.I found Theatre of Marvels a great read. The story is written from Zillah’s perspective in the first person so makes for an instantly immersive read. She is a great character, a strong woman who turns her back on her duplicitous life to rescue another woman who is enslaved and used as a vile ‘scientific’ experiment. The setting of Crillicks Theatre in Victorian London is so well evoked as are the fashions and the social mores. Despite her aristocratic lover Zillah stays true to herself with a surprising ending. A great debut from Lianne Dillsworth. Thanks to NetGalley and Hutchinson Heinemann for the eARC.

I was attracted to this book, as many people said it was similar to Elizabeth Macneal's Circus of Wonders, which I loved.

The story focuses on Zillah, a young black actress, trying to find a way out of poverty in Victorian London. Zillah was abandoned by her mother, but told never to work in service. I remember by grandad saying that his grandmother, who was a single mother in Victorian London doing all manner of poorly paid jobs to avoid the workhouse or having to abandon her children to go into service, so this resonated with me.

I loved Zillah, she is a determined young woman, who faces discrimination because of her class and race, and the author developed her beautifully over the course of the book. She is also joined by a cast of characters all trying to make their way in a world that is often cruel, and I wasn't sure who could be trusted. There is also a very strong sense of place, which I really enjoyed, and I enjoyed the feeling of taking a trip through Victorian London.

This book touches on numerous issues, poverty, class, race, exploitation, misogyny, and discrimination. I read a review that said that this book had a contemporary feel to it, despite it being historical fiction. I would agree with that and I think it is partly because of to our eternal shame, not much has changed. The poor are still exploited, minorities are still discriminated against and the rich (as recent events prove) take what they want, do what they want, because the rules don't seem to apply to them in the same way.

I would highly recommend this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Really enjoyed this one, I absolutely adored the main character, Zillah, a mixed race strong female who raised herself out of poverty to become the headliner at the theatre.

She thinks what she’s doing is innocent until her eyes are opened to the real world. This is a story about race, class, and fighting for what is right despite of the outcome for herself..

An excellent read!

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review

This book is a little different to what I normally read however I thought it sounded interesting….and it was..

Set in Victorian London Zillah who is the main act in Crillicks Variety Theatre she puts on a performance every night.
Things are happening and Zillah becomes worried for the other acts.

I enjoyed the read and it deals with race and gender in Victorian times.

Set in Victorian London, Zillah, a black British performer, has become the headline act at Crillick's Variety Theatre, performing each night as a wild woman, playing into the stereotypes of the colour of her skin. She thinks she's doing well; she's come from the slums of St Giles into the theatre and the warm and luxurious bed of an aristocrat. But something horrible is going on. Crillick is experimenting on captured Africans and Zillah is determined to free them. Her world begins to crumble and she must confront her own part in promoting stereotypes. She realises that she can't rely on her lover and she's increasingly swayed towards another admirer, but in the end who can she trust? This book is about identity, class and colour in the underbelly of Victorian London.

This book definately got me thinking about the white male gaze. Zillah represents the 'sexualized other' when in fact she is mixed race and a Londoner. She becomes more aware of her heritage and how she is portraying herself. As a story it is interesting.

Set in Victorian London this book is completely transporting. The book follows Zillah who is the headliner at Crillick’s Variety Show. Zillah and her fellow castmates put on a spectacle of a show each evening under the watchful eye of this book’s resident baddie, Marcus Crillick. When Crillick briefly introduces a new act, “The Leopard Lady”, who then quickly disappears again, Zillah becomes increasingly concerned for her fellow act’s safety and risks it all to undertake a rescue mission.

Despite being fiction, the book manages to highlight both racial and gender inequalities of that era well, often to a point that makes the reader uncomfortable. The book is well written, with chapters able to turn my stomach, however it was maybe a little long for my liking. The love interests also fell a slightly flat for me.

I’d recommend this book to fans of The Greatest Showman and historical fiction lovers!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this historical fiction about Zillah, a young black woman who works in a rather seedy theatre in Victorian London where she appears regularly in a headlining dance act. She never quite feels as though she fits in despite being courted by a member of the aristocracy.
When she discovers a terrible scandal going on practically under her nose, she is appalled and determined to stop it continuing, but this puts her own life under scrutiny and brigs her into contact with undesirable and criminal characters from the life in the slums of her childhood she has worked hard to escape from.
This unusual and twisty and thought provoking novel, entertained me and tugged at my heart. Zillah is a great heroine and her story makes for fascinating reading.

An enjoyable story with atmosphere and passion but I felt a little disappointed in the last third of the book, as the writing seemed a little rushed and simplistic.

Zilllah plays the role of the 'Great Amazonian' at Crillick's Variety Theatre. But meeting Lucien makes her question the morality of her role, and he is to open her eyes to another way of life.

Set in 1840's England, there is a fascination for the exotic, the 'freaks'. But Zillah becomes determined to stop their exploitation and free them, whilst at the same time, freeing herself.

Some enjoyable parts but I just felt a little disconnected from the characters and didn't become as absorbed as I'd like to have been by the story.

When Zillah steps on stage at Crillick’s Variety Theatre, she steps into the persona of The Great Amazonia, an exotic wonder who certainly draws in the crowds. But Zillah must hide herself, and outside the theatre, she has to hide Amazonia, the penalty for the lie being too high for her to pay. She has a good job, earning decent money, and even has the attentions of a wealthy, influential man, and as a mixed-race woman, Zillah feels she can’t risk that.

Until she realises how fragile her life is, her lack of control, and how there are always things worth risking everything for. For Zillah, it’s Crillick’s new act who quickly goes missing, and she desperately sets out to find the woman.

This is such a good book! It’s got a strong Mystery vibe to it, as Zillah uncovers more of what’s really going on. There’s an element of Romance, as she finds herself caught between a white Viscount, slightly down on his luck due to a falling out with his father, and an African shop owner, who helps Zillah embark on her emotional journey.

The setting is detail rich, bringing to life seedy elements of Victorian London, when ‘gentlemen’ were anything but. The novel doesn’t shy away from the way Zillah is treated, and her struggles, caught between different worlds where she doesn’t really feel like she belongs in either. Her journey starts with her in a fairly comfortable position, and it’s only when she looks at herself through someone else’s eyes she takes steps to change things.

Through her journey, Zillah’s eyes are further opened and she fights back against it, alongside the shopkeeper Lucien, and Zillah learns about the new initiative to relocate to Sierra Leone, though it takes her – a London girl through and through – a while to see this in a good light. She learns to truly embrace all parts of herself and become empowered through it.

I don’t want to go into the plot too much more, but I absolutely loved Zillah and following her journey. She’s a character with a lot of empathy, yet who is closed off from parts of herself, and it takes a big step for her to come to terms with it. When she does, however, she grows and changes, and becomes determined to do the right thing.

Thank you to Random House for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley – views remain my own.

This is a great read. Zillah is an interesting character and her journey from actress to activist is well described. The book describes the few chances that women had in Victorian times but some of the language and behaviours were a bit too out of line with reality for me to give five stars. Ending sentences with "....is all." is a 21st century affectation. But a good read nonetheless and one I would recommend. With thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this title.

Loved the rollercoaster of emotions this YA novel took the reader on.
YA isn't normally something I pick up that often but this one did not disappoint.

An interesting exploration of 19th century England and racism.

I enjoyed how Zillah explored her culture and those of other countries and ethnicities within the restrictions of the Victorian era.

(3.5*/5)

I think the target demographic is younger than I and due to this the way things were addressed felt dumbed down for my reading, however, for a younger audience I think this will pull a much higher rating.

The amount of emotion and feeling portrayed through Lianne's writing is exceptional and powerful and this reflects in the qualities of the main heroine Zillah.

I’m afraid this didn’t do it for me so I didn’t finish it.
It was described and a gothic spectacle, but I didn’t get that at all.
The characters weren’t convincing and when Vincent and Zillah jumped into bed together without question, I definitely didn’t believe it was meant to be a Victorian setting.
It is a shame because Victorian fiction and theatrical settings are right up my street, but it felt poorly written.

This book truly does a brilliant job of highlighting morals, identity, class and how race was viewed back in 19th century England. It’s historical accurate and has lots of details. I also loved that the main character was a strong female.

Theatre of Marvels by Lianne Dilsworth.

Sarah Baartman was the name of a Khoekhoe woman from South West Africa who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under the name the Hottentot Venus. She was even exhibited after her death, with one showman dissecting her body and keeping her genitalia and skull. Another museum displayed her skeleton and a body cast, which were still exhibited up till the 1970’s. She was exhibited for her steatopygic body type, where body fat is concentrated on the bottom and thighs. This body type wasn’t seen in Europe and was perceived as a curiosity. She was also a subject of scientific interest, but through the gaze of racial bias and erotic projection. In the 19th Century her body could be viewed for two shillings and for a bit extra you could poke her with a stick. Her genitalia were of specific interest as they were said to show her sexual primitivism, although this was more about the men’s erotic projection than Sarah’s own sexuality or libido. Recently, black women in academia and culture have been using her story and reframing it as a source of empowerment, rejecting the ideals of white mainstream beauty, and embracing more curvaceous figures as a source of female beauty. This is the historical and social background that I had in mind while reading this fascinating debut novel from Lianne Dilsworth. I was swept up into her world straight away and my personal academic interest in disability and the display of ‘other’ bodies added to my enjoyment.

Our setting is a theatre and a group of performers from singers to magicians who perform a variety show under the watchful eye of Mr Crillick. His current headline act is Amazonia - a true African tribeswoman, dressed in furs and armed with a shield and spear, her native dancing brings down the house in Crillick’s show. The audience watch, transfixed with fear and fascination, never realising that she is a ‘fagged’ act. Zillah has never set foot in Africa and is in fact of mixed race heritage, born in East London. She is making her money by pretending to be what the, largely white, audience wants to see. It doesn’t sit well with Zillah, but she is alone in the world and does need to make money. Besides it’s better than the other options for a young woman who finds herself in poverty. She’s used to slipping between worlds on stage and in her private life, renting a room in the rough St Giles area of the city, but regularly making her way to a more salubrious area and the bed of a Viscount by night. She and Vincent have been lovers for some time, but he is estranged from his family and can easily keep her a secret, never even walking with her in public. Their shared bed is situated in the middle class home of her boss Crillick. Now, everything is about to change, as Zillah’s consciousness is raised in several ways

First, she realises that Vincent will never admit to their relationship in public, as he yet again cancels plans to take her to Richmond for the day. Secondly, she meets a young black man called Lucien, who is campaigning in the street. He addresses her in Swahili, with a suggestion this may be the native language of her ancestors, and he places a question in her mind that she can’t shake off. How does it feel to earn money misrepresenting her ancestors? In fact she is representing her ancestors through the gaze of a white audience. The sense that this is wrong, has always been on the edge of her conscience, but Lucien gives her doubts a voice and opens a door towards embracing both sides of her identity. While she dismisses him at first, the thought of him seeing her as Amazonia seems to fill her with shame. Lucien is working on a campaign to relocate black and mixed race Londoners to Africa and the first site is in Sierra Leonne. Meanwhile, Crillick has returned from a trip abroad with shipping containers that suggest he’s been gathering props and it seems he’s been finding new acts too. He taunts Zillah with the suggestion he has found an act that may even eclipse her and one night at his house she sees a new act unveiled to a small group of people. She is horrified to see him parade a terrified women he’s called the ‘Leopard Lady’, with strange white patches all over her dark skin. The men in the partying are fascinated, drawing near and touching her skin, even roughly scratching it to see if it comes off. When Zillah notices medical implements laid out on a tray, the horror of what might happen to this woman overwhelms her. She must rescue the Leopard Lady from Crillick’s clutches. There’s a freedom Zillah has compared to a lot of Victorian heroines we might remember, due to her station in life there are certain rules and etiquette of dress and behaviour that don’t apply. Although that freedom does come at a cost - poverty, not belonging anywhere, and the way she is viewed in more polite society. She knows that if she could be with someone like Lucien then she’d be settled in a place society expects of her, still in poverty but at least belonging to a community. Her feelings for Vincent can never come to anything, because his society would never accept her and they would always be a secret.

Through Zillah’s search for the Leopard Lady, we see the truth of a man wiling to make his money treating human beings as objects for display. Whereas before Zillah’s act has at least had the sheen of the theatre world, the Leopard Lady will not be afforded that excitement and sense of performance Zillah has experiencedcoursethis is because Zillah was acting a part, whereas this poor woman is being shown because due to how she looks and where’s she’s from. Zillah chooses to put on her Amazonia costume and take to a stage. Crillick’s plans revolve around his ‘Odditorium’, but in the meantime he plans to show his new acquisition privately to small groups of men. I could imagine these sordid gatherings taking place, with men enjoying an after dinner viewing where the woman is both viewed, potentially sexually assaulted and experimented on. It made me feel sick. I was willing Zillah, on in her efforts to find and free the lady and these parts of the novel were truly tense and gripping. I thought Zillah’s awakening was handled really well, but I was in two minds about where I wanted her to story to end. Of course there’s an opportunity of relocation to a new life in Sierra Leone, but here I felt strangely similar feelings to those I had about another 19th Century heroine Jane Eyre. We know that her flight from Thornfield Hall, and the man she loves, is the right move for her. Yet despite the space and time it’s given her to process Rochester’s attempt at bigamy, I never warm to St John Rivers, even though he rescues her from the moors and gives her life purpose again. When he proposes, I can’t be the only reader who’s screaming ‘No’ in her head. Lucien is a good, honest and intelligent man, but to me he feels like the wrong choice. The contrast between him and the passionate relationship she has with Vincent is rather like the two sides of her identity battling against each other. I was hoping that, for a while at least, she could find a way for herself, separate from them both.

This was an exciting and fascinating tale, with elements of the thriller and a central character who is resilient and brave in her quest. I found the settings of the theatre and Crillick’s home, beautifully rich and the St Giles area brought to life with descriptions of sights, smells, many bodies sharing rented rooms and even beds in an attempt to keep costs down. The author has backed up her tale with solid research into freak shows, the many layers of Victorian society and details of food, fashion and leisure time. Through her main character we get an insight into women’s lives and the realities of being bi-racial and the struggles of identity and belonging. I also enjoyed the themes of ‘otherness’ and how outsiders survive in society. The complexities of display and exploitation when weighed against poverty and deprivation. Can freak shows be acceptable if individuals can make a choice to exhibit themselves? Or should any exhibition of ‘different’ bodies be unacceptable? A question that still needs debate in light of television shows that exhibit overweight and other bodies in a prurient way. I really liked Zillah‘s quest and her own personal journey too. I read this so quickly and will be putting a copy on my bookshelves, because I know it’s one I’ll want to read again.