Ummmmmm, felt the blurb somewhat misinterpreted this book. Not sure if it was about identity, a feminist rant about the attitudes of men in the previous century or a wannabe Bridgerton style bodice ripper. Sadly it fell between all these stones. The fact that the reader never actually knows what happens to the Leopard Lady and her child makes the whole plot ludicrous. Very soap opera with one dimensional characters, the book isn’t sure what it wants to be, but is sadly too preoccupied with its heroine to realise this. I must state that I honestly hate giving bad reviews, but I’m not even sure how this came to be published.

I am not usually into historical fiction novels set in this time period but the prospect of it being set in a circus/show drew me in.

However, this is not so much a book about the shows but more about race and the MC’s experiences in a strange time where slavery is abolished… yet the attitudes have not adjusted. This describes Zinnia’s experience and feelings at this moment in time.

It was interesting to read about this time period and I enjoyed the insight into the mc’s experience however, it was a bit too slow moving for me this book so I wasn’t always wanting to pick it up again to continue.

This was an intriguing read and the cover is so gorgeous too. I loved the emotional vulnerability of the characters too!!

I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand I thought it provided an interesting glimpse into the time it was set in, on the other hand I found it to be quite slow. It was a venture into the unknown for me, not the usual type of book I read, not my usual thriller and also set in Victorian times, so it stretched me a bit. I did like it, and if I wasn't such an impatient reader I probably wouldn't have found it to be slow. Well worth a read.

Crillick’s Theatre of Marvels star act The Great Amazonia is actually mixed race, London born Zillah. When Crillick introduces a new ‘freak’ act, the Leopard Lady, Zillah turns to Lucian Winters to help her find where they are hiding her to attempt to free her.
A fascinating era of history when the slave trade has been abolished but anyone slightly different perceived as a ‘freak’ & open to abuse for the amusement of the paying public.
I would love to have read more about the enticement of the ‘Poor Black’ to Sierra Leone - I hope that the published copy includes an epilogue covering this?
A good read for fans of historical fiction who like a string female lead character.

Whilst it took me some time to get into this book, before I knew it I was at 70% and so interested in where the story would go.

I could have wanted for more, being that I love circus settings and have enjoyed many a “freak show” book. But ultimately, this was Zillah’s story. Living between two worlds and facing up to the horrors of the space around her.

That this is labelled YA confuses me. I’d have never expected this to be the case and don’t feel it read that way neither.

I reviewed Theatre of Marvels by Lianne Dillsworth for book recommendation company LoveReading.co.uk. I have chosen it as a Liz Robinson Book of the Month and it will appear in the site and newsletters.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the main character Zillah. She’s a young actress (though with no official training in acting) from the slums of St Giles, trying to make a name for herself and wanting more than anything to work her way out of a life of poverty and struggle. Her mother left her with a ‘friend’ when Zillah was a young girl and she hasn’t seen her since but she always remembers the one piece of advice her mum gave her the last time she saw her “never work in service” (as a servant).

All the supporting characters were as interesting as Zillah. Ellen, a co-worker at the theatre and a woman who Zillah thought of as a friend, but was really someone who blew hot and cold and couldn’t always be trusted. As a singer at the theatre, she often reminded me of Nancy in Oliver Twist. She has a romantic interest with the owner of the theatre, Marcus Crillick, who much like Bill Sikes is something of a rogue with his fingers in many pies, no matter how dark and sinister, as long as they make him money he doesn’t care. Much as it was set during the Victorian era, I felt it had a contemporary feel to it which I liked, and for me made it stand out from other historical fiction. Zillah was strong willed and grew a strong sense of self as the book moves on and this made it feel just that little bit different.

As mentioned in the book’s description, it is a story of race and class. A story of survival for the poor at one end, and a story of exploitation and callousness in the name of making money at the other end of the spectrum. What struck me most, was nothing has changed. In over 150 years, nothing has essentially changed. To this day, we still have the poorest in London, indeed every city, living in relative poverty, in poor housing and with little hope of moving upwards. While the rich and the powerful take what they want and treat those less well off, the vulnerable with contempt. For this reason I did find it, at times, a little depressing to read but nevertheless it was a good story and at least for me, certainly makes you think.

This was a really entertaining read that really captured the feeling of the variety theatre and with the wonderful character of Zillah a mixed race actress at the forefront it really was a different read for me.
I’m not going to to go into the story it’s a book better to be read with no misconceptions and the narrative has so much going on it’s hard to describe.
The characters are all colourful and varied, some nice and some not nice at all and all are beautifully written and I loved the descriptions of victorian London.
So a quick read that takes you to another place and for me a 3 star read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, Hutchinson Heinemann for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion
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When the audience take their seats at Crillick’s Variety Theatre looking forward to an evening of entertainment featuring the Great Amazonia, a ‘savage queen’ captured in Africa, little do they know the act is a fraud. The ‘Great Amazonia’ is actually Zillah, a young mixed-race Londoner who has never been to Africa in her life. Zillah can see nothing wrong with what she is doing; she enjoys being the headline act, she’s being paid for her work and she’s making some powerful new friends, among them Vincent, Viscount Woodward, who is setting her up as his mistress. It’s not until she meets Lucien Winters, an African merchant and former slave, that she begins to question her actions and wonder whether there is a better life she could be leading.

Then, her manager Marcus Crillick unveils a new act – the ‘Leopard Lady’ – and Zillah’s eyes are opened to the full extent of Crillick’s cruelty and the way she and others are being exploited for financial gain. When the Leopard Lady goes missing, Zillah becomes convinced that she is being held captive somewhere and sets out to search for her – a search that will take her across Victorian London, from the bustling dockyards to the slums of St Giles and the elegant parlours of the upper classes. Meanwhile Zillah must choose between Vincent and Lucien and decide how she wants her future to unfold.

I enjoyed Theatre of Marvels, although it did seem very similiar at first to Elizabeth Macneal’s Circus of Wonders, another novel about the exploitation of ‘circus attractions’. However, this one is written from a very different perspective, allowing Lianne Dillsworth to explore different themes such as racial and class inequality and slavery. The thousands of black and mixed race people who lived in Victorian London are often ignored in fiction set in that period, but Dillsworth gives them a voice here through the characters of Zillah, Lucien and others. Zillah is a particularly interesting heroine as she is clearly struggling with her identity throughout the novel, feeling that she doesn’t truly fit in with one community or the other and trying to decide who she is and what she wants.

Although I felt that some of the characters, particularly the villain Marcus Crillick and Zillah’s friend and rival Ellen, were too thinly drawn, there were others I found much more interesting. I was intrigued by Vincent Woodward, as there were times when I thought he must genuinely care about Zillah, but I doubted from the beginning that he would have the courage to defy convention and commit to a future with her. I could only see their relationship ending unhappily. On the other hand, Lucien seemed to have a deeper understanding of Zillah and much more personal integrity, yet I never really managed to warm to him. However, I thought I had predicted how the story would end and was taken by surprise because it wasn’t quite what I’d expected!

While I would have liked to have seen more of the Leopard Lady and to have heard some of her story from her own point of view, I did enjoy getting to know Zillah. This was an absorbing and surprisingly quick read and I’ll be looking out for more books from Lianne Dillsworth.

The story follows Zillah, a young mixed race women from the slums of St. Giles, London. An actress by trade, Zillah dupes the audiences into believing she is the ‘Great Amazonia’, an African tribal Queen. The act was fabricated by her sleazy employer who wants nothing more than to raise her to stardom and be gawped at by an audience each night who are fascinated the exotic and extraordinary.

Zillah believes her life is as content as it can be with her raising status into the upper class society and courting a wealthy suitor. That is until a new stage act mysterious disappears and she is left feeling ill at ease with the disturbing and dehumanising display. This sets Zillah down a dark and dangerous path in her pursuit of the truth, not only of this new act but of her own identity and morals.

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). Lianne Dillsworths’ writing was both intellectual and decadent, highlighting the issues of race and class and the hardship women faced in the 19th century England in a richly detailed and emotionally chilling story.

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, and I felt there was a little bit of information dumping at times which had no relevance to the premise. Othwerise, an enjoyable read that was compelling and eye opening.

An original story set in cosmopolitan London in the 19th century. For those who perhaps associate slavery, and it’s long lasting effects, around sugar and cotton plantations in America, this will be quite eye-opening. Britain was well and truly at the centre too.

The theme of the novel is identity and Zillah learning more about her cultural heritage. The depiction of how she does not feel she fits into one society or the other draws genuine pathos. She’s a great character and one who draws much sympathy.

I regretted that having had the story centre so
much around the rescue of the Leopard Lady, that we then no longer hear a single word about her. It would’ve been good to have had some sort of resolution to what happened next to her. Like others, I’m not also sure about the tacked on 8 Years Later epilogue, although I realise there would have been complaints about the story ending abruptly if there had not been anything.

For all the drama at the dock, nothing else subsequently seems to have happened, this was slightly anticlimactic. I guess it was a good device to end the story and illustrates that if you were lucky enough to have a wealthy and influential protector, then you’re somewhat shielded from threats.

For a debut novel it is a solid read, although I think sometimes the writing and characterisation was quite simplistic. But I am sure these skills will be developed in future books. Lianne Dillsworth has done a solid job. I would say 3 1/2 out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley in the publisher for the opportunity to read a proof copy of this book.

As always, I am confused about how I feel.

On the one hand, this felt a bit dragged out to me. The first half I thought really wasn’t going anywhere and there wasn’t much of a plot to it. It did get better in the second half but overall just didn’t have that oomph that I wanted from it.

I’m not always expecting oomph but based on the synopsis and setting, I thought I was in for something wildly dramatic and intense.

However, there was a lot that I liked too! Although it took a bit of time, seeing Zillah grow into her own person and truly accept who she is was incredible, as well as watching her learn what the rest of the world is really like.

No spoilers but the main plot is shocking and heartbreaking and it just seems insane to me that something like that would have ever happened, though of course it did. That’s what really made me enjoy this book, how stark the images of the past were.

I don’t know if I’m just an idiot for not knowing this, but upon emancipation in GB, slave owners were paid ‘reparations’. Are you fucking kidding me? When I read a specific part in the book that talks about this, I honestly couldn’t believe it. But no. Obviously we had slave owners so we couldn’t let them lose out just because all the people they owned were set free.

Parts of this will be hard hitting, but it’s good. It’ll make you think.

Although this book promised to be just up my street, I was a little bit underwhelmed. Loved the story of the black actress getting by in Victorian England and the general struggles of being black in this society. Loved the theatre of marvels and its gloss and dark origins. But somehow I found that the characters were a bit simplistic, it read almost as a young adult book. I enjoyed it but just found something lacking.

Fantastic book, I really felt for the main character as she tries to build a happy life for herself with her love. It was emotional, poignant and moving. Can’t wait to read more stories from Lianne Dillsworth.

Theatre of Marvels is a dazzling historical novel that expertly weaves a compelling tale of race, colonialism, identity and the importance of truth.

The story follows Zillah, a determined mixed-race actress who has found success playing savage African queen ‘Amazonia’ on stage at Crillick’s Variety Theatre. Her audience, however, can never suspect her ‘gaffe’ - that really she grew up nearby, in the slums of St Giles, and has never even been to the county of her ancestors. Her rise to headline act leads her to mixing with the elite of Victorian English society, but when she runs into ex-slave Lucien Winters her distorted stage depiction of her heritage leaves her feeling empty.

When the odious Crillick then introduces a new act - one who quickly disappears - Zillah begins to further question the life she has built for herself and the dangers surrounding her. Her hunt for the truth of what happened to this woman leads her not only into the murky depths of the city, but also into the mysteries of her own past.

Dillsworth’s atmospheric descriptions of 19th century London and the book’s diverse cast of aristocrats, circus acts and criminals are richly immersive and evocative. However, it’s the development of our protagonist - a woman of colour in Victorian London too rarely seen in fiction - and her steely determination in the face of inequality that makes the reader follow each twist and turn of the book with bated breath, particularly as the issues she rails against are still felt in our own modern world.

Theatre of Marvels is a must-read for any fans of historical fiction or books with strong, feminist protagonists. Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the e-arc of this book.

Fans of Caraval and The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock will enjoy this coming-of-age story following Zillah, a young Black actress, as she re-evaluates her life and starts to see the world through a new lens.

The main theme of the novel is identity, namely, Zillah trying to understand and come to terms with her African heritage and – as the mixed-race child of a former slave who grew up in London – struggling to find a place where she feels she belongs. There’s a great deal of pathos evoked from Zillah’s story, as she finds it increasingly difficult to play the part of the ‘African savage’ for the entertainment of racist white theatre audiences, but she lacks the resources to learn more about her true cultural heritage and is unsure of acceptance by the African community in London. As a member of the Indian diaspora, I could somewhat relate to Zillah’s realisation that she wouldn’t be able to identify directly with the experiences of people who had been born or grew up in Africa, and the confusing feelings of loss and inadequacy as well as joy when she is able to communicate with the Leopard Lady.

I also liked Zillah’s agency in the novel, and how much importance is placed on her choices, despite society not giving her many good options or any safety net to fall back on. Zillah’s two love interests are both flawed in their own ways, and ultimately their biggest failings are an unwillingness to challenge the status quo. Another interesting character is Barky, who first appears as the stage manager and Zillah’s only real friend at the theatre, but who also has secrets of his own.

The tension builds up to a suitably dramatic dénouement, though there’s also an obligatory time-skip epilogue which felt slightly tacked on. Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of female-centric historical fiction and those looking for stories about people of colour based around real historical events.

Terrific immersive read by reason of its intriguing characterisations .. Zillah is street wise although dark side is told in upbeat terms .. perhaps this is kind of YA fiction .. the tug of war between 2 men interested in her is a stretch ... but the resolution is credible .. racism explored in Victorian populist theatre is not unexpected but its being theme is a draw here .. slow burn but wonderful voice of narrator draws you on ...

Everyone needs to be more Zilah!
Really enojoyed this, a great read. Transported me to a time I knew very little about.

In Victorian London, young Zillah, an aspiring Black actress, works a variety theatre act as “the Great Amazonia”. She has achieved top billing, is paid a fair wage, maintains the status of gentleman’s mistress, and resides in the theatre owner’s luxurious house, far from the slums of St. Giles where she was raised. All in all, she is as content as maybe with her life, until, scanning the audience one evening before the show, she sees a well-dressed Black man looking decidedly out of place despite his gentlemanly demeanour. Her subsequent encounter with him forces her to question everything about her life, her stage-act and her identity.

The author takes us on deep-dive into Victorian variety theatre at a time when upper-class leisurely distractions were often distasteful. The unsavoury lengths to which the theatre owner goes to increase his wealth, on the backs of the less fortunate, is disturbing. However, as is often the case with historical fiction, the reader does well not to place contemporary sensibilities on the Victorian penchant for the grotesque. As Zillah’s journey of identity and self-fulfilment begins, the irony of her stage role, (a born-and-bred Londoner play-acting a feral African warrior) is not lost on her. We feel her outrage, her feeling of responsibility, her complicity, as the world she knows cracks wide open. The narrative is steeped in vivid time, location and character depictions. The ending felt a little anti-climactic, but aside from that this is an engaging and unusual story.