I was a little unsure as I started this book, but after the first couple of chapters it drew me in to a most delightful and unusual story. The story takes place in Scotland and follows the first all female circus to perform along the well trodden route that circuses and fairgrounds have followed for years. Beautifully written, it draws all of your emotions as the story unfolds. Highly recommended.

I was intrigued by the description of this book and the lovely cover.

It started off well but I don’t think this book was for me. There were bits that felt a bit long which made me feel reluctant to continue.

I’ve had a read of other reviews and I definitely seem to be in the minority here so I’m sure the book will do well.

Many thanks to #NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me as it just wasn't my cup of tea.

I found the writing very flowery and it read more like literary or women's fiction than "romance" which I probably should have realised from reading the description of the book, but I guess I didn't!

I really loved the premise and I'm still giving this 3 stars as I can absolutely see how others would LOVE this book, but I personally just couldn't get into the style of writing. Just a personal preference!

The book started with the words of an old folk song which I have sung so the book draw me in from the beginning. The way in which the circus travelled and interacted with the other show people is very different to how it seems today, I loved there being a women's show and how rare that must have been at that time.
The story was sad in parts and people's stories didn't end where you might have wanted them too. A good read with twists I didn't see!

I love a good circus tale so was looking forward to reading Emma Cowing’s debut novel The Show Woman. It proved to be an unexpected story of three strong-minded women who form a groundbreaking women’s circus. Set in Edwardian times there are some shocking moments of child abuse, poverty and abandonment against the backdrop of circus life where catastrophic accidents happen. There is light amidst it all thankfully with two tender love stories. Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Staunton for the eARC.

Although a bit bit of slow burner, it is well worth sticking with this book. Beautifully written and truly a masterpiece.

This book was set in the early 1900s with the unique and interesting premise of a woman-only circus. Focused on a group of friends who each has an interesting backstory, they come together, against all odds, to create a circus. There were some interesting twists and turns and the book was filled with likeable characters so it was a pleasure to read. I think this was Emma Cowing's first book and I would definitely pick up another by her.

|:: The Show woman
By Emma Cowing
Chapter 27 Page 173
And on the night before.
5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

{“Are we ready?” Asks Lenna, and the trail out into the fading dusk of the evening. It has been a hot day, too hot for September, and the air feels thick and close. It prickles at their skin, even as the sky turns dark.
“Could be rain coming,” says Violet. As they make their way towards the town, arms linked, laughing about the boy in the last show of the day who insisted on being ridden around the ring on Tommy Pony after the show then stood up on his back, promptly toppled over and had to be caught by Violet, they attract attention.
A cart goes past with two lads on the back, barefoot and with bottles of beer in their hands, and they wolf-whistle at the four women and ask if they want a ride. “Not where you're going,” says Violet.
And they laugh as the wagon disappears into the dark. They pass a flower bed and on a whim, Lenna leans in and plucks a small white flower for Carmen's hair.
Further into town now and men in smart suits and bowler hats cast admiring glances their way, right up to the theatre door. }


In this adventure, we follow Lenna down a circus-fueled rabbit hole of delight on what life may have looked, felt and seemed like from a traveller. Lenna, who breathed fire into the outdoor life, loved, lost and fought for all she knew, making her the Show woman she was.

Lenna was a really likeable character, she came across as motherly even though she was young in her days. Having just lost her father and her mother still missing after mysteriously disappearing years before, Lenna finds herself in a predicament. Should she sell up, or move on/away? Start fresh? Maybe start a whole new life?
But as luck would have it, her friend Violet also finds herself on the lonely path of.. wondering what to do next. They decide to put together their very own circus - a woman's circus!
And so it begins. Auditions! Rehearsals. A new era of circus entertainment, but someone isn't happy about their success. Someone is out to try and stop, destroy.. hurt the four young women trying to bring smiles to those around them.
With so many enemies and the girls being pulled apart, literally from the seams they have woven themselves into.. how are they meant to navigate independence with hidden attacks along the way?
Where is Lenna's mother? Why is the famous old lady obsessed with Violet? What is Rainbowgirl hiding? Why does being around men affect Rosie so much?
I guess you will have to read to find out!

A beautiful story of friendship, hardship and trials and tribulations amongst the small majority of the world who are overlooked. It takes skill to go in front of a camera all day and perform but these artists are on show 24/7 because they are unique, different and so magical in their own rights. I mean who else wanted to run away with the circus when they were younger? And in this story, Rosie fulfilled that dream for a lot of us. I loved everything about this book, it was a gift I didn't know I needed. Thank you.


A huge thank you to Emma Cowing, Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and relay my honest feedback. ::|

Filled with stronge, plucky female characters immersed in a male dominated world - that of the circus - as they fight to prove themselves, and to survive. Atmospheric, with plenty of twists.

A mesmerising read that drew me in from page 1. Beautiful author craft, a captivating story and some really great characters.

Inspired by her own grandmother and great aunt, Cowing tells the story of the Edwardian Glasgow show women, who travelled around a Scottish circuit of fairgrounds with their theatre and trapeze show.

The story brings together a group of women all escaping their lives for different reasons - Lena and Violet are already travelling show people, but they’re joined by Carmen, from Spain, and Rosie from Ayrshire, whose story of (TW) child abuse was particularly dark.

It was an empathetic exploration of found family and the complicated relationships that entangle themselves across generations of close-knit communities, full of secrets, loyalties and grudges.

It was easy to get immersed in the gritty, sparkling world of the fairground - it was an emotional story with several tragic moments, but with an uplifting thread of determination and hope throughout.

A circus, a young lady and the start of a new life when she is left without parents, is told to find a husband and then decides t go with Violet, 'the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived' to form their own troupe. This is a book that is inspired by the author's Aunt Violet and is a wonderful and evocative story.

I loved this book and its story, the lives of two strong and inspiring women of the times, proving that women can and will do what they are good at, in a world that revolves around men. This is an inspiring story and one that I do highly recommend. I loved it and want to read more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

The premise of this book was intriguing and held much promise. The opening scene is a great hook and I wanted to enjoy the rest of the novel.

But I'm afraid this kind of writing style doesn't work for me. It never went into enough depth or dwelt on any plot development long enough for me to feel immersed in the storyline. It gave me a rather superficial reading experience. It was also rather episodic which is a structure I don't really enjoy. Then, finally I felt the character plot arcs felt a bit convenient and contrived and lacked realistic nuance and a non-linear construct.
I'm sure many readers will enjoy this feminist historical fiction, but I enjoy a writing style which has more of a evolved storytelling daring to take time from the plot to give me descriptions, time in the minds of characters and some imagery and metaphor to add richness to the prose.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I enjoyed this book. A nice easy read with plenty going on. Good character development and scene setting.
I definitely read more by this author.

I really enjoyed this book! Inspired by the experiences of the author's Aunt Violet, a trapeze artist, we get a glimpse into the culture and experiences of a travelling Circus family in the Victorian era.

When Lena Loveridge's father dies, she inherits the family carousel so she decides to use the money from it's sale to start-up her own ladies circus with her cousin Violet. However, in a time when women were rarely taken seriously in business this was incredibly hard and with stiff competition from established circuses it was hard to get it going.

A great piece of historical fiction, with strong female characters.

Thank you for the ARC! Sadly unable to read as this was downloaded onto a device I no longer have access to and the book has since been archived.

Inspired by her family history, Emma Cowing transports us back to Scotland in the early 1900’s.
Upon the death of her father Lena is advised to sell the family’s carousel and leave the circus, the only home she has ever known. Just as she starts to think that they may be right Violet, the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived, turns up with a big plan – they should create their own travelling show.
Lena decides that they have nothing to lose, and after recruiting Rosie and Carmen the ladies take to the road. Unfortunately, there is trouble ahead, between each of the ladies having their own secrets and reasons to run, plus the world not being accepting of an all-female act, but that trouble will come up against friendship, love and female solidarity.
This is a very enjoyable read.

3.5 stars rounded up.

A confident and surprisingly dark debut from Emma Cowing! (probably wouldn't have been as surprised if I've read the blurb properly, but I do find blurbs problematic - they so often give away information that I'd rather find out myself...)

Cowing has drawn on her own ancestry to recreate the travelling circuses of Scotland in the 1900s. Our four central protagonists are: Lena, who acts as 'ring-mistress'; Violet, already a very talented and sought after, although volatile, trapeze artist; Rosie, a 'flattie' (someone who was brought up in a 'normal' house) who has devised her own act with pony called Tommy; and Carmen, a Spanish women chased by poverty, previously working as a prostitute in her desperation.

I originally thought the title was slightly weird; shouldn't it be The Show Women rather than Woman, but Lena is the glue that holds them together. It's her who, after the death of her father, decides to start a 'Ladies' Circus' and brings the group together. They all come with their own histories and 'baggage': Violet has been fired from perhaps the greatest circus of all time, and also wants to move away from her family's shadow (they're all circus folk); Rosie is escaping from her own father's abuse; and Carmen is pretty elusive, but steadfast in her Catholicism - what is she atoning for?

Still, Lena manages to brings this unlikely quartet together and they become a real success after a few false starts. That is, until the greater problems begin...

I find this somewhat slow to get into, but I would have liked to see more of the circus's conception and success before the major conflict began, but it sped up in the last 1/2-2/3. I would also have loved to see more of Rosie and Carmen's backstories, as they are both somewhat glossed over, particularly Carmen. Still, the denouement was devastating, so I was definitely invested in the characters.

The final twist was... interesting. There had been clues scattered throughout the book, but it somehow wasn't quite satisfying. The bittersweet ending felt appropriate, but (without going into details) there were some characters who weren't explored fully. Therefore, even though the loose ends were mostly tied up, the bittersweet ending wasn't entirely satisfactory.

This is a hard book because of the subject matter. I love books about circuses, and this is the darkest one I have read. The setting was a bit underused - as I said, I would have liked to see more of the conception of the Ladies' Circus itself, alongside the character development - which was probably my biggest disappointment.

Overall, this is definitely a book worth reading. A great deal of research has obviously gone into this novel, and I loved recognising the various Scottish places and trusting Cowing that the historical elements were correct. What a fascinating niche to write into! With a few more tweaks, this could have been excellent.

I'll look out for Emma Cowing in the future; I'd love to hear more about Scotland (and possibly the circus again if she can write another novel with such a similar setting) in the early 20th century.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the review copy.

This is such a beautifully written story, following Lena, who has grown up among the travelling fairs with her father. Her mother disappeared when Lena was young, and when her father dies following an accident, Lena decides to sell up and develop a womens circus.
Joined by Carmen, Rosie and Violet, all with tragic back stories- abuse and prostitution are just some of the subjects touched upon - The Show Woman is a fascinating story of circus life in 1910’s Scotland.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

2.5⭐️

The premise of this sounded incredible and exactly the sort of thing I usually love but unfortunately I found it lacked any real depth and it left me disappointed.

I really enjoyed the first half of the book and I initially loved the four female characters and the circus scenes. But it ended up going in a completely different direction which just wasn’t my cup of tea.

I honestly thought it was going to be a fun, feminist tale of their success and I was so ready for the story to take me on a magical journey. But it fell so flat in the second half and I started to lose interest tbh. I didn’t feel like the characters or the plot had any depth to it and I ended up skimming the last few chapters just to get it finished.

Great premise but the execution wasn’t quite there for me unfortunately