Book review: I want to run away and join the circus. Specifically @emmacowing’s ladies circus, touring the show grounds of Edwardian Scotland - because I loved the characters in this novel *so much*.

‘The Show Woman’ tells the story of 21-yo Lena and her ‘sort-of-sister’, trapeze goddess Violet, who daringly decide to run their own, all female, circus. As their wagon rolls around Scotland’s show circuit, Lena also finds clues to the whereabouts of her mother, who vanished a decade previously. Not everyone, however, is happy about their new venture and they soon realise just what they’re up against.

The characters leapt, cartwheeled, and cantered off the page (bareback, of course). I cared about them deeply. With tears. There may be a pink tent on the front, but there’s no sugarcoating here: some heavy themes are woven into their stories with great compassion. It’s clear how tragically tough things are, not to mention how unfair, but it never feels like a pity party.

The plot kept me hooked so much that I read it in a day. It’s full of fascinating details of show life and gorgeous vignettes of places on the show circuit, wild swimming, and whisky. The twists and turns were as brilliantly executed as Violet’s trapeze routines.

I’m lucky enough to have known Emma since Sara at @cheshirenovelprize brought us and the other long listers together in 2023 and have been itching to read this ever since. She’s a wonderful, generous, wise human being, and I’m not surprised she’s written such a stunner.

I absolutely loved it (in case you couldn’t tell) and can’t wait to be able to talk about Lena, Violet & Co, plus the weeping and *the twists* when it’s published on 1 May.

Roll up, roll up and pre-order now.

Big thanks to @hodderfiction and @netgalley for the advanced copy.

THE SHOW WOMAN by Emma Cowing was so so good. I couldn't stop reading this book. It's so well written and the characters are fantastic.