THE SHOW WOMAN

The compulsive and heartbreaking new novel, for fans of Broken Country

by Emma Cowing

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Pub Date 1 May 2025 | Archive Date 1 May 2025

Hodder & Stoughton

General Fiction (Adult) | Romance | Women's Fiction

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Description

FOUR WOMEN. A MILLION DREAMS.

Scotland, 1910. Lena gazes at the fairground, lit up and sparkling like a jewel box. The circus is in her blood, but her parents are gone now, and this is no place for a woman to go it alone. But then Violet lights up her world with her flaming hair and her dazzling dreams...

Both outcasts, they have nothing left to lose. Violet is the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived, and along with horse-rider Rosie, who can tumble and dance on her elegant white horses without missing a step, and acrobat Carmen, whose rainbow ribbons hide the darkness in her past, they are determined to create their own show - and write their own destinies.

But there is danger in the fairground for women who don't know their place. Lena's mother learned that the hard way, and now her long-buried secrets are being brought to light, Lena is walking a tight-rope.

It seems like the whole world is rooting for Lena and her found family to fail. But they are the Show Women, and the show must go on...

THE SHOW WOMAN is a page-turning and incredibly moving novel about the first all-female circus in Edwardian Britain. With strong female characters, deeply-woven family secrets and heartfelt love stories, fans of The Whalebone Theatre, The Greatest Showman and Kate Morton will be hooked from the very first page!

PRAISE FOR THE SHOW WOMAN:
'Gorgeously written, with twists and turns worthy of a circus trapeze' JENNIE GODFREY
'I wanted to run away with this all-woman circus!' C.J. COOKE
'Beautifully written, engaging plot and thoroughly researched' STYLIST
'A very special debut' JENNY COLGAN
'Beautifully crafted, fast-paced and compelling ... easily the debut of the year so far!' MIKE GAYLE
'Suspenseful, authentic, sexy and uplifting. Beautiful writing plunges the reader into the showgrounds of Edwardian Scotland, sights, sounds, smells and all' ERIN KELLY
'A joy to read, so beautifully written, evoking the rich and often overlooked story of the travelling fairs of Edwardian-era Scotland' SEAN LUSK
'Absolutely loved soaking up the atmosphere of the circus and fairground in The Show Woman. There's hardship and excitement and mystery and joy in this novel, and I couldn't stop turning the pages' SARAH L. BROOKS, author of The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands

Available Editions

EDITION	Ebook
ISBN	9781399737418
PRICE	£16.99 (GBP)
PAGES	336

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Additional Information

Average rating from 176 members

Featured Reviews

Lucy W, Reviewer

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.