by Essie Fox
SYNOPSIS
Victorian England. A world of rural fairgrounds and glamorous London theatres. A world of dark secrets and deadly obsessions…
Twin sisters Keziah and Tilly Lovell are identical in every way, except that Tilly hasn't grown a single inch since she was five. Coerced into promoting their father's quack elixir as they tour the country fairgrounds, at the age of fifteen the girls are sold to a mysterious Italian known as 'Captain'.
Theo is an orphan, raised by his grandfather, Lord Seabrook, a man who has a dark interest in anatomical freaks and other curiosities … particularly the human kind. Resenting his grandson for his mother's death in childbirth, when Seabrook remarries and a new heir is produced, Theo is forced to leave home without a penny to his name.
Theo finds employment in Dr Summerwell's Museum of Anatomy in London, and here he meets Captain and his theatrical 'family' of performers, freaks and outcasts.
But it is Theo's fascination with Tilly and Keziah that will lead all of them into a web of deceits, exposing the darkest secrets and threatening everything they know…
Exploring universal themes of love and loss, the power of redemption and what it means to be unique, The Fascination is an evocative, glittering and bewitching gothic novel that brings alive Victorian London – and darkness and deception that lies beneath…
REVIEW
Identical twin sisters Keziah and Tilly Lovell have not been identical since at Tilly stopped growing at the age of five. After the death of their mother, the twins father struggled to raise them until he realises he can use Tilly's growth issues to deceive punters at travelling fairs to buy his fake elixir. Eventually he gives up on them and sells them to the 'Captain' who takes them in along with a group of other misfits in need of a home.
In a separate storyline, Theo is being raised by his grandfather, Lord Seabrook, who one day decides that Theo is old enough to appreciate his bizarre collection of curiosities and samples of anatomical deformities. Theo does take an interest, although not in a way his grandfather is happy with and after a chance meeting with Keziah and Tilly, the pieces of their lives begin to be woven together in unexpected and dangerous circumstances.
The Fascination is gothic, it's mysterious and it's magical. Filled with intrigue and a darkness that comes from the exploitation of people who have no other options available to them. In a way it didn't really matter what the story was about, because it was so easy to just get lost in the fantastical world and simply enjoy reading it.
The book does an amazing job of portraying the intrigue and obsession that came with this type of entertainment - the more sinister incentives behind the travelling shows along with the life of loneliness and uncertainty for the people who were being used as exhibits. An absolute must read for darker or gothic historical fiction fans.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Essie Fox was raised in rural Herefordshire, on the borders between England and Wales. After studying English Literature at Sheffield University - where she fell in love with the Victorian novels that would go on to inspire her writing - Essie moved to London and worked for the Telegraph Sunday Magazine, then a job in book publishing ... before a career in commercial illustration under the name of Sarah Bengry. Always an avid reader, Essie is now writing Victorian gothic novels. Her debut, The Somnambulist, was shortlisted for the 2012 National Book Awards, and featured on Channel 4’s TV Book Club. This was followed by Elijah's Mermaid, and then The Goddess and the Thief. The Last Days of Leda Grey was selected as The Times Historical Book of the Month. For more information, visit Essie's website at www.essiefox.com
Thanks to Anne Cater - @RandomTTours, Essie Fox - @essiefox and Orenda Books - @OrendaBooks for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Historical Fiction / Historical Thriller
Publisher: Orenda Books
ISBN: 978-1914585524
Pages: 300pp
Comments