Circus of Wonders
Victorian England, 1860s. Nell’s already troubled young life is further ripped apart when her father sells her to Jasper Jupiter—the man with the circus. With birth marks covering her skin, she is groomed, costumed, and displayed as an oddity alongside Jupiter’s other human collections. And the crowd loves her. With the name Nellie Moon on the handbills, Nell flies through the air on the trapeze, moving from town to town with the caravans and her new family.
While Jasper dreams of fame, his brother, Toby, would settle for something simpler. Always at the command of Jasper, Toby has lived in the shadows. When he catches Nell’s eye, a timid relationship begins to bloom, each of them struggling with self-love. But the brothers share a secret from the Crimean war, one they are both determined will never be revealed. When Nell’s fame begins to overshadow Jasper’s, he grows more erratic, his greed turning to desperation, as his carefully constructed scheme shatters around him.
The writing in Circus of Wonders is vividly lyrical, each chapter almost a vignette of each character’s thoughts and emotions as the story slowly unfolds. While oftentimes grim, the pages are also touched with whimsy and poetic details. Once a timid child, Nell finds herself when she embraces what life has forced upon her, while Toby struggles with near-paralyzing war memories and his fierce loyalty to Jasper. When the final secret of the war is revealed, it rings a bit hollow, but Nell has found the strength to accept herself as she was made, which is both brave and inspiring.
