The first Essie Fox book I read was one of my early book reviews for Lovereading. It was Elijah’s Mermaid and I adored it. And so began a love for each and very book this author has written, along with her fascinating website ‘The Virtual Victorian’. It has been some time since her last book The Last Days of Leda Grey was published and so I was overjoyed to hear that Essie had a new book being published by one of my favourite publishers, Orenda Books. What a partnership! So I was absolutely over the moon when Karen very kindly gifted me a proof copy of The Fascination. Oh what a joy it is to immerse myself once again in to Essie’s dark and brilliant imagination.

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 an 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…

“A grand piano was revealed as the stage drapes were drawn aside. Captain was seated there before it, looking as elegant as ever in a long-tailed dinner coat, his hair restrained with a black ribbon. And then the beauty of the music as his fingers played the keys. If any melody could ever be described as having colour, this was blue and green and gold. It skimmed and danced in any light still shafting through the venue’s windows. It flashed across the gilded snakes that garlanded the marble columns either side the gauzy veils suspended high above the stage. And then the veils began to part, and Tilly Lovell was revealed in all her miniature perfection.”

The Fascination by Essie Fox – please note this excerpt was taken from a proof copy and so may not exactly reflect the finished print edition.

Essie’s words are, in themselves, like a melody. Her writing is rich, elegant and full of atmosphere. I am always lost in the world she creates and never am I disappointed. With The Fascination, we are transported back to Victorian England. A time of travelling shows and the use of ‘freaks’ as entertainment. The twins Keziah and Tilly are used to sell a ‘magical’ elixir, one that can work miracles. That is until they are sold by their father to Captain. But will their hard lives improve or will the poison that penetrated their childhood catch up with them once again? The heavy drug use of the Victorian age along with the deep fascination for the macabre flows deep within this story. It is a tale of betrayal, abuse and depravity. But ultimately is is also a tale of the beauty of difference and the power of love.

It is a beautiful novel. As always, Essie’s novels slow the reader down to build the story through atmosphere and intrigue. Her ability to take you back to the time and place so that you can almost smell the grease paint and hear the music she describes. Another wonderful story from Essie Fox.

My thanks go to Karen at Orenda books for gifting me an early copy. I can’t wait for the beautiful hardback to be published later this month. I shall definitely be getting myself a copy to add to my bookcase.