The 19th century had people fascinated with the strange and the weird - the increasing popularity of gothic traditions in literature as well as the rise of the circus filled with people who were rejected by society but a sight to be marvelled when paying to see them on a stage. Circus of Wonders follows the story of one such circus with a showman at the head dreaming of performing for the "freak fancier" herself, Queen Victoria. This book is filled with personal struggles, heartbreak, familial betrayals and some dark corners to be explored.
The story focuses on three people central to this particular circus, the first being Nell, the girl covered in birthmarks that isolate her from the people in the village she lives in. Kidnapped and sold by her father to Jasper Jupiter's circus as a curiosity to be looked at and performed. In many ways, this ends up being the best thing that happens to Nell. The journey she goes on is an important one, as she experiences triumphs and challenges that lead her to question who she is and pushes her towards acceptance of what makes her different, finding love and adoration in the most unlikely of places. Her story is the most heartwarming and enjoyable to follow as she is influenced by all those she interacts with and finds her own voice beyond the small village life she thought she would always have. The best kind of character growth is when they are taken from their place of comfort and are put into a position where they are faced with being honest with themselves for the first time and Nell fits perfectly into that category.
The second of the three central characters is one of two brothers that run the circus - Toby. Toby is a character who is torn between the loyalty and ties that bind him to his brother and the person he has always hoped to be. Here is a character who is trapped in constant inner turmoil about his past and feeling that if he did something for himself, he would be betraying his brother. He's the kind of character that you do and do not want to root for as he wants to be a good person and make amends but has a heart tainted with jealousy that makes him an unsympathetic character. Being surrounded by all these interesting people in the circus, he has this complex about being too normal and wants to have something especially unique about him the way the others do. It makes you wonder if he is desperate to be out of his brother's shadow, to move on from his past or a bit of both.
And that brings us to the third main character, the showman of this troupe - Jasper Jupiter. Like any other showman in the circus business, Jasper wants his name known across England and especially in London, to know him as a collector of majestic performers who have something a little bit different about them - a bearded lady, a giant woman, an albino child and, of course, Nell the leopard girl. Jasper is a character I was constantly conflicted about from the beginning, whether he was a despicable person or good. In Jasper, you have a very human character, who is almost entirely morally grey. He buys people with interesting deformities to make them part of his show - Jasper Jupiter's Circus of Wonders - but will make sure they live comfortably. He sees them as lesser than him but never shows that outwardly to them. There were times when I wanted certain characters to show Jasper the gratitude he was owed at times but equally there were parts where I thought just because he did five good things, it does not erase the other five bad things he did. But his true colours show when he realises his name isn't the one on people's lips when they talk about the show.
It makes an interesting tale when you put the three of them together. One simple transaction of buying Nell from her father for this circus led the lives of these three characters down a path that connected before it split apart again as if they were meant to be in each other's lives for only this brief time in order to take them to the place they are meant to be. Their involvement with one another was never going to be long term and it showed them all what and who was important to them. I felt like the ending was what each character deserved, whether they deserved the best and most fulfilled ending, the direst and disheartening or something in between. But there is no doubt that at the heart of this story, Nell is the most important character. Her story, her voice, her growth is the one that resonates to the end.
Reasons to Recommend:
- If you enjoyed Elizabeth Macneal's The Doll Factory
- If you enjoy historical fiction in the Victorian era
- The captivating vibrancy of a Victorian-era circus with references to real people who are known in history for leading or being part of circuses (beyond just P.T. Barnum)
- An intricately beautiful but simple narrative form that's easy to read as well as evoking intense emotion at times
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