Fiction |
Historical |
Summary
Summary
"Beneath this buoyant tale of down-market entertainers in Victorian London rumbles a heavyweight novel . . . Intricate and thrilling" ( The New York Times ).
A young, beautiful woman of limited means, Eliza is modern before her time. Not for her the stifling--if respectable--conventionality of marriage, children, domestic drudgery. She longs for more. Through her work as an artist's model, she meets the magnetic and irascible Devil--a born showman whose dream is to run his own theater company. Devil's right-hand man is the improbably named Carlo Boldoni, an ill-tempered dwarf with an enormous talent for all things magic and illusion. Carlo and Devil clash at every opportunity and it constantly falls upon Eliza to broker an uneasy peace between them. And then there is Jasper Button. Mild-mannered and a family man at heart, it is his gift as an artist that makes him the unlikely final member of the motley crew.
Thrown together by a twist of fate, their lives are inextricably linked: The fortune of one depends on the fortune of the other. And as Eliza gets sucked into the seductive and dangerous world her strange companions inhabit, she risks not only her heart, but also her life, which is soon thrown into peril.
"Love, seduction, magic and illusion collide . . . A spellbinding journey through an extremely shadowy world." -- Daily Express
"A brilliant Gothic mix of glitter and grime." -- Daily Mail
"Thomas's sprawling follow-up to The Kashmir Shawl . . . A story of a theater company, a thriller, and, most successfully, a portrait of a woman trying to create an equal partnership with a man." -- Publishers Weekly
Reviews (1)
Kirkus Review
Illusionists in Victorian England take center stage in Thomas latest romance (Constance, 2013, etc.).Devil Wix is more ambitious than his fellow entertainers and wants to do more than eke out a hand-to-mouth existence. The captivating showman dreams of managing his own theatrical company and is willing to go to almost any lengths to achieve his goal. Following a chance encounter, Devil teams up with resourceful dwarf Carlo Bonomi, and the act thrives when the partners present a gory illusion each evening at the run-down Palmyra Theater in London's East End. Soon, the pair ally themselves with Heinrich, a strange Swiss inventor obsessed with automata; Jasper, a wax sculptor and childhood friend whos privy to Devils darkest memory; and art student/life model Eliza, an aspiring actress whose kindness and steely determination bind the diverse and often contentious group together. Eliza falls in love with Devil, much to Jaspers disappointment, but Devils not used to dealing with a woman who demands respect. Outwitting his opponent in a card game, Devil gains ownership of the Palmyra and directs his efforts toward making the venue the foremost entertainment hub in the East End. As he discovers the formidable costs of refurbishing the theater and attracting a fickle public, Devil borrows money for renovations and publicity, auditions new acts to keep the show fresh and pays scant attention to the dangerous mental state of one member of the troupe. Thomas enthusiastically explores a unique subject and skillfully creates the sights, atmosphere and sensations of British theater during this era; but with each melodramatic event, the plot becomes wispier and wispier until it finally vanishes into thin air. Predictably, relationships, attitudes and the courses of lives change before the story takes one final gasp, but by then, even die-hard fans may find themselves struggling to get through the drawn-out tale.An excellent premise, but the story lacks magic. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.