Circus of Wonders is the spellbinding new novel from Elizabeth Macneal, author of bestseller The Doll Factory. Moving from the pleasure gardens of Victorian London to the battle-scarred plains of the Crimea, Circus of Wonders is an astonishing story about power and ownership, fame and the threat of invisibility.

Join us for an unmissable and truly magical evening.

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1866. In a coastal village in southern England, Nell picks violets for a living. Set apart by her community because of the birthmarks that speckle her skin, Nell’s world is her beloved brother. But when Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders arrives in the village, a great betrayal befalls Nell: she is sold by her father to Jasper Jupiter, promising him his very own ‘leopard girl’. Nell is torn from all she knows and taken away against her will, but, as her fame grows, and she finds friendship with the other performers and Jasper’s gentle brother Toby, she begins gradually to wonder if joining the show might not actually be the best thing ever to have happened to her.

In London, newspapers describe Nell as the eighth wonder of the world. Figurines are cast in her image, and crowds rush to watch Nellie Moon soar through the air. But who gets to tell Nell’s story? What happens when her fame threatens to eclipse that of the showman who bought her? And as she falls in love with Toby, can he detach himself from his past and the terrible secret that binds him to his brother?

Elizabeth Macneal was born in Scotland and now lives in East London. She is a writer and potter and works from a small studio at the bottom of her garden. She read English Literature at Oxford University before working in the City for several years. In 2017, she completed the Creative Writing MA at UEA, where she was awarded the Malcolm Bradbury scholarship. She is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller The Doll Factory, which won the Caledonia Novel Award 2018. Circus of Wonders is her second book.