‘A very special debut’ JENNY COLGAN
‘Suspenseful, authentic, sexy and uplifting. Beautiful writing plunges the reader into the showgrounds of Edwardian Scotland, sights, sounds, smells and all’ ERIN KELLY
‘Beautifully written, engaging plot and thoroughly researched’ STYLIST
‘A joy to read, so beautifully written, evoking the rich and often overlooked story of the travelling fairs of Edwardian-era Scotland’ SEAN LUSK
THE SHOW MUST GO ON …
1910. With the disappearance of her mother and the sudden death of her father, Lena instantly loses any security she has within the circus she has known all her life. She is advised to sell the carousel her father cared for like a child and look for a husband, or a job in a factory.
Until flame-haired Violet, known to all in the fairgrounds as ‘the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived’, suggests they go it alone with their own, all-female act. With her outspoken ways and her refusal to marry, Violet is as much an outcast as Lena. What do they have to lose? Recruiting new performers including bareback horse-rider Rosie, on the run from her abusive father, and Carmen whose rainbow ribbons hide the darkness in her past, the four women form an unbreakable bond.
Thrust into a harsh and dangerous world that treats them with suspicion, disdain and even violence, they must forge their own path in search of freedom, security, and love.
Deeply rooted in the Edwardian era, THE SHOW WOMAN is brilliantly realised and expertly interlaces strong female characters, deeply-woven family secrets and heartfelt love stories.
‘Suspenseful, authentic, sexy and uplifting. Beautiful writing plunges the reader into the showgrounds of Edwardian Scotland, sights, sounds, smells and all’ ERIN KELLY
‘Beautifully written, engaging plot and thoroughly researched’ STYLIST
‘A joy to read, so beautifully written, evoking the rich and often overlooked story of the travelling fairs of Edwardian-era Scotland’ SEAN LUSK
THE SHOW MUST GO ON …
1910. With the disappearance of her mother and the sudden death of her father, Lena instantly loses any security she has within the circus she has known all her life. She is advised to sell the carousel her father cared for like a child and look for a husband, or a job in a factory.
Until flame-haired Violet, known to all in the fairgrounds as ‘the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived’, suggests they go it alone with their own, all-female act. With her outspoken ways and her refusal to marry, Violet is as much an outcast as Lena. What do they have to lose? Recruiting new performers including bareback horse-rider Rosie, on the run from her abusive father, and Carmen whose rainbow ribbons hide the darkness in her past, the four women form an unbreakable bond.
Thrust into a harsh and dangerous world that treats them with suspicion, disdain and even violence, they must forge their own path in search of freedom, security, and love.
Deeply rooted in the Edwardian era, THE SHOW WOMAN is brilliantly realised and expertly interlaces strong female characters, deeply-woven family secrets and heartfelt love stories.
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Reviews
An utterly electric debut! I wanted to run away with this all-woman circus. An enthralling, dynamic tale that will stay with me for a very long time
Wonderfully heartfelt and compelling
What an irresistible and original premise! I loved reading every word . . . The Show Woman is as enthralling as the spectacular circus act that Emma so beautifully describes
Set in Edwardian Scotland, The Show Woman is a wonderfully told story that mixes adventures, romance, crimes, and feisty women, all against the backdrop of a circus run by women. Gripping, heartbreaking, compelling, I genuinely could not put it down
Dazzling . . . like all the very best historical fiction it has characters who are alive and real and brings the past to glorious life, with a page-turning plot that meant I could not put it down