From the Publisher
A Christian Science Monitor's "10 Best Books of April" —
"Enticing...Readers will cheer on this gutsy heroine [and] vibrant cast...An accomplished first novel from a bright new talent." — Star Tribune
“Richly evocative and glittering with atmosphere” — STACEY HALLS, bestselling author of The Familiars
“Theatre of Marvels is a fascinating, empowering story of a young woman's search for identity and justice in Victorian London, a world which Lianne Dillsworth evokes so richly.” — JENNIFER SAINT, author of Ariadne
“A dazzling tale of self-discovery with a cast of vivid characters. I loved it.” — LAURA PURCELL, author of The Silent Companions
“A startling, original and utterly compelling novel which subtly navigates the core issues of race, gender and class.” — MARY CHAMBERLAIN, author of The Dressmaker of Dachau
“Thrilling, eye-opening and absorbing.' — LIZZIE POOK, author of Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter
“I fell in love with Zillah and her theatre world. I was gripped from the opening pages - highly recommended.” — LOUISE HARE, author of This Lovely City
“Fresh, original and full of atmosphere - a compelling story with a heroine I'll remember for a long time.” — FRANCES QUINN, author of The Smallest Man
“A story that shines a spotlight into the shadows of the 19th century, while also exploring very relevant themes of identity. So fantastic to read a novel that centers POC in the Victorian era. Loved it!” — SAARA EL-ARIFI, author of The Final Strife
“Gripping…Can't wait for everybody to meet Zillah.” — LAURE VAN RENSBURG, author of Nobody But Us
“An illuminating, page-turning tale of self-actualization. Loved it.” — KATE SAWYER, author of The Stranding
“A compelling, big-hearted story that whips the reader along. I loved seeing Victorian London through the eyes of its strong female protagonist.” — ROSIE ANDREWS, author of The Leviathan
“Theatre of Marvels depicts Victorian London in rich, vivid detail that springs into life. Zillah, the beating heart of the novel, is both brave and compassionate. I was rooting for her from the first page to the last.” — ELIZABETH LEE, author of Cunning Women
MARY CHAMBERLAIN
A startling, original and utterly compelling novel which subtly navigates the core issues of race, gender and class.”
SAARA EL-ARIFI
A story that shines a spotlight into the shadows of the 19th century, while also exploring very relevant themes of identity. So fantastic to read a novel that centers POC in the Victorian era. Loved it!
STACEY HALLS
Richly evocative and glittering with atmosphere
JENNIFER SAINT
Theatre of Marvels is a fascinating, empowering story of a young woman's search for identity and justice in Victorian London, a world which Lianne Dillsworth evokes so richly.”
FRANCES QUINN
Fresh, original and full of atmosphere - a compelling story with a heroine I'll remember for a long time.”
Star Tribune
"Enticing...Readers will cheer on this gutsy heroine [and] vibrant cast...An accomplished first novel from a bright new talent."
LOUISE HARE
I fell in love with Zillah and her theatre world. I was gripped from the opening pages - highly recommended.”
LAURA PURCELL
A dazzling tale of self-discovery with a cast of vivid characters. I loved it.
LIZZIE POOK
Thrilling, eye-opening and absorbing.'
LAURE VAN RENSBURG
Gripping…Can't wait for everybody to meet Zillah.
KATE SAWYER
An illuminating, page-turning tale of self-actualization. Loved it.
Kirkus Reviews
2022-03-16
A young actor in Victorian-era London is determined to save an African woman from an evil theater owner.
Twenty-year-old Zillah, the narrator of Dillsworth’s debut novel, has far from a charmed life, but she’s come a long way from “the slums of St. Giles,” the London neighborhood where she was raised. Or has she? The young woman, the child of a Black mother and White father, has an acting gig, but it’s a pretty bad one: She plays the “Great Amazonia,” “a dangerous savage from darkest Africa,” at a theater company run by a leering creep named Marcus Crillick. (Both Zillah and Crillick know the Amazon isn’t in Africa, but they assume, correctly, that their audiences won’t care.) Zillah has been living with her lover, Crillick’s friend the aristocrat Vincent Woodward, at Crillick’s house. Zillah sees Vincent as her ticket out of the theater, but things get complicated when she meets Lucien Winters, a Black grocer who loathes Zillah’s act and wants to “save” her from it. Zillah manages to withstand the humiliation she feels when she performs in blackface (Crillick thinks she’s “not Black enough” as it is to play Amazonia), but when the theater owner introduces a new act to his patrons, a terrified African woman he calls the “Leopard Lady,” Zillah despairs for the newcomer’s safety, suspecting she’s been kidnapped. Zillah becomes determined to save the woman, knowing that it will mean the end of her career at the theater; meanwhile, she learns an unwelcome secret about Vincent’s family. With the exception of Zillah, all the characters are flat archetypes—Crillick is cartoonishly evil; Vincent and Lucien are both bland though are apparently meant to be charming. While Dillsworth does a decent job of evoking Victorian London and her pacing isn’t terrible, readers will see the plot twists, such as they are, coming a mile (kilometre?) away. Dillsworth shows some promise, but this novel never manages to rise above the level of unremarkable.
Nothing to marvel at.
