I’m very partial to historical fiction and am delighted to help close the blog tour for The Fascination by Essie Fox. My enormous thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to participate. I’m delighted to share my review today.

Published by Orenda on 22nd June 2023 The Fascination is available for purchase here.

The Fascination

Victorian England. A world of rural fairgrounds and glamorous London theatres. A world of dark secrets and deadly obsessions…

Twin sisters Keziah and Tilly Lovell are identical in every way, except that Tilly hasn’t grown a single inch since she was five. Coerced into promoting their father’s quack elixir as they tour the country fairgrounds, at the age of fifteen the girls are sold to a mysterious Italian known as ‘Captain’.

Theo is an orphan, raised by his grandfather, Lord Seabrook, a man who has a dark interest in anatomical freaks and other curiosities … particularly the human kind. Resenting his grandson for his mother’s death in childbirth, when Seabrook remarries and a new heir is produced, Theo is forced to leave home without a penny to his name.

Theo finds employment in Dr Summerwell’s Museum of Anatomy in London, and here he meets Captain and his theatrical ‘family’ of performers, freaks and outcasts.

But it is Theo’s fascination with Tilly and Keziah that will lead all of them into a web of deceits, exposing the darkest secrets and threatening everything they know…

Exploring universal themes of love and loss, the power of redemption and what it means to be unique, The Fascination is an evocative, glittering and bewitching gothic novel that brings alive Victorian London – and darkness and deception that lies beneath…

My Review of The Fascination

The fairground is coming.

Oh my goodness I enjoyed The Fascination. Rarely has a book been more aptly named. Essie Fox delves into the world of ‘fascinations’ and does so with such dexterity and beauty in her writing that the reader is held spell-bound. 

The plotting here is so skilful because the different threads, the small seemingly incidental moments, and much bigger themes, are deftly woven into a truly mesmerising narrative and it’s not until the final word is read that the reader can fully appreciate how wonderful the plotting is. The attention to detail, wonderful descriptions, the appeal to the senses, and the absolutely authentic historical accuracy of the era make The Fascination so immersive and spell-binding. It’s one of those stories where I found I thoroughly resented real life getting in the way of my reading. 

I adored meeting the characters whom I completely forgot were artistic creations. They all felt so vivid and real. I thought giving Keziah a first person voice in contrast to the other elements of the narrative was inspired because she is the most ‘normal’ or conventional of the characters and yet is the one who most often feels on the periphery of the action. She is a kind of Shakespearean Touchstone, shining a light on the qualities and flaws of others in the story. And what others they are. The cast here is diverse, complex, believable, interesting and captivating. It’s difficult to be too precise here for fear of spoiling the story for other readers because plot and character are so exquisitely interwoven.

Whilst there’s an element of unworldliness and ethereal fragility in the story, with the fairytale of Snow White and Rose Red creating a magical aspect, Essie Fox does not shy away from aspects that transport The Fascination from simple (if pretty well perfect) entertainment into a narrative that swirls through the reader’s mind, drawing them in to a world of difference, sexuality, depravity, betrayal, family and abuse, counterbalanced by community, understanding, support, kindness, truth and, above all else, love. These aspects create a story that is both entertaining, but also incredibly affecting. I have a feeling The Fascination will resonate with me for a very long time.

The Fascination is a beautiful and tender homage to those who find themselves on the outskirts of so-called normality, and that renders them as wonderful as any other being. I thought The Fascination was simply astounding. It’s magical, moving and magnificent. I adored it.

About Essie Fox

Essie Fox was born and raised in rural Herefordshire, which inspires much of her writing.

After studying English Literature at Sheffield University, she moved to London where she worked for the Telegraph Sunday Magazine, then the book publishers George Allen & Unwin – before becoming self-employed in the world of art and design.

Always an avid reader, Essie now spends her time writing historical gothic novels. Her debut, The Somnambulist, was shortlisted for the National Book Awards, and featured on Channel 4’s TV Book Club. The Last Days of Leda Grey, set in the early years of silent film, was selected as The Times Historical Book of the Month. Her latest novel, The Fascination is based in Victorian country fairgrounds, the glamour of the London theatres, and an Oxford Street museum full of morbid curiosities.

Essie is also the creator of the popular blog: The Virtual Victorian. She has lectured on this era at the V&A, and the National Gallery in London.

For further information, find Essie on Instagram and Facebook or visit her website and follow her on Twitter @essiefox.

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