{"product_id":"9781914585531","title":"The Fascination","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe estranged grandson of a wealthy collector of human curiosities becomes fascinated with teenaged twin sisters, leading them into a web of dark obsessions. A dazzlingly dark gothic novel from the bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Somnambulist. \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Makes skilful use of the tropes of Victorian gothic fiction…              a story of society’             s outsiders seeking acceptance and redemption´               \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Times \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`An inventive slice of gothic fiction, big-hearted and full of strangeness´               \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`A dazzling kaleidoscope of darkness and light´               \u003cb\u003eLaura Purcell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`A magical, macabre masterpiece´               \u003cb\u003eA.J. West\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Brimming with Victorian wonders!´               \u003cb\u003eSean Lusk \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e________________________________\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVictorian England. A world of rural fairgrounds and glamorous London theatres. A world of dark secrets and deadly obsessions…             \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwin 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’             . \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheo 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheo 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut 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…             \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExploring universal themes of love and loss, the power of redemption and what it means to be unique, \u003ci\u003eThe Fascination\u003c\/i\u003e is an evocative, glittering and bewitching gothic novel that brings alive Victorian London –              and darkness and deception that lies beneath…             \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e________________________________ \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Fascinating and immersive´               \u003cb\u003eAnna Mazzola\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`It had me spellbound´               \u003cb\u003eLouisa Treger \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`A wonderful, captivating carnival of a novel´               \u003cb\u003eElizabeth Fremantle\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Essie Fox’             s best novel to date –              weaves terrors with triumphs, heartache with hope´               \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCulturefly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`A scintillating cabinet of curiosities´               \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`A cast of characters Dickens would be proud of´               \u003cb\u003eFrances Quinn\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Rich, dark and heady …              a glorious gothic carnival´               \u003cb\u003eKate Griffin\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Magnificent ... a triumph´               \u003cb\u003eDinah Jefferies\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`A tender, beautifully written meditation on what it meant in Victorian times to be an outsider´               \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHistorical Novel Society\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Darkly gothic, but surprisingly tender ... rendered with such magical and often terrifying authenticity. A marvel´               \u003cb\u003eDamian Dibben\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Filled with gothic darkness and glorious hope´               \u003cb\u003eLiz Fenwick\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Full of horrors and delights´               \u003cb\u003eBridget Walsh\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e ‘             An opium trance of a novel, a vivid fantasmagoria´               \u003cb\u003eNoel O’             Reilly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Deliciously dark, full of twists and surprises´               \u003cb\u003eLiz Hyder\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`What a triumph!´               \u003cb\u003eEmma Curtis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Very fine historical fiction´               \u003cb\u003eEmma Carroll\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Truly unexpected and original´               \u003cb\u003eKate Forsyth\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`A dizzying potion of a novel´               \u003cb\u003ePolly Crosby\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`A sumptuous, gothic treat´               \u003cb\u003eCaroline Green\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Exceptional storytelling´               \u003cb\u003eNydia Hetherington \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`I loved this group of wonderful “             others”             ´               \u003cb\u003eMarika Cobbold\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`An exquisite novel´               \u003cb\u003eErika Mailman \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e`Haunting and emotive´               \u003cb\u003eGill Paul\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Essie Fox","offers":[{"title":"Orenda Books |  Paperback \/ softback | Trade paperback (US) |  2024-10-08","offer_id":45703428735231,"sku":"9781914585531","price":22.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/files\/BNCImageAPI_ea59d2ff-6750-4bda-8748-eb5c1421dff4.jpg?v=1720273541","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9781914585531","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}