{"product_id":"the-fascination-9781914585524","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' Mysterious, sometimes shocking, full of surprises and twists ... brimming with Victorian wonders!' \u003cb\u003eSean Lusk\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA magical, macabre masterpiece' \u003cb\u003eA.J. West\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' Fascinating and immersive' \u003cb\u003eAnna Mazzola\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' 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' Filled with gothic darkness and glorious hope' \u003cb\u003eLiz Fenwick\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' Truly unexpected and original' \u003cb\u003eKate Forsyth\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' Beautifully researched, full of horrors and delights' \u003cb\u003eBridget Walsh\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' A dizzying potion of a novel' \u003cb\u003ePolly Crosby\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' A twisty, gothic' \u003cb\u003eRebecca John\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' Rich in peril, tempered with strange, theatrical beauty' \u003cb\u003eKate Mascarenhas\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' Haunting and emotive' \u003cb\u003eGill Paul\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' A gorgeously gothic slice of Victoriana' \u003cb\u003eKatherine Clements\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' Exceptional storytelling, exquisitely told' \u003cb\u003eNydia Hetherington\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' Very fine historical fiction' \u003cb\u003eEmma Carroll\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' So inventive and surprising' \u003cb\u003eJuliet West\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' A sumptuous, gothic treat' \u003cb\u003eCaroline Green\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' Wonderfully vivid and touching' \u003cb\u003eAdele Geras\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' I loved this story of a group of wonderful \" others' \u003cb\u003eMarika Cobbold\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' Atmospheric, gripping and ultimately uplifting' \u003cb\u003eKaren Coles\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' Richly detailed, beautifully written' \u003cb\u003eMichael J Malone\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' The very best kind of gothic' \u003cb\u003eLianne Dillsworth\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' Masterful' \u003cb\u003eLouise Swanson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e' A kaleidoscopic, twisting, devilish novel' \u003cb\u003eDan Bassett, Bookseller\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Orenda Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/28\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781914585524\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 300","brand":"Essie Fox","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43150407467189,"sku":"9781914585524","price":22.94,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_d9980a16-1d6d-44b6-b8c2-c573d4bef64d.jpg?v=1696347673","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-fascination-9781914585524","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}