{"product_id":"the-fascination-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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Orenda Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/08\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781914585531\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 300\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.52lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.72h x 5.04w x 1.02d","brand":"Essie Fox","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45419020353717,"sku":"9781914585531","price":14.44,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_d01dda1c-4ee8-4cea-936e-0c4b03859f95.jpg?v=1748390639","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-fascination-9781914585531","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}