WW2 espionage thriller set in DOVER
Victorian Gothic novel set in London, Buckinghamshire and Herefordshire
31st August 2023
The Fascination by Essie Fox, Victorian Gothic novel set in London, Buckinghamshire and Herefordshire.
The Fascination is a darkly beautiful novel that echoes the author Essie Fox’s interest in the circus and Victorian gothic. It depicts the Victorian obsession with the discoveries of the age, and the collections of oddities and curiosities, from scientific discoveries and medical progress to the deeply macabre. The book contains fabulous and richly detailed descriptions of the lives of the privileged classes and of London theatre. The author contrasts these starkly with the harsh realities of life for rural showmen and women. Even worse was the fate of those who were termed “freaks” – people who were disfigured and who worked as exhibits in circuses and shows.
Keziah is one of the story’s narrators. She and her twin sister Tilly are born in a vardo, or caravan, to a gypsy mother and a drunken, abusive father who are travelling showmen in Herefordshire. Possibly as a result of an accident, Tilly doesn’t grow after the age of five. Their father sells the children to the mysterious Captain, who proves to be a saviour. He makes a habit of collecting unfortunates and housing them in a faded mansion in Chiswick. Many of them find careers in the theatre and entertainment.
Alongside this narrative, we encounter Theo. His situation has some similarities to that of the twins: he is a privileged young man but from an equally dysfunctional family. His mother died in childbirth, and he has only a passing acquaintance with his cold and cruel grandfather, Lord Seabrook. When Seabrook casts him out, Theo takes a job working for a disgraced doctor, who has a museum of curiosities.
The three young people meet briefly when the circus reaches Windsor, and they plan the twins’ escape, but fate intervenes. The plot follows their individual stories until they eventually come together again.
The story of the twins is interspersed with the Grimm brothers’ fairy tale, Snow White and Rose Red, but it would work just as well without this. The Fascination also references Victorian works such as Dickens and the overtly pornographic novel, Fanny Hill. It is emphatically not a children’s book. It describes much of the worst of human nature, such as morbid curiosity, the abuse of drugs and incidents of sexual deviance and exploitation. It is in many ways a moral tale, summed up by one character remarking of Lord Seabrook, “What deformity is worse than a man who has no heart?”
I feel that at times that the glittering descriptions are at the expense of moving the plot along. At one point a character says, “Oh do get on! This is too dull!” While I wouldn’t put it that strongly, the author certainly expects the reader to indulge her for sustained periods when we really want to know what’s going to happen next. It’s a good job the descriptions are so exquisite and that’s what really kept my interest and made this a worthwhile read.
Sue for the TripFiction Team
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