In turn-of-the-century America, a young girl dreams of a world that stretches beyond the confines of a quiet life on the family farm. With little more than her wit and a cigar box of treasures, Mable steps away from all she knows, seeking the limitless marvels of the Chicago World’s Fair. There, a chance encounter triggers her destiny—a life with a famed showman by the name of John Ringling. A quarter of a century later, Lady Rosamund Easling boards a ship to America as a last adventure before her arranged marriage. There, the twenties are roaring, and the rich and famous gather at opulent, Gatsby-esque parties. The Jazz Age has arrived, and with it, the golden era of the American circus, whose queen is none other than the enigmatic Mable Ringling. When Rosamund’s path crosses with Mable’s and the Ringlings’ glittering world, she makes the life-altering decision to leave behind a comfortable future of estates and propriety, choosing instead the nomadic life of a trick rider in the Ringling Brothers’ circus.
Amazon.com
After meeting a professional pianist while attending a tea party with her mother in Cincinnati, 19th century Ohio farmgirl Armilda Burton has stars in her eyes about the big wide world out there. She finds herself unable to be content with the same quiet life of a farmer's wife her mother chose. Instead, Armilda decides to change her name to Mable and head for the big city of Chicago to try to make her own way. While working as a restaurant hostess on the grounds of the 1893 World's Fair, Mable meets famed circus organizer John Ringling. Though their meeting is brief, there is a definite connection between them. Unfortunately, John has an internal panic over his growing bond with Mable leading him to break off their acquaintance. She doesn't see him again until 1905 (coincidentally at the World's Fair being held in Atlantic City, New Jersey) but the moment they reconnect it's like no time has passed at all. In record time, Mable finds herself with the new title of Mrs. Ringling, though she quickly makes it known that she has no intention of interfering with her husband's business, instead choosing to focus on maintaining their palatial home.
This novel then alternates between the progression of Mable's life in the late 1800s-early 1900s and that of Lady Rosamund Easling in the 1920s. Rosamund is the daughter of an earl but feels too restricted within the social rules and expectations that come with her titled life of privilege. An accomplished equestrian and stunt rider, Rosamund is spotted performing (in secret from her family) at a show by Colin Keary, manager of John Ringling's traveling circus. Colin, through much persuading, convinces Rosamund to travel to America to help acclimate and train her horse which has just been sold to the circus. What he doesn't tell her is that he intends to make her the circus' next stunt performer, if he can convince her to take the position.
Not long after her arrival in America, Colin snags Rosamund an invitation to Ca d'Zan (aka House of John), that dreamy residence of John and Mabel.
Fun fact: Some interior shots of Ca d'Zan were actually used
as scenes for Mrs. Havisham's house in the 1990s movie adaptation
of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations.
Mable is instantly taken with Rosamund, and over time and many meaningful conversations proves to be quite the calming force for Rosamund whenever she starts to doubt what she really wants for her own life. Within this novel, the two develop a touching bond which lasts until Mable's dying day.
"I had dreams. And my rose garden makes me think on them. Often."
Rosamund pictured a young Mable Ringling with stars glimmering in her eyes and smiled. The vision suited her.
"What were your dreams?"
"Oh, same as yours. Love. Freedom. Something up in lights -- didn't have to be my name. Just something to make the journey sparkle a little." She leaned in, winking on the words. "And if you can look past the exterior of a dream, what's buried deepest is always the most rewarding. My Ca d'Zan has a grand exterior. It's playful -- the way I wanted it. But if you look past the house, you'll find that the rose garden has been tended with far more care. By my own hands, for a much longer time. So you see, it's the journey we're all after -- not the reward."
"I don't know what my dreams are anymore," Rosamund said. "I thought I did, but then I came here and ... everything changed."
"Bravo then," Mable countered. "This building up of what we want doesn't have to be a tearing down of who we are. It's the worst kind of extravagance to think we're above adversity. Isn't that what God calls of us, to acknowledge that we are moving with this undercurrent of something that is always at work around us? Something bigger than we could ever be just as one person? Rosamund, we only see what we want to see -- in people, in love, and in life. It's a choice, my dear. That's the point of all this. You choose the face you offer the world. And it's only behind the costumes and the masks that we can be who we truly are."
It doesn't take much for me to get invested in a circus story, as long as it has plenty of backstage scenes, because that's where my interest tends to focus. I always want to know more about the backstories and relationships around performers and this novel is no disappointment in that aspect. Not only are we taken backstage as the performers set up their routines but we are also brought in to witness gossipy gabfests and rivalries brewing. We get to know and love the animals that work with their human counterparts and Cambron works magic bringing the scents and ambiance of a good crowd to life. There's also a good bit of fun general history worked into the plot, from Prohibition era struggles to even a blink-and-you'd-miss-it reference to animator Walt Disney!
The relationships are all so well done here. The romantic connections are written with great warmth and respect and I love that all the key male parts were men of strong character who loved and acknowledged the inner strength of the women they loved. I also liked that the storyline wasn't all sap. Cambron mixes in enough grim and tragic elements -- from alcoholism to characters battling TB or diabetes; Sally's story especially broke my heart! -- to keep the reading emotionally interesting. Highly recommend any lovers of circus stories give this one a go, just to experience the way Mable is written here, if nothing else. Man, by the end I wanted pep talks from Mable!!
Note To Readers: Just a heads up, there is a spoiler in this story for Shakespeare's Othello... in case you haven't read it yet.
FTC Disclaimer: TNZ Fiction Guild kindly provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are entirely my own.
0
