Review of The Show Woman by Emma Cowing
Title: The Show Woman
Author: Emma Cowing
Genre: Historical Fiction
Year Published: 2025 (due 1st May)
My Rating: 5/5
Blurb:
1910.
With the disappearance of her mother and the sudden death of her father, Lena instantly loses any security she has within the circus she has known all her life. She is advised to sell the carousel her father cared for like a child and look for a husband, or a job in a factory.
Until flame-haired Violet, known to all in the fairgrounds as 'the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived', suggests they go it alone with their own, all-female act. With her outspoken ways and her refusal to marry, Violet is as much an outcast as Lena. What do they have to lose? Recruiting new performers including bareback horse-rider Rosie, on the run from her abusive father, and Carmen whose rainbow ribbons hide the darkness in her past, the four women form an unbreakable bond.
Thrust into a harsh and dangerous world that treats them with suspicion, disdain and even violence, they must forge their own path in search of freedom, security, and love.
Deeply rooted in the Edwardian era, THE SHOW WOMAN is brilliantly realised and expertly interlaces strong female characters, deeply-woven family secrets and heartfelt love stories.
Review:
I was drawn to the Show Woman by its beautiful brightly-coloured cover and description: an all-women's circus in late Edwardian Scotland was so compelling for me! From its cover, I was expecting a whirlwind of fantasy; a tale of adventure and non-stop heights. However, there are themes of sexual abuse, incest, suicide and animal cruelty (the latter of which I did expect, it being Edwardian Scotland). Whilst I was able to read it without being too uncomfortable, I think it would be accommodating to have trigger warnings for those who need them in the description and preceding the novel itself.
Despite the darker themes of the novel, I thoroughly enjoyed The Show Woman and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to read its denouement, when the mysteries that so compelled me were finally being solved. I found this part of the novel especially thrilling as I didn't see much of it coming, although there are subtle clues throughout the culmination of the book where you are able to put together the pieces yourself in tandem with the main character.
The protagonist is a young lady named Lena who was recently bereaved of her father. I was confused about how the man died; but it isn't really important to the plot. What is important, however, is how Lena can manage without him. She was raised on the road by her mother and father and has not known any other way of living. She must decide what she wants to do and how to do it following her father's demise.
Lena manages to pull together an all-female circus troupe made up of Carmen, her not-quite-sister Violet and Rosie coupled with Tommy Pony. Carmen is a beautiful, vivid, caring character whose past is wreathed in sadness, secrecy and shadow. She is protective of the troupe - especially Rosie - and teaches them self-defence. Rosie travels quite a way to audition for Lena's circus, absconding from her incomprehensively nightmarish home life. She performs her act of athletic bareback riding with Tommy Pony who she brought with her from home. I found their relationship particularly poignant and crucial to Rosie's growth because he has been her only solace in the pit of darkness that was her home before the circus. I believe that her love and relationship with him empowered her to run away from home and subsequently form relationships with new people. Whilst she learns to form relationships with the entire troupe, she particularly warms to Violet. Violet is a talented trapeze artist, 'the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived’!' in fact! She is a wild and tumultuous character who actually harbours much love in her heart for her fellow troupe members and a fervour for life. Compared to these vibrant characters, Lena feels rather milquetoast, like she is simply a plot device: the ringleader who rallies the troupe together. However, I believe her character grows significantly in the final act, where she confronts secrets and the powerful people who hold them.
I fell in love with each of these women and admired them because of how they showed their strength in the face of adversity and despair. Their comraderie was uplifting and inspiriting, which contrasted with a certain character's malevolence towards them. I believe that this character's hatred and appalling acts are meant to convey the message that women should not be unkind to each other because we get enough of that from men and, instead, we should be supportive to each other.
Overall, I found this an enthralling and mesmerising tale on sisterhood and overcoming despair whilst finding happiness when faced with it.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.