The Illusionists: A Novel, by Rosie Thomas
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The Illusionists: A Novel, by Rosie Thomas
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The intoxicating new novel of magic and intrigue by “a master storyteller” (Cosmopolitan), for fans of The Night Circus and Water for Elephants
Over the course of three decades of writing, bestselling novelist Rosie Thomas has earned an untold number of awards and the devotion of millions of loyal readers. Her new novel, The Illusionists, set in London in 1870, is a thrilling step forward―a captivating tale of passion and fantasy set in the theater world. At the start of The Illusionists, we meet Eliza, a young, beautiful woman of limited means. Eliza is modern before her time. Not for her the stifling if respectable conventionality of marriage, children, domestic drudgery. She longs for more. Through her work as an artist’s model, she meets the magnetic and irascible Devil―a born showman whose dream is to run his own theater company. Devil’s right-hand man is the improbably-named Carlo Bonomi, an ill-tempered dwarf with an enormous talent for all things magic and illusion. Carlo and Devil clash at every opportunity and it constantly falls upon Eliza to broker an uneasy peace between them. And then there is Jasper Button. Mild-mannered, and a family man at heart, it is his gift as an artist that makes him the unlikely final member of the motley crew. Thrown together by a twist of fate, their lives are inextricably linked: the fortune of one depends on the fortune of the other. And as Eliza gets sucked into the seductive and dangerous world her strange companions inhabit, she risks not only her heart, but also her life, which is soon thrown into peril. The Illusionists: A Novel, by Rosie Thomas- Amazon Sales Rank: #350930 in Books
- Brand: Thomas, Rosie
- Published on: 2015-06-09
- Released on: 2015-06-09
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.00" h x 1.10" w x 5.40" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 480 pages
Review “Beneath this buoyant tale of down-market entertainers in Victorian London rumbles a heavyweight novel . . . As intricate and thrilling as any accomplished bit of conjuring.” (The New York Times)“Gripping . . . Rosie Thomas ably captures the magic of Victorian London―including its spectacular advancements in technology, such as the phonograph, electric lighting and automata―yet she does not neglect the seamy, hardscrabble life so prevalent among theatrical performers.” (Shelf Awareness)“Thomas’s sprawling follow-up to The Kashmir Shawl combines several elements: a story of a theater company, a thriller, and, most successfully, a portrait of a woman trying to create an equal partnership with a man . . . The heart of the book is Eliza’s long, slow attempt to not only marry Devil but to live in parity with him. Since she has no models for the relationship she wants, Thomas shows Eliza working to invent a new kind of life; a creation as novel for her time as the mechanical illusions at the Palmyra. ” (Publishers Weekly)“This character driven novel is filled with odd and unusual characters whose personalities and quirks are revealed as the story progresses. . . . The story-line is compelling for its vivid descriptions and fascinating characters who are anything but normal and predictable . . . Definitely, an entertaining read that stands out for its unique qualities.” (Historical Novels Review)“While the background details on stage magic and the theater business are captivating, Devil and Eliza’s ardent love story is the book’s emotional heart, and the ever-changing connections among all its intriguing performers fill it with genuine life and vitality.” (Booklist)“Rosie Thomas has the rare and wonderful ability to create stories and characters that take you instantly into another world.” (Penny Vincenzi - Praise for the work of Rosie Thomas)“Thomas writes with a sharp nib, not a dull computer key. She is neither mawkish nor squeamish, but full of fresh images.” (Washington Post Book World - Praise for the work of Rosie Thomas)“A master storyteller. ” (Cosmopolitan - Praise for the work of Rosie Thomas)“Thomas’s novels are beautifully written.” (Marie Claire - Praise for the work of Rosie Thomas)“Thomas can write with ravishing sensuality.” (The Times - Praise for the work of Rosie Thomas)
About the Author Rosie Thomas is the author of numerous critically acclaimed, bestselling novels, and has twice won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award. Born in a small village in northern Wales, Thomas discovered a love of traveling and mountaineering when her children were grown. In the years since, she has climbed in the Alps and the Himalayas, competed in the Peking to Paris car rally, and trekked in the footsteps of Shackleton on South Georgia Island.
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Most helpful customer reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Plodding Plot By Michael D. Bigham This book was right in my wheelhouse: 19th century magicians with a dwarf. I must say the setting feels authentic and the characters are very complex, but alas, I didn't find the protagonist, Devil, very sympathetic. Moreover, the plot plods along. This novel hovers between popular and literary fiction, but the slow development doesn't serve either. After a fast start, I found this effort tedious.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Fairly entertaining Victorian melodrama - but 100 pages too long By Alan A. Elsner This story set in the late 19th century in London brings us a love affair between two unusual individuals. Devil Wix is a self-made entertainer determined to claw his way to the top of his profession armed with little other than his personal charisma and drive. Eliza Dunlop, daughter to a lower middle class family of limited means, is a young lady of remarkable independence who also wants a career in the theater.These two gather around themselves an oddball collection of characters -- a talented dwarf Carlo, a very weird Swiss engineer who manufactures automatons which he believes are almost human and a couple of others. They form the group "The Illusionists" and perform incredible magic tricks at the half-derelict Palmyra Theater.Wix is a natural gambler and trickster and stakes everything he has on winning control of the theater. The scene in which he plays for the prize is appropriately dramatic.The plot meanders along in an interesting enough way, held together by the sexual attraction between Wix and Eliza. There are many plot strands that are whirled into the air like a juggler's balls. Not all are pursued or resolved. But the book loses its way badly after Devil and Eliza finally find each other and the final 100 pages are totally extraneous and badly detract from the novel as a whole. A good editor would have chopped them off and ended the book at its natural ending point. What we're left with is an interminable coda.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Falls flat after the first third By Jojoleb The Illusonists: a Novel, by Rosie Thomas, follows a scrappy band of up and coming magicians who wish to conquer the entertainment scene in Victorian era London. I really loved the overall look and feel of the novel and enjoyed the first third of the book, where the characters are introduced and their plan starts to come together. And I really wanted to like it more than I did: it was always readable, but the book suffers from odd choices in character development and a slow pace that drags the book down.As the book progresses, mystery and intrigue are replaced with the hum of daily life, a linear plot, and occasional random jolts that fail to shock the reader because they are too out of place. Thomas makes contrived character development choices that strip her characters of interest. Friends inexplicably turn into enemies or interesting characters simply fall flat. For example, the main character Devil Wix starts off as a down and out, mysterious rogue. Wix's success is too sudden, his mysteriousness is too quickly revealed, and all we are left with by the end of the book all that is left of his roguishness is his roving eye for women. Eliza, who starts off as a headstrong, independent woman becomes hobbled and marginalized by mid novel. Even the dialogue degrades becoming banal and stilted.Avenues for the plot that seemed like interesting possibilities--such as a tie in with the White Chapel murders--are hinted at but never seem to transpire. There is also a near-rape scene that I found detestable. I won't reveal the exact circumstances, but end of that scene was not only implausible but disturbing in a way that was certainly not intended. Carlo Bonomi, the cantankerous dwarf who is truly a master illusionist, should have had a stronger presence throughout the book. Bonomi is truly a complex character and his initial interactions with Wix suggest an interesting relationship that is both a friendship and a rivalry. However, after Bonomi's initial burst onto the scene, Thomas banishes him into the background by keeping him infirmed or reducing him to being simply cantankerous.And of course, there are the illusions. If this were a play or a movie, the illusions might have elicited major oohs and ahs. In a book, of course, it is far more difficult to convey the wonder of a stage trick unless you can get your readers into that zone where they are actually seeing what you write. When David Copperfield pulls off a major illusion in front of a live audience, you really get the wow factor. On a movie screen, you know they can use visual tricks and CGI, but you still get an amazing visual that allows you to suspend your disbelief.But when you are writing, you can't amaze me by just telling me what I'm supposed to be seeing. If I write that I just made an elephant (poof. applause.) appear in your living room, it's not all that convincing. Some of the illusions Thomas described are fairly complex. In just describing what it was supposed to look like, I never got that magical feeling that the audience was supposed to ge and just figuring out what Thomas intended it to look like on stage was in and of itself a bit of a mind bender.This was not all bad, however. In spite of the flaws, the characters were drawn up well enough in the first third of the book. I actually cared about them enough to want to read the book to its finish. Thomas has a good eye for scenery and does a much better job on some of her secondary characters. Sadly there was not enough here for me to recommend that you buy this book, but it wouldn't be a bad one to check out from the library if you want to pass the time.
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