02528cam a2200361 i 4500 1011076114 TxGeo 20231012120000.0 221214s2023||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2022057945 9781538723937 hbk. 153872393X hbk. (OCoLC)1386275981 TxGeo rda Gibbs, Amiee, author. The carnivale of curiosities / Amiee Gibbs. First edition. New York, NY : Grand Central Publishing, 2023. 432 pages ; 24 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier "In Victorian London, where traveling sideshows are the very pinnacle of entertainment, there is no more coveted ticket than Ashe and Pretorius' Carnivale of Curiosities. Each performance is a limited engagement, and London's elite boldly dare the dangerous streets of Southwark to witness the Carnivale's astounding assemblage of marvels. For a select few, however, the real show begins behind the curtain. Rumors abound that the show's proprietor, Aurelius Ashe, is more than an average magician. It's said that for the right price, he can make any wish come true. No one knows the truth of this claim better than Lucien the Lucifer, the Carnivale's star attraction. Born with the ability to create fire, he's dazzled spectators since he was a boy. When Odilon Rose, one of the most notorious men in London, comes calling with a proposition regarding his young and beautiful charge, Charlotte, Ashe is tempted to refuse. After revealing, however, that Rose holds a secret that threatens the security of the troupe's most vulnerable members, Ashe has no choice but to sign an insidious contract. The stakes grow higher as Lucien finds himself drawn to Charlotte and her to him, an attraction that spurs a perilous course of events. Grave secrets, recovered horrors, and what it means to be family come to a head in this vividly imagined spectacle-with the lives of all those involved suspended in the balance"-- Provided by publisher. 20231026. Sideshows Fiction. Extortion Fiction. London (England) Fiction. Great Britain History Victoria, 1837-1901 Fiction. Historical fiction. Gothic fiction. Magic realist fiction. QS5