THE SHOW WOMAN
On sale
1st May 2025
Price: £16.99
FOUR WOMEN. A MILLION DREAMS.
Scotland, 1910. Lena gazes at the fairground, lit up and sparkling like a jewel box. The circus is in her blood, but her parents are gone now, and this is no place for a woman to go it alone. But then Violet lights up her world with her flaming hair and her dazzling dreams…
Both outcasts, they have nothing left to lose. Violet is the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived, and along with horse-rider Rosie, who can tumble and dance on her elegant white horses without missing a step, and acrobat Carmen, whose rainbow ribbons hide the darkness in her past, they are determined to create their own show – and write their own destinies.
But there is danger in the fairground for women who don’t know their place. Lena’s mother learned that the hard way, and now her long-buried secrets are being brought to light, Lena is walking a tight-rope.
It seems like the whole world is rooting for Lena and her found family to fail. But they are the Show Women, and the show must go on…
THE SHOW WOMAN is a page-turning and incredibly moving novel about the first all-female circus in Edwardian Britain. With strong female characters, deeply-woven family secrets and heartfelt love stories, fans of The Whalebone Theatre, The Greatest Showman and Kate Morton will be hooked from the very first page!
PRAISE FOR THE SHOW WOMAN:
‘Gorgeously written, with twists and turns worthy of a circus trapeze‘ JENNIE GODFREY
‘I wanted to run away with this all-woman circus!‘ C.J. COOKE
‘Beautifully written, engaging plot and thoroughly researched’ STYLIST
‘A very special debut’ JENNY COLGAN
‘Beautifully crafted, fast-paced and compelling … easily the debut of the year so far!‘ MIKE GAYLE
‘Suspenseful, authentic, sexy and uplifting. Beautiful writing plunges the reader into the showgrounds of Edwardian Scotland, sights, sounds, smells and all’ ERIN KELLY
‘A joy to read, so beautifully written, evoking the rich and often overlooked story of the travelling fairs of Edwardian-era Scotland’ SEAN LUSK
‘Absolutely loved soaking up the atmosphere of the circus and fairground in The Show Woman. There’s hardship and excitement and mystery and joy in this novel, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages‘ SARAH L. BROOKS, author of The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands
Scotland, 1910. Lena gazes at the fairground, lit up and sparkling like a jewel box. The circus is in her blood, but her parents are gone now, and this is no place for a woman to go it alone. But then Violet lights up her world with her flaming hair and her dazzling dreams…
Both outcasts, they have nothing left to lose. Violet is the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived, and along with horse-rider Rosie, who can tumble and dance on her elegant white horses without missing a step, and acrobat Carmen, whose rainbow ribbons hide the darkness in her past, they are determined to create their own show – and write their own destinies.
But there is danger in the fairground for women who don’t know their place. Lena’s mother learned that the hard way, and now her long-buried secrets are being brought to light, Lena is walking a tight-rope.
It seems like the whole world is rooting for Lena and her found family to fail. But they are the Show Women, and the show must go on…
THE SHOW WOMAN is a page-turning and incredibly moving novel about the first all-female circus in Edwardian Britain. With strong female characters, deeply-woven family secrets and heartfelt love stories, fans of The Whalebone Theatre, The Greatest Showman and Kate Morton will be hooked from the very first page!
PRAISE FOR THE SHOW WOMAN:
‘Gorgeously written, with twists and turns worthy of a circus trapeze‘ JENNIE GODFREY
‘I wanted to run away with this all-woman circus!‘ C.J. COOKE
‘Beautifully written, engaging plot and thoroughly researched’ STYLIST
‘A very special debut’ JENNY COLGAN
‘Beautifully crafted, fast-paced and compelling … easily the debut of the year so far!‘ MIKE GAYLE
‘Suspenseful, authentic, sexy and uplifting. Beautiful writing plunges the reader into the showgrounds of Edwardian Scotland, sights, sounds, smells and all’ ERIN KELLY
‘A joy to read, so beautifully written, evoking the rich and often overlooked story of the travelling fairs of Edwardian-era Scotland’ SEAN LUSK
‘Absolutely loved soaking up the atmosphere of the circus and fairground in The Show Woman. There’s hardship and excitement and mystery and joy in this novel, and I couldn’t stop turning the pages‘ SARAH L. BROOKS, author of The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands
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Reviews
A very special debut
An entrancing story of chosen family, sisterhood and freedom. I was so wrapped up in the lives of these women, revealed in prose so visceral and alive I felt immediately transported to its history. Take your seat and get lost in its wonders
An utterly electric debut! I wanted to run away with this all-woman circus. An enthralling, dynamic tale that will stay with me for a very long time
Beautifully written, engaging plot and thoroughly researched
Dazzling . . . like all the very best historical fiction it has characters who are alive and real and brings the past to glorious life, with a page-turning plot that meant I could not put it down
Gorgeously written, with twists and turns worthy of a circus trapeze
What an irresistible and original premise! I loved reading every word . . . The Show Woman is as enthralling as the spectacular circus act that Emma so beautifully describes
Wonderfully heartfelt and compelling
A fascinating read. Full of twists and turns as unexpected as they are thrilling. I was gripped by the strong female characters, spellbound by the dangers, but moved to tears by the bonds of love. Richly detailed, this story will beguile you and carry you away to a rarely glimpsed world of dark secrets and powerful emotions
Beautifully crafted, fast-paced and compelling ... easily the debut of the year so far!
Set in Edwardian Scotland, The Show Woman is a wonderfully told story that mixes adventures, romance, crimes, and feisty women, all against the backdrop of a circus run by women. Gripping, heartbreaking, compelling, I genuinely could not put it down
Suspenseful, authentic, sexy and uplifting. Beautiful writing plunges the reader into the showgrounds of Edwardian Scotland, sights, sounds, smells and all
A joy to read, so beautifully written, evoking the rich and often overlooked story of the travelling fairs of Edwardian-era Scotland
This gorgeously written novel about four very different women is compulsive, heartbreaking and like nothing else. Impossible not to get swept up into the fates of Lena, Violet, Rosie and Carmen and to feel yourself there with all the noise and clamour and conniving of the fairground. I loved it
Suspenseful, authentic, sexy and uplifting. Beautiful writing plunges the reader into the showgrounds of Edwardian Scotland, sights, sounds, smells and all
Absolutely loved soaking up the atmosphere of the circus and fairground in The Show Woman. There's hardship and excitement and mystery and joy in this novel, and I couldn't stop turning the pages
Sequins and spite collide in this gorgeous novel . . . A tale of dazzle and determination [. . .] Cowing is sure-footed on the tempestuous dynamics of their friendships and the dark secrets that drive their ambition
A marvellous tale of a gang of brave and brilliant women touring the country in the first all-women circus . . . The Show Woman will both uplift and break your heart - there's romance, real camaraderie and heaps of sawdust atmosphere, while the betrayals, tragedies, and truths uncovered will make your stomach flip. Cowing has given us a cast of characters you will really care about