Theatre of Marvels

Lianne Dillsworth has MAs in Creative Writing and Victorian Studies and won a place on the London Library Emerging Writers Programme. She was first runner up in the 2020 SI Leeds Literary Prize for Black and Asian Women Writers in the UK. Lianne lives in London where she works on growing inclusion within the Civil Service. Theatre of Marvels is her debut novel.

Exploitation and empowerment, race and class are all explored in this gripping historical novel. Dillsworth is a class act' Woman & Home Zillah's star turn as the Great Amazonia has taken her from the slums of St Giles to headline billing at Crillick's Variety Show on Drury Lane. She's proud of her Black and British roots but if audiences discover she is fooling them each night, her existence will be shattered. When a fellow stage act goes missing, Zillah determines to save her - for she knows better than anyone the dangers that hide within gaslit streets of London. Her pursuit of the truth takes her through the underbelly of the city to the parlours of Mayfair - and sees her caught in web of lies, and between two powerful male admirers. Everyone is playing a part and everyone has secrets they'll protect at any cost. Will Zillah face ruin - or will she be the maker of her fate? 'Dazzling' Laura Purcell 'Memorable' Sunday Times 'Highly recommended' Louise Hare 'Atmospheric' Daily Express