It’s Scotland in 1910. Born into the world of the circus, Lena now stands at a crossroads. With the sudden death of her father, she faces a stark choice: get married or get a job. The fairgrounds are no place for a woman to go it alone.
Until flame-haired Violet, known to all as ‘the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived’, suggests they do exactly that.
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 and acrobat Carmen, the four women take charge of their own show, their own finances and their own destinies.
But the fairgrounds are a dangerous place: misogyny is rife, violence a continual threat, and buried secrets are beginning to threaten all they hold dear. Together, they must forge their own path to freedom.
The Show Woman by Emma Cowing is published in paperback on 7 May, 2026.
If you enjoy historical fiction, there’s much more in Historia’s round-up of over 140 books coming out in 2026.
