The Theatre of Glass and Shadows
06 March 2025Imprint: Black & White Publishing
Synopsis
'Marvellous' Bridget Collins, The Sunday Times bestselling author of The Binding
Sometimes the greatest spectacle hides the darkest secrets . . .
In an alternate London, the city's Theatre District is a walled area south of the river where an immersive production - the Show - has been running for centuries, growing ever bigger, more sprawling and lavish. The Show is open to anyone who can afford a ticket but the District itself is a closed world; even the police have no jurisdiction within its walls.
Juliet's mother died when she was a baby. Brought up by her emotionally distant father and even more distant stepmother, she has never felt wanted. It's only when her father passes away that Juliet - now nineteen - learns her birth was registered in the District. Desperate to belong somewhere at last, she travels to London where she hopes to unearth the truth about her identity, her mother's death and her father's years of silence - and claim her birthright.
But in the District, there is only one central truth: the Show must go on. And in a world where illusions abound, and powerful men control the narrative, Juliet has no idea of just how far some will go to ensure certain stories are never told . . .
For fans of The Miniaturist and The Doll Factory, The Theatre of Glass and Shadows is a place where nothing is as it seems.
'Original and captivating' Karen Coles, author of The Asylum
Sometimes the greatest spectacle hides the darkest secrets . . .
In an alternate London, the city's Theatre District is a walled area south of the river where an immersive production - the Show - has been running for centuries, growing ever bigger, more sprawling and lavish. The Show is open to anyone who can afford a ticket but the District itself is a closed world; even the police have no jurisdiction within its walls.
Juliet's mother died when she was a baby. Brought up by her emotionally distant father and even more distant stepmother, she has never felt wanted. It's only when her father passes away that Juliet - now nineteen - learns her birth was registered in the District. Desperate to belong somewhere at last, she travels to London where she hopes to unearth the truth about her identity, her mother's death and her father's years of silence - and claim her birthright.
But in the District, there is only one central truth: the Show must go on. And in a world where illusions abound, and powerful men control the narrative, Juliet has no idea of just how far some will go to ensure certain stories are never told . . .
For fans of The Miniaturist and The Doll Factory, The Theatre of Glass and Shadows is a place where nothing is as it seems.
'Original and captivating' Karen Coles, author of The Asylum
Details
06 March 2025
9781785305542Imprint: Black & White Publishing
Reviews
'Mysterious, immersive, and beautifully written, this is a love letter to storytelling and to the dangerous, addictive allure of the theatre. If you enter the Theatre District in this atmospheric, alternative version of London, you'll never want to leave'
'Dark, twisting, absorbing and delicious, if you love falling down the rabbit hole of immersive theatre, this is absolutely the book for you!'
Marvellous . . . That lovely, never-quite fulfilled sense of yearning, of something impossibly glamorous happening just out of sight, and the irresistible need to keep searching. The world-building is wonderful and, because it's a novel, it can conjure all the magic of theatre on an epic, fictional scale
Original and captivating, this intricately woven tale had me enthralled from page one . . . The theatre district holds dark secrets and hidden menace. I didn't want to leave
