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Circus of Mirrors

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

A Glittering Tale of Sisterhood, Sacrifice, and Love Set in the Heart of 1920s Berlin
From the author of That Green Eyed Girl - Perfect for fans of City of Girls and Sunday Times bestseller, The Whalebone Theatre!
‘Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to the Babylon Circus . . .’
Berlin, 1926: young Leni finds work as a cigarette girl – wide-eyed, dodging stray hands – as the painted dancers and revellers party the nights away. It’s all for her little sister Annette – to put a roof over their heads, food in their bellies. Because the two sisters have no one but each other.
Then Leni meets pianist Paul, and embarks on a passionate, all-consuming love affair. But for Paul, Berlin is a dangerous place to be. If he and Leni are to have a future together, they must flee the city.
For Leni, it’s an impossible choice: her sister or the love of her life?
The consequences of her decision will ripple through the next four decades . . .

'Sexy, electrically stylish, and beautiful’' Daisy Buchanan, award-winning author of Insatiable

'Julie's best novel yet' Georgina Moore, bestselling author of The Garnett Girls

‘Immersive, tender, simmering with secrets’ Alex Hay
'A tale of two sisters and a city, all three of them so vividly drawn, I felt I knew them. Superbly atmospheric, with convincingly flawed characters that just leap off the page' Frances Quinn, author of The Bonesetter Woman

'An all-singing, all-dancing, moving and masterful book about two complex sisters living in incredibly complex times. Brilliant.' Anna Mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl

'Bold, brave and absorbing' Elizabeth Buchan, author of Bonjour, Sophie

'With hints of Atonement, this is an epic novel’ Louise Fein, author of Daughter of the Reich


©2024 Julie Owen Moylan (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

Sexy, electrically stylish, and beautiful - a gorgeous story about sisterhood, and a glamorous, evocative passport to a period we all long to get lost in. Julie's such an incredible writer
Daisy Buchanan
What a brilliant tale of two sisters in Berlin. Atmospheric and the characters and flawed, complex and believable. Julie's best novel yet
Georgina Moore, author of The Garnett Girls
A tale of two sisters and a city, all three of them so vividly drawn, I felt I knew them. An almost unbearably poignant story of missed chances, long-hidden lies and women fighting the odds to grab happiness where they can. Superbly atmospheric, with convincingly flawed characters that just leap off the page
Frances Quinn
An all-singing, all-dancing, moving and masterful book about two complex sisters living in incredibly complex times. Mid-twentieth century Berlin and the glittering world of the Babylon Circus are brilliantly evoked and, as always with Julie Owen Moylan's writing, the characters - astutely rendered, flawed and convincing - live with us long after we've closed the book. Brilliant
Anna Mazzola
The sisters are terrific, unsentimentally and vividly portrayed. So, too, is Berlin, filled with menace, glitter and upcoming destruction. Bold and brave and absorbing
Elizabeth Buchan
What a brilliantly evocative, moving and emotionally affecting read. Leni and Nette's struggles and the twists and turns of their relationship were so well realised and had me absolutely gripped. The Babylon Circus shimmered off the page, I could picture it completely. I raced through the final pages late at night desperate to know what would happen!
Emma Hughes
Immersive, tender, simmering with secrets - and such a richly-drawn portrait of Berlin from 1926 to 1961
Alex Hay
With hints of Atonement, this is an epic novel, spanning decades as it explores with compassion and humanity the relationship of two sisters torn between the love and obligation they feel towards one another, and their desire for freedom and a better life that will split them apart. It’s about secrets and hidden truths and the deep and long-lasting consequences of both. Above all it’s a story of missed opportunity, chance, guilt, love and forgiveness. I devoured this novel with its rich, vivid prose and its complex characters, tossed into conflict and dire circumstances through no fault of their own. A deeply thought-provoking and emotional story I will be thinking of long after I finished the final page. Utterly luminous
Louise Fein, author of The London Bookshop Affair
Set against the backdrop of the exotic nightclub of the title, The Circus of Mirrors is the story of two sisters, Leni and Annette, and their struggles to survive in a Berlin torn apart by first war, then communism. Moylan has researched her period thoroughly, and her characters are well drawn, drawing the reader on to a heart-breaking conclusion
Laura Shepperson
A sweeping saga of sisterhood, missed chances and a glittering circus sparkles fiercely against mid-20th century Berlin. Gorgeous and poignant. A captivating tale of two sisters that at turns dazzles and devastates
MA Kuzniar
Author Julie Owen Moylan
Narrator Kristin Atherton
Duration 10 hours and 27 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781405969222
Format Audiobook
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Genre Historical fiction, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, Narrative theme: Sense of place, Other performing arts
Availability AU, GB, IE

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