The Theatre of Glass and Shadows by Anne Corlett

Book Blurb

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 . . .

My Review
I am always looking for something different and quirky in a book and was grateful for the opportunity from Black & White Publishing
and Tracy Fenton to be part of the blog tour for the wonderful The Theatre of Glass and Shadows. Set in an alternate London, where there is a separate theatre district, a place the outside world has no jurisdiction and offers a life of magic and enchantment. Juliet escapes to the District after the death of her father, seeking answers about her mother and herself, but once in she realises she has to be careful who she trusts.

I have lost my reading mojo recently, I just can’t seem to concentrate so books are taking me a long time to read. However, The Theatre of Glass and Shadows seems to have perked me up a bit with its enchanting world of The Show and the secrets within. The story focuses on Juliet, at nearly twenty her father has just died, and her stepmother has paid her to stay out of their lives. Searching her father’s study a she finds clues to her past and most importantly who her mother was. Juliet is fairly naive for twenty, leading a pretty closeted life, but with her father’s death she sees an opportunity to find out who she is. I loved being a voyeur as she went to the Theatre District, the enchantment of the show and those who follow it, and her own dream of being part of it like her mother. I felt that the Theatre District and The Show are an allegory for Juliet’s life; she is trying to find out who she is, searching for herself in the streets of the District and behind the many doors of the Theatre, meeting many dead ends until all the secrets and truths are revealed.

Reading The Theatre of Glass and Shadows was as enhanting and mystical as the Theatre itself. Anne Corlett has written an amazing layered plot, taking the reader on a journey with Juliet that tells not only her story, but the history of the Theatre and its architecture and the story of a murderer who leaves his victim in the river Thames. The writing was utterly compelling and it was this that helped get my mojo back, I found myself picking up the book more frequently, needing to find out what would be revealed next. I thought the combination of the magical juxtaposed with the murder investigations worked well, showing that no where and no one could completely keep away the reality of the world; it also gave an added frisson to the plot.

I was completely enhanted by The Theatre of Glass and Shadows, with its maze of streets and the magical Show itself. Juliet was a compelling character, a young woman trying to find out the truth about her mother and her own place in thw world. As well as the light of the magic, there was the darkness of the murders and the machinations of those behind the show, the backers and director. This is a captivating and bewitching novel, you can’t help but be drawn into this world of smoke and mirrors, and I didn’t want to leave. Simply stunning.