The Ringmaster's Wife
Read The Ringmaster's Wife Online
Authors: Kristy Cambron
DVANCE
P
RAISE FOR
T
HE
R
INGMASTER
'
S
W
IFE
“In true Kristy Cambron fashion,
The Ringmaster's Wife
is packed with emotional depth and characters who charm their way into your heart within the first pages. But perhaps most alluring about this story is the colorful world it's set inâfrom England to the Chicago World's Fair to the ever-moving backdrop of the circus world, I felt fully immersed. Engaging and poignant, this is a must-read!”
âM
ELISSA
T
AGG
,
AUTHOR OF
F
ROM THE
S
TART
AND
L
IKE
N
EVER
B
EFORE
“A soaring love story! Vibrant with the glamour and awe that flourished under the Big Top in the 1920s,
The Ringmaster's Wife
invites the reader to meet the very people whose unique lives brought The Greatest Show on Earth down those rattling tracks. Through each of Rosamund's and Mable's stories, author Kristy Cambron offers the rare delight of witnessing a heartrending portrayal of love in the midst of circus life . . . and how one so deeply amplified the other.”
âJ
OANNE
B
ISCHOF
,
AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF
T
HE
L
ADY AND THE
L
IONHEART
“In
The Ringmaster's Wife
, Kristy Cambron has created a world that sweeps readers into the circus world of the 1920s with glimpses into the earlier days of vaudeville and the Ringling Brothers. The story is poignant as it shares of breaking free from restraints in an effort to dare to live life. The story is painted with delicate strokes and broad sweeps and will leave readers entranced in the dual-timeline. I highly recommend this novel for lovers of historical romances. Open the pages and be swept away!”
âC
ARA
C. P
UTMAN
,
AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF
S
HADOWED BY
G
RACE
AND
W
HERE
T
REETOPS
G
LISTEN
RAISE FOR THE
H
IDDEN
M
ASTERPIECE
N
OVELS
“Fans of the author's first book will gravitate to this tale of the power of faith and love to cope with impossible situations, although the grim realities depicted cannot be ignored. A must for book groups and genocide studies teachers and students.”
â
L
IBRARY
J
OURNAL
,
STARRED REVIEW
,
FOR
A S
PARROW IN
T
EREZIN
“The second installment of Cambron's Hidden Masterpiece series is as stunning as the first. Though heartbreaking in many places, this novel never fails to show hope despite dire circumstances. God's love shines even in the dark.”
â
RT B
OOK
R
EVIEWS
, 4½
STARS
, TOP PICK!
FOR
A S
PARROW IN
T
EREZIN
“In her historical series debut, Cambron expertly weaves together multiple plotlines, time lines, and perspectives to produce a poignant tale of the power of love and faith in difficult circumstances. Those interested in stories of survival and the Holocaust, such as Elie Wiesel's âNight,' will want to read.”
â
L
IBRARY
J
OURNAL
,
FOR
T
HE
B
UTTERFLY AND THE
V
IOLIN
“In chapters alternating between past and present, debut novelist Cambron vividly recounts interwoven sagas of heartache and recovery through courage, love, art, and faith.”
â
P
UBLISHERS
W
EEKLY
,
FOR
T
HE
B
UTTERFLY AND THE
V
IOLIN
“Alternating points of view skillfully blend contemporary and historical fiction in this debut novel that is almost impossible to put down. Well-researched yet heartbreaking scenes shed light on the horrors of concentration camps, as well as the contrasting beauty behind the prisoner's artwork. Two stories are carefully intertwined and demonstrate that there is always hope in God despite the monstrosities inflicted by man.”
â
RT B
OOK
R
EVIEWS
, 4½
STARS
, TOP PICK!
FOR
T
HE
B
UTTERFLY AND THE
V
IOLIN
B
OOKS BY
K
RISTY
C
AMBRON
T
HE
H
IDDEN
M
ASTERPIECE
N
OVELS
The Butterfly and the Violin
A Sparrow in Terezin
The Ringmaster's Wife
Copyright © 2016 by Kristy Cambron
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansâelectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherâexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.
Published in association with Books & Such Literary Management, 52 Mission Circle, Suite 122, PMB 170, Santa Rosa, California 95409-5370, www.booksandsuch.com.
Interior Design: Mallory Collins
Thomas Nelson titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version
®
, NIV
®
. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
®
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.
®
Publisher's Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other names, characters, and places and all dialogue and incidents portrayed in this book are the product of the author's imagination.
ISBN 978-0-7180-4190-8 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Cambron, Kristy, author.
Title: The ringmaster's wife / Kristy Cambron.
Description: Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, [2016]
Identifiers: LCCN 2015050179 | ISBN 9780718041540 (paperback)
Classification: LCC PS3603.A4468 R56 2016 | DDC 813/.6--dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015050179
16 17 18 19 20 RRD 5 4 3 2 1
For Brady, Carson, and Colt: Because childhood wonder becomes the treasure of memory.
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
âG
EORGE
E
LIOT
The L
ORD
gives sight to the blind,
the L
ORD
lifts up those who are bowed down.
âP
SALM
146:8
1929
L
OUISVILLE
, K
ENTUCKY
We only see what we want to seeâin people, in love, and in life.
What we see is a choice, as is what we offer the world in return. And it's only behind the costumes and the masks that we can be who we truly are.
The words echoed in Rosamund's mind in a tangle of memories collected over the past three years. She waited at the performers' entrance at the back of the enormous Big Top, trying to ease the racing of her heart before show time.
Waves of riotous applause ebbed and flowed with the breathtaking thrills of the trapeze act. It was a “straw house” tonightâsold out, the bleacher seats packed and the overflow of children lining the edges of the rings on piles of laid-out straw. Rosamund could hear the children now through the call of horns and pops of confetti bursts, squealing in delight at the antics of the clowns. It wouldn't
be long nowâthe ringmaster's signal for the horse troop to march in was just moments away.
A breeze caught Rosamund's attention, perfuming the air around her with the richness of caramel, mixed with the salty scent of popcorn and sweet apples from a wagonette nearby. It was a welcome contrast to the usual smell of animals and churned-up earth in their field lot. All the familiar sounds and smells, the excitement that hung on the air before a performance . . . they reminded her how the three-ring canvas castle had become her home.
The other bareback riders had ushered the troop of show horses from the ring stock tent; they were out in front now, waiting to burst into the ring.
The horses whinnied, and Ingénue, Rosamund's black Arabian lady, broke into a soft song along with them. The horse stomped her hooves, her happy jitters stirred up by the flash of lights and the lyrical cadence of the band that signaled performance time.
Rosamund stood off to the side, aloneâonce the glittering star of the show, but now a performer bringing up the rear of the troop in yesterday's sequins and satin. It was no longer her face splashed about on the circus posters plastering the cities and towns they visited. She wondered if the crowd would still cheer for the bareback rider with the trademark blush of English roses pinned in her hair.