The Mermaid

Isn’t it wonderful when you start a book and know straight away that your are off on a wonderful adventure. The first pages of Christina Henry’s book, The Mermaid, are so beautifully written they are lyrical. Chapter one reeled me in, the rest of the book had me hook, line and sinker.

In fact even the blurb on the back is pretty magical:

Once there was a fisherman who lived on a cold and rocky coast and was never able to convince any woman to come away and live in that forbidding place with him. One evening he pulled up his net and found a woman in it. A woman with black hair and eyes as great as a stormy sea and a gleaming fish’s tail instead of legs.

The storm in her eyes rolled into his heart. She stopped her thrashing and crashing at his voice, though she did not understand his words. But her eyes had seen inside of him, and his loneliness caught her more surely than the net. So she stayed with him, and loved him, though he grew old, and she did not.

I love historical fiction and the way Christina Henry has used the character P.T. Barnum to weave this wonderful tale around is brilliant. I didn’t know anything about this man until I picked up this book (I’m probably one of the few people who hasn't seen The Greatest Showman yet) but she has really managed to bring this interesting man to life, although I have to admit I did not like him one bit! As soon as I had finished this book, I had to do some research about him and the FeeJee Mermaid, it is a fantastic story and the way Christina Henry has reimagined it is just magical.

As for our heroine, Amelia, she is a wonderful character who captured my imagination and left me inspired. She is a strong woman and a brave and adventurous mermaid. She is unafraid to stand up for herself and is true romantic.

If you're looking for a little escapism this summer, this is one I would highly recommend. Having read this beautiful book I will definitely be adding Christina Henry to my list of must-read authors.

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