From the author of Lost Boy comes a beautiful historical fairy tale about a mermaid who leaves the sea, only to become the star attraction of history’s greatest showman.Once there was a mermaid called Amelia who could never be content in the sea, a mermaid who longed to know all the world and all its wonders, and so she came to live on land. Once there was a man called P. T. Barnum, a man who … called P. T. Barnum, a man who longed to make his fortune by selling the wondrous and miraculous, and there is nothing more miraculous than a real mermaid.
Amelia agrees to play the mermaid for Barnum and walk among men in their world, believing she can leave anytime she likes. But Barnum has never given up a money-making scheme in his life, and he’s determined to hold on to his mermaid.
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When I first looked at the cover, I was like, oh, it’s a Little Mermaid retelling. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this was actually about Barnum’s Feejee mermaid when I read the summary!!
This was quite the lovely tale with beautiful prose and enveloped in cool world building. I’m always a big oddity fan so I found everything about Barnum’s oddities fascinating, even though the man himself was quite the fool!
I struggled with Amelia at times. I loved her yet was annoyed with her because yes, she was strong, but when it came to the religion and feminist-type talk I got quite annoyed. I’m all for the strong and independent woman but sometimes it can be too much. This, of course, didn’t affect the book from being five stars! Levi, on the other hand, was so sweet and caring and he still had some “manly” views, but he always wanted what was best for Amelia—for her to have a choice.
Overall, this was a great read, but don’t expect it to be fast pacing. It was a slower journey, but one where I cared about all the words inside!
What a lovely, surprising story this was! I quite enjoyed Christina Henry’s rather sparse writing style – it suited Amelia’s personality perfectly. I have had trouble with her books in the past; the writing doesn’t always appeal to me/hold my interest. That was absolutely not the case here – from the first pages, I was drawn into the story and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. I enjoyed the fictionalized Barnum also – he was a great foil to Amelia, and their interplay was very well managed. The supporting cast (Charity and Levi, primarily) was also very well crafted and they added a great deal of depth and breadth to this fascinating story…
My review copy was provided by the Penguin First to Read program.
This is how I prefer my historical fiction. I need a bit of a fantastical element, and I definitely got that here. The highlight of The Mermaid, outside of Henry’s captivating storytelling, are the characters – specifically Amelia. She’s bold and brave, and I really liked her. The reason I can’t give this quite 4 stars is I feel like the pacing was a bit off. The beginning dragged and the ending came so abruptly, my head is still spinning!
A nice take on the little mermaid tale.
So this sounded fantastic but I have to say it was very slow paced for me. I was really excited for a good mermaid story but I think that Amelia wasn’t very developed she was very stand offish.
Amelia is a mermaid and decided that life under the water wasn’t for her. She wanted to live with a fisherman and be human. I think a lot was left out. As the book developed more I feel like her mermaid life was skimmed over. No mention of her family or where she was really from or her culture.
Jack was just mentioned as her husband and love of her life but it seemed like they didn’t talk or really have a life together.
When she joins the circus it just gets even more skimmed over i has trouble paying attention to the story.
A wonderful retelling that captures Henry’s dark and somber tone as it retells a story readers know but in a completely different way, giving readers a new tale for readers while also presenting a new view of the character. Much like many of her other works, there is a dark tone here, but it is less dark than the previous novels as it ties into history to spin a new tale. However, Henry has not lost the seriousness in her storytelling, the dark humor that makes her such a talented writer and separates her work from others. It is what separates her style of writing from other and makes her retellings truly unique. Moreover, with the creation of Amelia is unlike anything readers have ever read with a Little Mermaid retelling.
Amelia has the curiosity for the world above, but once there, she is so different from any other retellings. She is a compelling character that has strong feministic characteristics, challenging how society views the women, and being herself, not allowing herself to conform to the ridiculous expectations. Amelia is impressive in that aspect, remaining stoic both in tone and appearance for most of the story, and yet, those moments of power, where Amelia outsmarts the men who would take advantage of her, makes her amazing. She is also instantly relatable. Amelia captures this idea of adventure and the loneliness that can accompany it, luring her to a place where she found a home and love. It is such a compelling way to tell the story and build this new retelling by tying the fantastical to a moment in history readers are familiar with. Moreover, her tone, her facial tics, and the sarcasm make her a pure delight. Henry has created this vivid new character, giving those few moments of brightness against her usually stoic tone make the scenes shine, and they make the storytelling shine.
Then there is the creation of P. T. Barnum. Where Amelia is this strong straight-faced woman, he is this manipulative little man. He is every bit a con-artist, a circus man who manipulates the reality to feed people falsehoods. Moreover, he is a greedy little man who wants to take advantage of everyone around him. They balance each other one another out perfectly, one incredibly likable while the other is detestable. He is such a slimy man, but not so much so that it makes him inhuman. He has been carefully structured to mirror what history knows of him and go deeper into that so that readers can understand him. His family life, his history may not be what readers are familiar with, but with that more profound insight, the reader can see what kind of man this was though all his actions, not just his business self.
However, it is interesting to see both points of views used to tell the story and set up the views of the period. Again, to see the way Amelia challenges societal constraints will make any reader happy because she is right whenever she thinks it does not make any sense. In that one sense, she is incredibly lovable. Moreover, it is the added realism that gives the story its freshness regarding this retelling. It has a place in history that allows the reader to suspend belief that this is just a tale. The structure of the tale, building history and relationships makes the story easier to follow, the dynamics more believable. There’s enough detail to ground the reader in the time and place of the story. Once again, it is easy to follow the story and a place in time that readers can understand.
It is an excellent retelling that is incredibly different from her previous works. It has a note of realism to make the story unique. Moreover, with characters like Amelia, who hold themselves against conformity, it is impossible to put down. Good characters are hard to turn away, and when coupled with unique storytelling, impossible to ignore.
Note: The Mermaid is a reimagining of P.T. Barnum and his 1840s Feejee Mermaid hoax and not a retelling/reimagining of The Little Mermaid.
I tend to have a hard time enjoying reimaginings/retellings of actual historical figures…especially when they’re not portrayed in the best light. But this is where the author made a wise choice. She incorporated fantasy/mythology so even though a name may be familiar, it’s part of a world that doesn’t entirely exist. Christina Henry reimagines popular characters in the most engaging ways. Historically, she has focused on fairytale characters, twisted them on their heads, and made some successful horror out of them. In The Mermaid, there is no horror here. There is love, loss, history, and admirable soapboxes about women’s choice/independence and harmful religious zeal.
This story focuses primarily on the mermaid “Amelia” herself with Barnum and his associate Levi Lyman being secondary characters. Overall, I fully enjoyed this book. I didn’t know much about Barnum and his fake mermaid to begin with, so I enjoyed this as a fresh piece of fantasy/fiction versus an intentional reimagining; however, I’ve since researched a bit about the various hoaxes Barnum exhibited and can respect this as the reimagining it is.
I would recommend The Mermaid for fans of historical fiction with a bit of fantasy entwined, and would highly encourage existing Christina Henry fans to set aside expectations based on her previous work. Also, while P.T. Barnum is not portrayed as a villain, he is written as a businessman consumed with dollars and the bottom line with moderate to little regard for the safety and health of those in his employ. I don’t have a personal opinion on the man since I’ve never met him, haven’t completed my own research, and I take hearsay with a grain of salt. If you think this portrayal would not negatively impact your enjoyment, I’d say go for it. Enjoy!!