The Candlelit Menagerie
Publication Date: October 20, 2020
We all have our place we feel we belong. Where we feel we can let our guards down and show our true selves. For Lillian her place was Grady's Emporium. The Candlelit Menagerie opens with Lillian being a lady's maid in late 1700's London. She is described as an oddity because she is around six feet tall and being a lady's maid she stuck out like a sore thumb in high society. Her clothes never fit correctly, her feet always hung off the bed, and she was constantly bumping into things to the disapproval of her mistress. She felt out of place in high society and the only joy she found day to day was being woken every morning by the roar of a lion. Lillian's Mistress's house was located in the vicinity of Grady's Emporium, a house of exotic animals, and Lillian promised herself on her next evening off she just had to see his lion.
Lillian's next day off she stays true to herself and visits the Emporium where she meets Grady. He is the epitome of a grand ringmaster. He greets his customers calling them in and welcoming them to see his amazing wild animals. Lillian cannot wait to get inside so she can finally put her eyes on the lion that wakes her daily. To her horror she finds the lion, Leonidas, in a cramped cage with only enough room to take three steps and turn around over and over. Lillian is appalled and conveys her distaste of the way Mr. Grady keeps his animals, in too small cages and dirty ones at that.
Lillian soon found herself coming to Grady's Emporium on her day off every week. Checking in on the animals much to Mr. Grady's delight. Mr. Grady,always the opportunist, saw Lillian as a feature entertainment in and of herself, with her tallness and the way she could communicate with his lion without words. Grady's wheels began turning and he decided to let Lillian come to "take charge" of the care of Leonidas the lion to the joy of Lillian. Grady, ever the opportunist, also saw an opportunity to exploit her as well.
Grady and Lillian's relationship goes back and forth from being a healthy relationship to a toxic relationship throughout the entirety of the novel. At times the reader thinks that Mr. Grady is compassionate and cares very much for Lillian and even his animals, but ultimately you see him in the next chapter taking care of them because they are his means of making a living. Lillian's relationship with Leonidas is heart warming. She can relate to him on many levels because she at one time was like him, feeling trapped in a cage with no room to move. Lillian cares very much for her animal charges and corrects Grady's treatment of them throughout the whole story. She becomes the voice that the animals never had.
Lillian eventually convinces Grady that the Emporium is too small for a lot of the animals he houses. Grady being the salesman/opportunist he is finds someone to purchase his animals and sends Lillian to inspect their new homes. While Lillian is gone Grady hatches a plan to purchase the one animal that Lillian begged him not to bring to the Emporium. From the purchase of the new exhibit forward Grady's Emporium begins to fall apart, but his new oddity teaches him to love and empathize with someone besides himself.
The Candlelit Menagerie was a very moving, light-hearted read. I greatly enjoyed the comparison of some of the characters to the animals that they took care of. It was also an interesting picture into 1700's London and the wonder people had by the things we now take for granted.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster publishing for an advanced copy for an honest review!
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