The First Bright Thing

The Night Circus meets The Greatest Showman as three magically gifted women try to build a circus – and home – in the ruins of the First World War. The First Bright Thing is a magical debut from J. R. Dawson.

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A spellbinding historical debut for fans of The Night Circus and The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue.

‘This is the magic circus book that I have been looking for all my life' – Seanan McGuire, author of the Wayward Children series

When darkness descends, expect sparks.

After the First World War, a select few wake up with frightening magical abilities. Rin can jump through time. Her wife, Odette, can heal the unhealable. And their friend, Mauve, sees what others can’t. Alone, afraid and exiled from regular society, the trio create a haven for Sparks – people like them – a circus housing those who are powerful and lost.

Now it’s 1926 and Rin runs the Circus of the Fantasticals. It travels across the States, spreading enchantment and joy to those who need it. Rin hopes their performances leave the world brighter than before. But new threats loom that even circus lights can’t vanquish. Another devastating war is barrelling across the world. Worse still, Rin’s past creeps closer every day, a malevolent shadow she can’t fully escape. This takes the form of a rival circus, with tents as black as midnight. Its leader has dark powers and even darker desires as the Sparks have something he wants – and Rin knows he won’t stop until he has it.

‘A masterpiece of the fantastical and the human’ – Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

*Longlisted for Best Novel at the British Science Fiction Association Awards 2023*