The Swan Gondola
Timothy Schaffert, 2014
Penguin Group (USA)
464 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781594486098
Summary
A lush and thrilling romantic fable about two lovers set against the scandalous burlesques, midnight séances, and aerial ballets of the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair.
On the eve of the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair, Ferret Skerritt, ventriloquist by trade, con man by birth, isn’t quite sure how it will change him or his city. Omaha still has the marks of a filthy Wild West town, even as it attempts to achieve the grandeur and respectability of nearby Chicago. But when he crosses paths with the beautiful and enigmatic Cecily, his whole purpose shifts and the fair becomes the backdrop to their love affair.
One of a traveling troupe of actors that has descended on the city, Cecily works in the Midway’s Chamber of Horrors, where she loses her head hourly on a guillotine playing Marie Antoinette. And after closing, she rushes off, clinging protectively to a mysterious carpetbag, never giving Ferret a second glance. But a moonlit ride on the swan gondola, a boat on the lagoon of the New White City, changes everything, and the fair’s magic begins to take its effect. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—state of Nebraska, USA
• Education—B.A., University of Nebraska-Lincoln; M.F.A.,
University of Arizona
• Currently—lives in Omaha, Nebraska
Timothy Schaffert grew up on a farm in Nebraska and now lives in Omaha. He is the author of four previous critically acclaimed novels, which have been among Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selections, Indie Next Picks, and New York Times Editor’s Choices. Schaffert teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (From the publisher.)
Novels
2014 - The Swan Gondola
2011 - The Coffins of Little Hope
2007 - Devils in the Sugar Shop
2005 - The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God
2002 - The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters
Book Reviews
[H]ighly atmospheric entertainment, full of plot twists, historical flavor and paranormal romance.... Beneath the intrigue, mystery and historical window dressings of The Swan Gondola beats the heart of a complicated love story.... As a prose stylist, Schaffert leans toward the extravagant without crossing the line into purple. The jaunty Victorian temperament of the prose rings true to the era, as do its thoroughness and attention to detail.
Washington Post
A ventriloquist in a hot air balloon lifts off from Omaha, Neb., crashes in a strange land, and presides over an emerald cathedral. Yes, it’s The Wizard of Oz. But it’s also the loose construct of Timothy Schaffert’s new novel, The Swan Gondola, which pays tribute to the L. Frank Baum’s classic, yet veers off on its own path of magic and deception. It’s an entertaining and thoroughly researched book, particularly suitable for Americana buffs who want a taste of life in a western frontier town struggling to become a modern city at the turn of the century.
St. Louis Post Dispatch
The Swan Gondola is loud and colorful and larger-than-life. But throughout, Schaffert proves he knows how to find the quiet heart of a scene, of which none are better than the tender moments between August and Ferret, full of the love of friendship and the pain of one-sided romance.
Kansas City Star
I am a hopeless romantic. And if you’re like me, Timothy Schaffert’s The Swan Gondola may just be the perfect book for you.... [It is] a believable, touching and occasionally maddening tale of love, loss, and life afterward.... Schaffert’s characters come across as so vivid that I found myself wishing, almost to the point of believing, that Ferret Skerritt were real, if for no other reason than to prove that magic was at one time genuine.
Wichita Eagle
Set during the 1898 Omaha World's Fair, this novel recreates the few months that Nebraska served as an international capital, complete with lavish temporary palaces and a cast of cynical hucksters, pickpockets and performers who earn their living on the midway. Though the historical details about the fair's construction delight...it's the love story of a certain ventriloquist named Ferret Skerritt and an actress named Cecily that captivates, most especially when a wealthy rival to Ferret threatens to separate the two. Be prepared for a romantic finish—and some unexpected twists in the plot that prove magic is possible, even for magicians.
Oprah.com
A ventriloquist falls for a Marie Antoinette impersonator at the 1898 Omaha World's Fair. The backdrop for his pursuit—aerialist acts, midnight séances—only adds charm to this mythical slice of Americana.
Good Housekeeping
[A] love story set during the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair. “Ferret” Skerritt is a ventriloquist who becomes smitten with Cecily, a beauty who comes to town with the fair’s Chamber of Horrors.... As the two lovers become embroiled with Wakefield, however, the novel loses some of its magic. Additionally, the frequent Wizard of Oz allusions build to nothing. But there are many romantic and historical delights here.
Publishers Weekly
With allusions to the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz, Schaffert has magically transformed a stretch of field near Omaha into a white, shimmering vision of rotundas, columns, and pillars. His magical tale is steeped in late 19th-century history. The stately pace might be too slow for some readers, but fans of historical fiction will not be disappointed. —Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Palisade, CO
Library Journal
(Starred review.) Schaffert’s whimsical epic of illusion and reality at the 1898 Omaha World’s Fair promises and delivers grand entertainment.... Audiences will be lured in by the offbeat personalities and carried along by the unexpected plot developments, but the real showstopper is the exuberant Gilded Age setting.... [T]his finely spun world feels almost dreamlike, yet Schaffert also takes a sharp look at what’s most important in life.
Booklist
The Swan Gondola will no doubt garner comparisons to Water for Elephants and The Night Circus, and fans of such historical romances will not be disappointed. There’s plenty of magic to go around in this good, old-fashioned love story.
Bookpage
[T]he central love story is thin and upended so quickly the reader is challenged to feel invested in Ferrett's and Cecily's fates. And though Schaffert uses fakery as an intriguing theme..., the closing chapters' would-be ghost story has too much stage makeup to achieve its intended Oz-like effect. A rambunctious and well-researched but ungainly historical romance.
Kirkus Reviews
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