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  • Published: 2 July 2021
  • ISBN: 9781761040733
  • Imprint: Michael Joseph
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 416
  • RRP: $37.00

The Eighth Wonder




The Suffragette meets The Greatest Showman in this story of passion and courage, as a young feminist fights against the rules of society to find her place in the world.

New York, 1897. The richest city in the world.


Beautiful, young and privileged, Rose Kingsbury Smith is expected to play by the strict rules of social etiquette, to forfeit all career aspirations and to marry a man of good means. But she has a quietly rebellious streak and is determined to make her own mark on Manhattan’s growing skyline. When the theft of a precious heirloom plunges the Kingsbury Smiths into financial ruin, Rose becomes her family’s most tradeable asset. She finds herself fighting for her independence and championing the ideal of equality for women everywhere.


Enigmatic Ethan Salt’s inglorious circus days are behind him. He lives a quiet life on Coney Island with his beloved elephant Daisy and is devoted to saving animals who’ve been brutalised by show business. As he struggles to raise funds for his menagerie, he fears he will never build the sanctuary of his dreams … until a chance encounter with a promising young architect changes his life forever.


Just when Rose is on the verge of seeing her persistence pay off, the ghosts of her past threaten to destroy everything she holds dear. In the face of heartbreaking prejudice and betrayal, she must learn to harness her greatest wonder within.


From Fifth Avenue mansions to Lower East Side tenements and the carnivals of Coney Island, The Eighth Wonder explores the brilliance and brutality of one of the world’s most progressive eras and celebrates the visionaries who dare to rebel.

  • Published: 2 July 2021
  • ISBN: 9781761040733
  • Imprint: Michael Joseph
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 416
  • RRP: $37.00

About the author

Tania Farrelly

Tania is an award-winning advertising strategist who has spent over twenty-five years working in Australia’s leading advertising agencies, telling stories for the world’s biggest brands. She has more recently built her own successful, brand consultancy iSPY. She has turned her hand from brand stories to human stories with the help of creative writing courses at RMIT and Fiona McIntosh’s Masterclass.

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Praise for The Eighth Wonder

I was hooked from the opening page.

Fiona McIntosh

If you’re a fan of historical fiction, and love Belinda Alexandra and Natasha Lester, you’re in for a treat… The narrative is a wonder of nuanced yet vivid language, offering poignant depth splashed with delightful description. Every page is a delicious escape into another world.

Chrissie Bellbrae