Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet

Written by H.P. Wood

Narrated by Nancy Wu

Kitty Hayward and her mother are ready to experience the spectacles of Coney Island's newest attraction, the Dreamland amusement park. But when Kitty's mother vanishes from their hotel, she finds herself penniless, alone, and far from her native England. The last people she expects to help are the cast of characters at Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet, a museum of oddities. From con men to strongmen, from flea wranglers to lion tamers, Kitty's new friends quickly adopt her and vow to help find the missing Mrs. Hayward. But even these unusual inhabitants may not be a match for the insidious sickness that begins to spread through Coney Island...or the panic that turns Dreamland into a nightmare. With shades of Water For Elephants and The Museum of Extraordinary Things, Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet sweeps readers into a mesmerizing world where nothing is as it seems, and where "normal" is the exception to the rule.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781501919671

H.P. Wood

H.P. Wood is the granddaughter of a mad inventor and a sideshow magician. Instead of making things disappear, she makes books of all shapes and sizes. She has written or edited works on an array of topics, including the history of the Internet, the future of human rights, and the total awesomeness of playing with sticks. She lives in Connecticut with a charming and patient husband, a daughter from whom she steals all her best ideas, and more cats than is strictly logical. You can find her at hpwood.net.

Reviews for Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet

[Suze Lavender · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's 1904 and the English Kitty is stranded on Coney Island. Her brother passed away and going to New York was his biggest wish. When he died Kitty and her mother made the journey in his honor instead. However, Kitty's mother is now ill and Kitty has no idea where she is or how to reach her. Her money and clothes are at the hotel she and her mother were staying in, but all members of staff pretend they don't know her. Kitty is completely alone and doesn't have any idea what to do, until she's being adopted by the Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet family. Zeph with no legs is the unofficial leader of the residents and Rosalind who's half man and half woman takes Kitty under protection. Kitty has to adapt quickly to the bizarre world of this crazy museum of oddities if she wants to survive. Will she ever be able to go home?

Kitty's mother isn't the only sick person on the island. More and more people are getting mysterious symptoms. Survival rates are low and something has to be done to prevent the illness from spreading. At Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet they're trying to deal with the situation, but there's no chance to get out of it unscathed. What will the destruction of this terrible outbreak be and can Kitty and her friends escape the horrors that are now taking place at the once so cheerful Dreamland amusement park?

Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet is a wonderful mix of strangeness, terror and beautiful friendship. I was blown away by the dazzling setting. Dreamland and Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet are fascinating places to read about and the contrast between these fantastic buoyant locations and the events that are taking place is incredible. I was impressed from the start. I loved Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet and its quirky people. A leopard tamer, a mad inventor, an automaton with impressive skills and plenty of fleas, nobody and nothing are out of place at Magruder's. It's a fantastic dynamic museum and the perfect location for a story about a situation that snowballs out of control. I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough to discover where this disaster-to-be would lead.

H.P. Wood is always perfectly in control of the chaotic world she writes about, which makes her story a true joy to read. She skillfully adds the most amazing suspense to her story, there are many unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat and the relationships between the main characters are each equally fascinating. I was constantly surprised and I love when that happens while I'm reading a book. Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet is dark, twisted, shocking, hopeful, merry and very much alive in a time of death. It's an emotional rollercoaster that will stay with me for a very long time. I absolutely loved this brilliant book.

[irenecole · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I loved the cover and was intrigued by the description.

I felt so bad for Kitty being hungry and alone, and I enjoyed the setting. It reminded me somewhat of an old Alfred Hitchcock episode in which a young girl loses her mom after checking into a hotel and being sent out for medicine and then being told she has the wrong hotel when she returns. I did find it a bit difficult to keep up with so many characters.

I received an advance copy for review

[nwieme-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Weird. Funky. Fiction with some historical accuracy. The plague comes to Coney Island in 1904 and all hell breaks loose for the "unusuals" that live and work there.

[shelleyraec · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet is an engaging novel set in the early 1900’s on Coney Island, New York. It’s 1904, and seventeen year old Kitty Hayward finds herself stranded in Coney Island when her ailing mother, and all their belongings, inexplicably disappears from the hotel room they were sharing. Friendless, homeless, and penniless, she must rely on the kindness of a stranger who introduces her to the extraordinary employees and hanger-ons of Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet. “Theophilus P. Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet is just an ugly old building with blacked-out windows and a faded sign. Thousands of souls may visit Coney Island, but few of those souls are hearty enough to peer inside Magruder’s heavy oak door.”The characters of Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet are extraordinarily rendered, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. Magruder’s is a rundown dime museum crowded with oddities, staffed solely by Zeph, a legless black man. Upstairs lives Timur, a reclusive inventor, and Rosalind, who has a carny act as a half woman half man in a tent on the boardwalk. In the basement of the building is an unlicensed pub which welcomes the unusual employees of the Coney Island attractions after hours. It is with this eccentric family, which also includes Rosalind’s lover Enzo, and a mute orphan boy the call P-Ray, that Kitty unexpectedly finds refuge, and help.“That’s what we call you…normal people. You call us Unusuals, freaks, monsters… Did you never think we’d have our own name for you? Dozens. As in, dime a.”Wood takes a little liberty with some of the historical elements in this novel, but the story is richer for it. Coney Island becomes the epicentre of an outbreak of plague (inspired by a similar event which actually occurred on the country’s west coast) threatening both ‘freaks’ and ‘dozens’ alike. It is this tragedy that drives much of action, as the wealthy owners Coney Island’s businesses attempt to hide the virulent disease they call the ‘Calcutta Cough’ in order to protect their profits, and their employees are left to fend for themselves as the dead pile up around them. “We must keep those hotels filled, miss! Keep those dancehalls crowded, keep that Shoot the Chute flying down the track. And if you develop a slight cough, if your complexion goes a bit lumpy? The men in masks will scoop you up and take you away...”Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet is a thoughtful exploration of oppression, corruption, belonging, and compassion. Often delightful and charming yet also dark and challenging, its also a story of perseverance and redemption in the face of tragedy. With lively characters, a colourful setting and a rich and interesting plot I found Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet to be an entertaining and enchanting read.

[alphawoman_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Book Number 75!!I usually do not read this type of fantasy fiction. I throughly enjoy it when I find something rich with superior storytelling. this book fell somewhere inbetween just ok and good. not like the Night Circus book I read earlier this year, which was amazing or The book of Speculation about a found family scrap book which was mind blowing. this book was just a jumble of a story but entertaining nonetheless. when you have a mystery wrapped in magic surrounded by carnies it becomes the perfect recipe for a gruesome read. in a good sense!

[ronrose1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Spread the towel on the beach, lie down with a Coney dog in one hand and this book in the other. What could be better on a summer day at the shore? Magruder’s Curiosity Cabinet is full of wonders and wonderful people. A young girl, Kitty, fresh off the boat from England, finds herself alone on the boardwalk in turn of the century Coney Island. She can’t find her mother, who has taken ill, in their hotel. In fact, the hotel employees deny any knowledge of her mother ever having checked in at the hotel. Devastated and without funds, Kitty is thrown out of the establishment and warned not to come back. Alone for days, sleeping on the benches lining the beach, she grows increasingly worried and hungry. The only offer of help she gets is from a slightly seedy older man who offers to help her, if she helps him. Faced with starvation or worse, she reluctantly agrees to help him in what turns out to be a scheme to scam some money from a shop keeper. This is her first step into the world of the strange people who live and work on the edge of the world. Crowds of people from the city come every day to have fun at the beach, to stare at the Unusuals, and remark on the strange appearance and ways of those who inhabit this nether world. This is the world that reaches out for Kitty. It saves her from harm and provides her with a strange and wonderful family. But as Kitty has already learned, even the best of families can be torn apart and destroyed in an instant. Book provided for review by the publisher.

[vera_mallard-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Coney IslandThe English Teen, The FreaksAnd The Plague HOW DO I START THIS REVIEW? I am almost at a loss; can I do this novel justice? When I started this novel I did not think I would be able to finish it; by the time I had read chapter one I knew this book had huge possibilities. By the time I was half through chapter two, I was engrossed in this fascinating book. WHAT A STORY, KUDOS MS. WOOD, KUDOS! STORY LINE:Kitty Hayward’s life has taken an unexpected turn. She is in America fresh off a South African ship, her mother is ill, she is sent by the doctor for medicine. When she returns, Kitty is turned out of the hotel; she returns to threats and denials of knowing of her or her mother. She finds herself sitting on a park bench for days without food, lodging, or money. Befriended by Archie, an unnatural/con man/freak of Coney Island, she ends up at Magruders Curiosity Cabinet.Things are going along as usual on Coney Island at the Curiosity Cabinet, but something is happening just under the surface. Rats are dying in the streets, people are coughing everywhere and becoming very ill very fast, and the freaks of Coney Island are in the middle of the crisis.Join Kitty and the gang of freak/unusuals of Coney Island as they fight for their way life and their very lives. CHARACTERS, PLOTTING, DEVELOPMENT:Ms. Wood has created an intense book filled with unusual characters and a fascinating story-line. Coney Island is home to people who are different from the norm also known as freaks, carnie, unusuals. Theirs is a close community of people earning a living in various ways on the island from amusement rides and con games to Magruders Curiosity Cabinet. They call themselves “unusuals” and the rest of the world population, “dozens”, as in “a dime a dozen”. They are looked down upon by the world that in turn loves to laugh and gawk at them and the way they are forced to earn a wage. People that were not the stated normal had few options in this time period. Kitty, the English teen, finds refuge with this cast of misfits. Ms. Wood crafted many fascinating characters for this book, some you will love and others you will love to hate. Whether you are a “dozen” or “unusual”, Ms. Wood shows we all have the ability for despicable characteristics and deeds as well as immense sacrifice and caring. Ms. Wood infused her characters with intense emotions and as we travel in Ms. Wood’s world we find people with moral fiber and sense of family. You will find Rosalind who’s personality is half male, half female who dresses as both at the same time or one or other at other times. Then you have the midgets, Kitty the English teen, Spencer the Senator’s son, Zeph the legless Negro, the giant, Whitey the midget fire chief of Lilliputia, Doc Timur the genius inventor, Nazan the frustrated scientist in a woman’s body and a man’s world, Enzo the disfigured fireworks expert, P-Ray the dark-skinned silent child and many more. Ms. Wood skillfully and in-depth developed each character portraying their strengths and weaknesses with skill. Her portrayal of the world of the “unusuals” was enlightening. Through her writing, you see them as people not freaks or monsters. Her descriptions were so vivid I could see the horrific scenes, feel the confusion, pain and helplessness, as well the friendship, love, and sense of family between the characters. The plot was masterfully developed as Ms. Wood wove the threads of this story together to form an intriguing novel with characters revolving around the centerpieces of plague, injustice, bigotry, man’s inhumanity to man, greed, prejudice and family not related by blood but circumstance and feeling. This book will make you think. RECOMMENDATION: 5 STARSThis is not a book for children or the immature due to the subject matter. I highly recommend this book the reader who enjoys a well-written solid story. I expect to see great things from Ms. Wood. I look forward to her next work.I received this book from Netgalley.com in return for an honest book review. Book reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion; book reviews on line and on my blog, are my opinion. Ms. Wood’s website contains a vast amount of information about the large amusement park on Coney Island, its history and how it was developed. I was amazed by the facts, photos, and music that she has included.

[naberius_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In 1904 New York City, Coney Island's newest amusement park, Dreamland, has just opened. Kitty Hayward and her mother arrive by steamer from South Africa, but Kitty's mother suddenly takes ill. Their hotel doctor sends Kitty across town to get medicine, but when she returns, her mother has disappeared and Kitty is forced out of the hotel. Alone and wandering the boardwalk, Kitty meets some of the members of Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet. These people, who call themselves Unusuals, take Kitty under their wing and try to help her figure out what happened to her mother. However, at the same time, something awful is starting to spread through Coney Island, placing everyone under quarantine. Soon, the Unusuals discover that helping Kitty is the least of their problems, and that the most important thing now is survival.This is an interesting combination of real history, some real history from other places added in, and a mix of characters who feel like they could have been pulled straight from history, as well. The author did a lot of research into Coney Island and the history of places like Magruder's and this is reflected in the story. The author's notes at the end of the book are really interesting, and I appreciated how she explains how she took things from history and blended them together in this story. Circuses, carnivals and amusement parks have long held a fascination for me, so I already had some knowledge about Dreamland and places like Magruder's (the link I've got here is to a great article about the history of Dreamland and includes photos and videos). Wood includes real elements of Dreamland in her story, such as Midgetland, and some of the daily performances in the park. Dreamland, however, is just the setting that brings together people who probably wouldn't have encountered each other otherwise. And to me, it's the people, and how they come together to help each other, that really makes this a great story. Sure, I find the setting and historical elements to be fascinating, but I found it was the characters who stuck out in my mind. I appreciated that Wood wrote people in a realistic way, and developed those characters. The focus also just solely on Kitty and her predicament; instead, you get a much fuller story of a number of different people. These people are an unlikely group of friends who are thrown together out of circumstance, whether it's working at the Curiosity Cabinet, being a part of Dreamland, or a chance encounter. The dynamics between them felt very real, as did the dynamics between these people and the people on the outside of Dreamland, who frequently viewed people such as those at Magruder's as "freaks." One of the things I also want to mention is that the author doesn't shy away from realistic details of the illness that starts to sweep through Coney Island. I won't say more than that, but I appreciated that this also felt very realistic.This is a good story to pair with Alice Hoffman's book, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, which is also based on real places, people and events.

[welsh_eileen2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

All the fun of the fair?I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Sourcebooks via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

[brendaklaassen · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book sounded really interesting when I saw it on a webpage, but I discovered the book did not hold my attention. I tried; but could not believe in the characters. I discovered that the writing style of this author was difficult to follow. I quit reading this book because I had no interest in it. I think the author had a strong outline for the story, the filling of the outline really frustrated me. I do hope that there are readers in the world that really enjoy this story.