"A novel woven from the most remarkable reality.
The zany, moving, exhilarating story, part truth, part legend, of Anna Swan, the real-life 7'6" Nova Scotian giantess, born in 1846 (an 18-pound baby) to a family of crofters, and billed by PT Barnum as:
THE BIGGEST MODERN WOMAN OF THE WORLD"

Arrived safely in New Zealand today. Thanks!

^ ^
00
=+=
v

I found this book to be a bit of a struggle - it promised (and mostly delivered) an interesting story, but the narrative style was very odd, a kind of mixture of Victorian playbill advertising-speak and modern language, which I'm sure was supposed to be clever, but I just found irritating, mostly. Having read it, I think I can understand why (as the author mentions in the introduction) the real Anna Swan's relatives weren't overly impressed by her interpretation of their famous ancestor's life.

There were the odd good bits though, and somewhere in there there's a good novel struggling to get out. It's just a pity so little of it reached the surface.

^ ^
00
=+=
v

Given to another bookcrosser at this morning's meetup.

^ ^
00
=+=
v

Caught at the monthly BookXing breakfast.
Finally read part of this book. Struggled through it and then gave up. I really hated the way the Victorian circus freak was seen as legitimate with something amazing to say!!!