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Stealing the Show
For more than than three generations, the Bradley family have owned a fair, but times are changing and the younger generations are keen to invest in more ambitious rides, while Nell,more of a traditionalist, loathes them. A warm, funny, romantic story of old versus new.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 20, 1998
5 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Christina Jones
85 books191 followersI've written all my life, but only became a published novelist in 1997. Before that, I wrote short stories and newspaper articles for pin money while doing a series of naff jobs. In fact I've had twenty seven jobs and been sacked from nineteen of them for writing when I should have been working. I've been, among other things, a shop assistant, waitress, cleaner, secretary, factory worker, market-researcher, nanny, bookseller, night-club dancer, civil servant, blood donor attendant, fruit-picker and barmaid. I'm now, apparently, a Real Writer.
Writing for a living is wonderful - a dream come true - and I now manage to combine writing novels, short stories and articles with not doing the housework, not doing the gardening, not cooking much, but at least attempting to look after my husband - the Toyboy Trucker - and my daughter and our 17 rescued cats.
I was born in Oxford and have lived in Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Northumberland, London and Jersey. I blame my parents both for my itchy feet and my romantic soul. My Dad was a circus clown - Poor Billy, Prince of Laughter Makers - and my Mum who trained as a teacher, came from an army family, and had lived in six countries before she was 15. They met and fell in love while the circus was off the road and my Dad was working as Santa Claus in a department store. My Mum, at home for Christmas, was the fairy in his grotto. I was entranced by the way they met, that they were from such different backgrounds, and that their love for one another managed to survive every obstacle and objection thrown in its path. Every book I've written has their story at its core.
I grew up in a Berkshire village, in a tight, happy, secure and very working class community. My childhood was idyllically happy, and my friends from those days are still my best friends now. My novels reflect this community spirit, and all have small groups of people - crossing class, age and gender - who are friends and work together through the roller coaster ride of life. Also, because the women I grew up with were, by necessity, tough and go-getting with a sense of humour, my heroines are gutsy and strong. Real women in real situations. And the fact that the backgrounds to my books mirror my own past experiences is no coincidence, either.
My parents were great storytellers and avid readers, and taught me to read long before I started school, so I started writing my own stories at about five years old without thinking it in the least odd. Writing was an obsession, a friend, a way of life. I had my first short story published at 14, still blissfully unaware this was unusual. However, having a novel published was my life's ambition - and one that took another thirty writing years to achieve.
Having won a couple of awards for my short stories, I joined the Romantic Novelists' Association in 1993, and was lucky enough to be voted runner-up for the New Writers' Scheme Award at my second attempt in 1995. Dancing in the Moonlight was published by My Weekly Story Library, and as it didn't have an ISBN wasn't classed as a novel. I was, of course, ecstatic at this literary elevation - and it was at the RNA Awards Lunch that I was approached by an agent who suggested I should try writing full length commercial fiction. Going the Distance was the result, and amazingly it was sold to a publisher straight away and then, equally amazingly, chosen for the 1997 WH Smith Fresh Talent Promotion - and I haven't (touch wood and fingers and all other extremities crossed!) - looked back since.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Writing for a living is wonderful - a dream come true - and I now manage to combine writing novels, short stories and articles with not doing the housework, not doing the gardening, not cooking much, but at least attempting to look after my husband - the Toyboy Trucker - and my daughter and our 17 rescued cats.
I was born in Oxford and have lived in Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Northumberland, London and Jersey. I blame my parents both for my itchy feet and my romantic soul. My Dad was a circus clown - Poor Billy, Prince of Laughter Makers - and my Mum who trained as a teacher, came from an army family, and had lived in six countries before she was 15. They met and fell in love while the circus was off the road and my Dad was working as Santa Claus in a department store. My Mum, at home for Christmas, was the fairy in his grotto. I was entranced by the way they met, that they were from such different backgrounds, and that their love for one another managed to survive every obstacle and objection thrown in its path. Every book I've written has their story at its core.
I grew up in a Berkshire village, in a tight, happy, secure and very working class community. My childhood was idyllically happy, and my friends from those days are still my best friends now. My novels reflect this community spirit, and all have small groups of people - crossing class, age and gender - who are friends and work together through the roller coaster ride of life. Also, because the women I grew up with were, by necessity, tough and go-getting with a sense of humour, my heroines are gutsy and strong. Real women in real situations. And the fact that the backgrounds to my books mirror my own past experiences is no coincidence, either.
My parents were great storytellers and avid readers, and taught me to read long before I started school, so I started writing my own stories at about five years old without thinking it in the least odd. Writing was an obsession, a friend, a way of life. I had my first short story published at 14, still blissfully unaware this was unusual. However, having a novel published was my life's ambition - and one that took another thirty writing years to achieve.
Having won a couple of awards for my short stories, I joined the Romantic Novelists' Association in 1993, and was lucky enough to be voted runner-up for the New Writers' Scheme Award at my second attempt in 1995. Dancing in the Moonlight was published by My Weekly Story Library, and as it didn't have an ISBN wasn't classed as a novel. I was, of course, ecstatic at this literary elevation - and it was at the RNA Awards Lunch that I was approached by an agent who suggested I should try writing full length commercial fiction. Going the Distance was the result, and amazingly it was sold to a publisher straight away and then, equally amazingly, chosen for the 1997 WH Smith Fresh Talent Promotion - and I haven't (touch wood and fingers and all other extremities crossed!) - looked back since.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 13, 2008
I'm yet to read a Christina Jones book that I haven't loved!
November 9, 2014
I adore this book. It's been my go-to book for whenever I feel down, ever since I first read it. Christina Jones' books are spellbinding to me and I adore each and every one, but this one holds a very special place in my heart. My #1.
August 19, 2008
A poignant romance with a carnival setting.
June 27, 2021
This book was fantastic, apart from being a fantastic book, it gives the reader great insight into the lives of those who live among a community of nomads.
What an adventurous life it would be. Makes me understand why "running away to join the circus" become such a popular saying.
I'm going to re-read this book. I hope I can find an eBook version because I don't have the physical capacity to dig it out of storage where the rest of my collection is packed away.
I hope others get to read this in 2021. LoL it could be classified as period drama now.
What an adventurous life it would be. Makes me understand why "running away to join the circus" become such a popular saying.
I'm going to re-read this book. I hope I can find an eBook version because I don't have the physical capacity to dig it out of storage where the rest of my collection is packed away.
I hope others get to read this in 2021. LoL it could be classified as period drama now.
August 22, 2018
Such a magical ride. I love Christina Jones I’ve not picked up one that I didn’t enjoy 💖
June 28, 2023
A fabulous page turner of fun and romance, despite between the hard and sad times. Perfect end to the book, makes you smile.
April 23, 2024
Less too short to read a book that you have to trudge through. I could have finished this but ram out of steam after so many months. Premise of the story is fine
September 1, 2025
As usual, a very lovely story !
March 5, 2017
Total comfort reading (which is a good thing)
May 13, 2013
This back was written back in 1998 but it hasn't 'dated' and was a wonderful read. The book is set around characters who run a funfair and whilst this isn't a topic that is of interest to me I am a big Christina Jones fan and have read all her other books over the years so thought I'd give this one a go as well - fully expecting not to enjoy it because of the setting - how wrong I was!
Learning all about how funfairs are run made for fascinating reading and straight away I was transported into that world and began to enjoy the book. All of the characters are extremely well drawn but I did find myself wanting to discover the stories of Claudia and Jack a bit more than the story of Nell who is the 'central' character.
The book does deal with some serious issues along the way but, as ever with Christina Jones, they were dealt with in an excellent way.
This is a brilliant book with characters and settings that linger on in the memory after you have finished reading! Loved it.
Learning all about how funfairs are run made for fascinating reading and straight away I was transported into that world and began to enjoy the book. All of the characters are extremely well drawn but I did find myself wanting to discover the stories of Claudia and Jack a bit more than the story of Nell who is the 'central' character.
The book does deal with some serious issues along the way but, as ever with Christina Jones, they were dealt with in an excellent way.
This is a brilliant book with characters and settings that linger on in the memory after you have finished reading! Loved it.
April 10, 2013
It is not often that I mark a 'chic-lit' book with a score of 5, but I loved this story.
Nell Bradley comes from a long line of 'fair-folk' and has an equal share in her parents fair with her two brothers. But Danny and Sam want to change, bring in bigger, noisier, scarier rides and so make a fortune. Nell disagrees and when she accidentally stumbles across an old set of gallopers for sale, she can't resist. Spending all her savings and hiding them away, she and a team of restorers set to making them as good as new. But at home, she's being pressured to marry the son of their biggest competitors, he brother's marriage is on the brink of collapse and one of the helpers seems to have abducted an underage girl. And if that wasn't enough, the gallopers come with their own handsome painter...
Brilliantly funny in places, sad in others, but I enjoyed every second. There is something about this author's books that you can't help but love.
Nell Bradley comes from a long line of 'fair-folk' and has an equal share in her parents fair with her two brothers. But Danny and Sam want to change, bring in bigger, noisier, scarier rides and so make a fortune. Nell disagrees and when she accidentally stumbles across an old set of gallopers for sale, she can't resist. Spending all her savings and hiding them away, she and a team of restorers set to making them as good as new. But at home, she's being pressured to marry the son of their biggest competitors, he brother's marriage is on the brink of collapse and one of the helpers seems to have abducted an underage girl. And if that wasn't enough, the gallopers come with their own handsome painter...
Brilliantly funny in places, sad in others, but I enjoyed every second. There is something about this author's books that you can't help but love.
June 18, 2015
I *loved* this. It took me a little while to get into, but it really is pretty much everything I love about Christina Jones' books - and on top of that an explanation about that fair that keeps popping up in the later books!
I was absolutely fascinated by the way of life that she portrays too - having seen a little bit of something similar in covering stories about circuses. I really need to fill in some more of the gaps in my Christina Jones back catalogue, because everytime I read one of her books I end up with a smile on my face.
I was absolutely fascinated by the way of life that she portrays too - having seen a little bit of something similar in covering stories about circuses. I really need to fill in some more of the gaps in my Christina Jones back catalogue, because everytime I read one of her books I end up with a smile on my face.
June 3, 2012
After Going The Distance this is my second favourite. The inside view of the world of travelling fairs is fascinating, and it sucks the reader in along with the delicious hero Jack.He can take me for a ride on his Norton any time.
August 10, 2014
Not sure I have the words to express how much I enjoyed reading this book.
Suspect that deep down part of me would love to be just like Nell, and travel around with a traditional fair, and not with all the all singing and dancing rides there are now.
Suspect that deep down part of me would love to be just like Nell, and travel around with a traditional fair, and not with all the all singing and dancing rides there are now.
August 18, 2015
I love all of the Christina Jones books. They are about romance but so much more than that: they introduce to way of living
you never knew anything about.
This one is about fairs and what it entails in running them. I enjoyed it very much.
you never knew anything about.
This one is about fairs and what it entails in running them. I enjoyed it very much.
June 3, 2017
Nell dreams of a vintage traveling carnival. And Jack wants to restore an old savage merry-go-round. Together they face many obstacles on the way to their goals.
Although this book was gripping and exciting to read, without too much drama, the relationship/ romantic build up was quite poor.
Although this book was gripping and exciting to read, without too much drama, the relationship/ romantic build up was quite poor.
September 22, 2013
One of my favourite Christina Jones books. It shows that as well as progress theres nothing wrong with a bit of nostalgia.
I loved the characters and was drawn happily into their lives and loves.
I loved the characters and was drawn happily into their lives and loves.
Read
August 6, 2011A story that I did not want to end but could not stop reading. I loved the characters and really enjoyed being a part of an English fair...just for a little while!
April 6, 2012
This is an old favourite - carousels, funfairs and several storylines. A nice easy read and a happy ending - what more can you ask?!
February 7, 2017
Reread
I originally read this about 15 years ago. It's still a good read (though trigger warnings for abuse) and it was perfect for right now having no politics at all in the storyline.
I originally read this about 15 years ago. It's still a good read (though trigger warnings for abuse) and it was perfect for right now having no politics at all in the storyline.
May 30, 2014
Love this book! I've read it a few times now and I never get bored of it!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews