Belle Nash and the Bath Circus by William Keeling, Stephen Games (Editor)

In 1835, when gay hero Bellerophon “Belle” Nash returns to Bath, in the west of England, after four years of forced exile in the Caribbean, he is a much changed man. Responsible for freeing the slaves on his aunt’s former estate in Grenada, Beau Nash’s grandson has seen the worst indignities that can be inflicted on fellow human beings and now finds himself, in Bath, at odds with one of slavery’s worst offenders. He has left behind a new love, too, and wants to believe that a semblance of that love can be recreated in England. For a while, a surrogate love affair with a would-be circus entrepreneur from Norfolk seems to satisfy him. But conflicts of interest reveal hard truths that cannot be wished away. Others may also prove better placed to right the wrongs that most trouble him. Can Belle survive the challenge?