Linda DeMeulemeester is the author of the new middle grade novel Ephemia Rimaldi: Circus Performer Extraordinaire. Her other books include the Grim Hill series.
Q: What inspired you to write Ephemia Rimaldi, and how did you create your protagonist?
A: When I was a girl, my grandmother used to tell me stories from a long time ago. One story she told was when she was eight years old her family moved from a small Manitoba farm to the west coast of Canada. A circus came to town. There was a parade and she saw her first elephant. She fainted from the shock. Nothing in a picture book had prepared her for that experience.
This story left me with a curiosity about how life would be before all of us were so connected to the world. What would it be like if you had limited access outside your small community? There would be so many things that could leave you in awe and wonder.
Ephemia was a character (sort of) in another story. I had written a different manuscript about time travel and a curse -- not terribly original apparently. Soon it was clear to me that this manuscript wasn’t going to work. Except…
I couldn’t let go of the circus scenes in that story. Everything about those scenes still resonated with me.
Moreover, there was a peripheral character that never actually appeared – the ringmaster’s daughter. All the other characters would have dialogue such as, “The ringmaster’s daughter has vexed her father again.” Or “What new trouble has the ringmaster’s daughter caused?” I ended up really liking a feisty character that wasn’t even in the story.
I had to deconstruct this ringmaster’s daughter to see what made her tick. What did she do that drove her father crazy?
Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?
A: Writing a historical novel involves falling down a lot of rabbit holes. Ephemia runs away to find her father who is the ringmaster of a circus, so I read about the history of North American circuses.
I was also looking for primary sources and was lucky to find several magazines that had interviews from circus performers which helped me add pinches of realism.
Also I read about expressions people used at the turn of the century which included refined society, which would be how Ephemia’s relatives would speak, but also the circus slang from those times. Early circus photographs and posters really helped me with my descriptions.
I was surprised to discover how small, early circuses were places of both cruelty (well, that wasn’t a huge surprise) but also acceptance.
The exploitation of both animals and humans was at the heart of Ephemia’s desperate rescue to save Balally the circus elephant. Her experiences in the circus enflamed her sense of injustice.
Another part of Ephemia’s growth was for her to discover what I discovered. There was also acceptance in these early circuses and that to be a part of a circus was to be a part of a family. Often people who might not gain social acceptance elsewhere could find a path there.
Was that enough research? Not at all.
Ephemia’s Aunt Ada was a suffragist. My research expanded to include suffragists at the turn of the century and what they were trying to achieve.
I knew they were fighting for enfranchisement, and how they were also fighting to create a social safety net. I was less aware that working class women were also organizing in unions and fighting for equal pay. There was a sublime moment in my research when I discovered that one of the earliest groups of women to fight for and achieve equal pay for equal work were circus performers.
Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says that Ephemia’s “antics realistically reflect the limitations placed on women and girls at the turn of the 20th century, while highlighting the fact that circuses were among the first environments where equal pay was achieved and women’s courage was embraced.” What do you think of that description?
A: I was delighted by that description because that’s what I was aiming for. I wanted a historical story that was accurate for the times – women and girls had lots of limitations and were often left in precarious legal positions if there were no husbands, fathers, or brothers to sign bank documents or mortgages etc…
Ephemia’s benefactor died, and the eldest male was suddenly controlling her future. But I also wanted to show that lots of girls and women bristled against these restrictions and pushed back.
Ephemia decides to take her future in her own hands and runs off to find her wayward father and insist he help her secure her education funds. When she arrives at a circus she sees how the women performers are swinging from trapezes and taming tigers in a cage, feats few would attempt.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?
A: Fun – I genuinely hope that they enjoy the adventure and hold their heart in their throats when the circus elephant is in danger, and shake their heads and say, “Ephemia, I wouldn’t do that,” or applaud her perseverance and effervescence.
I also would love readers to scratch their heads and think, whoa, equality is precarious and not something to ever take for granted.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Something completely different – I’m finishing edits on a scary middle grade story titled The Bottle Witch of Brimley, which will be published about a year from now by Orca Publishers. Then I’ll be working on edits for a middle grade mystery/suspense coming out around Halloween of 2027.
Between these edits, I can’t help but think how much I’d like to find out how Ephemia and her circus friends are doing. I wouldn’t mind diving back into the deep and immersive experience of writing a historical novel.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Well, writing and reading about circuses is fascinating
and addictive. I’m currently waiting for a new book I ordered – Off to Join the Circus. :)
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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