Church of Marvels

Set in nineteenth-century New York City, Leslie Parry’s historical mystery, Church of Marvels (2015), follows a group of strangers whose lives are changed forever. Parry’s debut novel, it received an overwhelmingly positive critical reception. The book blends a touch of magical realism with the gritty realities of life in New York City. An award-winning novelist and short story writer, Parry’s work has appeared in publications such as The Virginia Quarterly Review and The Cincinnati Review. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she served as the writer-in-residence at the Kerouac House.

Church of Marvels takes place in 1895. Alphie wakes up one morning to find herself locked in an asylum on Blackwell’s Island. She doesn’t know how she got there and she’s terrified. Sylvan Threadgill cleans tenement privies every night. One night, he finds a healthy baby discarded in the rubbish. Sisters Belle and Odile Church grew up in the Church of Marvels on Coney Island. The Church of Marvels, a circus theatre founded by their mother, recently burned down. Belle fled the city, leaving Odile all alone. Odile wants to find Belle to reunite their broken family.

When Sylvan finds the baby, he can’t leave it behind to die. Having grown up an orphan, Sylvan knows how difficult it is to survive without parents. He’s not the best caretaker in the world, and he doesn’t have much money, but he plans to look after the baby as best he can.



Meanwhile, Alphie struggles to find her bearings in the asylum. She is an undertaker’s wife with a dark past, and she is worried that her past finally caught up with her. She knows that there are people from her old life who want to see her locked away. If they are not responsible for locking her up, then her mother-in-law is, because she hates Alphie and doesn’t think she’s good enough for her son.

Odile receives a letter from Belle. Belle claims that she will always love her sister, but this might be the last letter she ever writes. Odile panics, thinking something is wrong with Belle. She decides to go looking for her. Other circus performers plan to go with her; lost without the circus, they need a new purpose in life.

As Odile searches for Belle, she reveals how special their sisterly bond is. They were born conjoined at the skull and a nurse crudely detached them. Both girls suffer from disabilities now. Belle is mute, and Odile can’t walk without a brace. Now that Belle is gone, Odile recognizes how much she needs her.



Sylvan realizes that he can’t look after the baby. In addition to cleaning privies for a living, he also boxes in underground fighting rings. He can’t leave the baby on its own and he doesn’t have enough money to support them both. Finally, he makes the difficult decision to give the baby over to a local woman. This is best for everyone.

Meanwhile, Odile continues her search for Belle. She meets numerous other disabled youngsters, including a boy without a nose and a girl with no arm, along the way. They make her feel normal and she doesn’t despise her disability anymore. Other characters include Georgette, a girl with four legs; Leland, a dwarf; and Aldovar who has abnormal genitals after a circumcision went wrong.

Alphie finally reveals her traumatic and difficult past. Alphie is really called Alphonse. She is transgender. Her father kicked her out when she was a teenager because she thought she was gay. She made money by working in a sex club called Widow’s Walk. Her husband, Anthony, loves her for who she is. He knows the truth about her.



Anthony’s mother, however, hates Alphie. She thinks that Alphie is just a man masquerading as a woman. She feels duped and she is worried about Anthony. After giving the dilemma some thought, Anthony’s mother decides the only way to fix her son’s life is to commit Alphie to an asylum. Anthony can annul the marriage and start again. The problem is, he doesn’t want to.

When Odile reunites with Belle, they reveal more about what happened to the Church of Marvels. When it burned down, their mother died inside the carnival tent. It is unclear who is responsible for the fire, but the girls both somehow blame themselves. Their lives were perfect until the Church of Marvels burned down. Now, there is no choice but to rebuild their lives and start again. It is left open whether they will resurrect the Church of Marvels or if they will leave carnivals and circuses behind them.