I was going down the shore one weekend, and I was interested in a quick, easy read that I could sit on the beach with. The Mermaid seemed like that kind of book, and it appeared short enough for me to get through in a day or two. I didn’t get to read the whole thing while down the shore, but I did manage to get it read rather quickly, and it was such an interesting story!

The mermaid is caught in a fisherman’s net, but instead of taking advantage of the miraculous find, he lets her go. She is immediately intrigued by him and follows him home, forsaking her mermaid life for a life as a human and the man’s wife. They live happily ever after, until her husband dies, and she’s left all alone. Her character is intriguing, as she has become a part of two very different worlds. As a mermaid, she looks nothing like we would imagine, and she is strong and powerful. As a human, she is a woman who longs for the love of a family, but that comes to an end.

Her desire now is to travel the world and see the wonders of humans, but she’s practical and realizes that in order to do that, she needs money. From her cottage in Maine, she travels all the way to New York City after meeting with a man about becoming a part of the American Museum. She wants to show the world her kind and make money so she can live comfortably the way she wants. She is strong-willed and understands her value, but she is also cautious about those around her, unsure if she will ever be able to love or trust another human again.

And then there’s P.T. Barnum. There are so many aspects of this novel that are from history, and this man is one of them. One if his most popular attractions was the Feejee Mermaid, which was essentially the body of a dead monkey sewn onto the tail of a fish. It was grotesque, but it traveled the country as one of Barnum’s famous attractions. Henry takes this historical event and places a real mermaid in its stead, and she did it extremely well.

But P.T. Barnum wasn’t known as a kind man, and he always put money before everything else, even the comfort of his exhibits. This is touched upon quite a bit in the story, as Amelia has many demands that would protect her own interests. Even in the end, despite his change in attitude a bit, Barnum is still a man who loves money and will do what it takes to make his name famous.

I really enjoyed this book, but I wish it was a bit longer. There were many aspects of the plot that could have been expanded a bit more, but other than that, this is a quick read that is light-hearted and fun. It even reads more like a fairy tale than a novel of this time. And the cover is simply GORGEOUS, so it will be welcome on my shelf! Definitely pick this book up if you’re into fairy tale-inspired stories!