Susanna Howard
Susanna Howard is a Library Assistant in the Adult Services Department at CDPL.
The circus is a staple of our global culture, dating back thousands of years in its earliest forms and hitting its peak in the late 19th century. Though it’s not the titan of entertainment it once was, it’s never far from the limelight.
The spectacle of the circus is a natural setting for magic, as proven by Erin Morgenstern’s “The Night Circus” (FIC Mor). This re-readable title features competing magicians falling in love in a twisting plot with many disparate threads. Recent fantasy novels inspired by Morgenstern include “The First Bright Thing” by J. R. Dawson (FIC Daw) and “The Ladies of the Secret Circus” by Constance Sayers (FIC Say) which is also available as an audiobook (CDBK FIC Say).
Sara Gruen’s historical romance “Water for Elephants” (FIC Gru) made waves a few years back with the forbidden love between a married circus performer and a young veterinarian. It was later adapted into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson (DVD FIC Wat). If you liked that, you might enjoy Ellen Baker’s new book, “The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson: a Novel” (FIC Baker), in which family history research uncovers surprising facts about their matriarch’s youth. Also, check out Cathy Day’s “The Circus in Winter” (FIC Day), a fictionalized account of the author’s childhood in Peru, Indiana, as the neighbor to an off-season circus.
“The Greatest Showman” (DVD FIC Gre) shone a spotlight on the life of P.T. Barnum. For a biography that’s less musical, but still dazzling, try “Barnum: an American Life” by Robert Wilson (LP 921 BARNUM, P.). See how he measures up to his contemporaries in Les Standiford’s “Battle for the Big Top: P.T. Barnum, James Bailey, John Ringling, and the death-defying saga of the American circus” (791.3092 Sta).
In the years since the golden age of circus, a new style of performance called nouveau cirque has risen to prominence using traditional circus skills in modern theatrical production. “Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away” (DVD FIC Cir) showcases one of the most popular groups of this genre. “The Ordinary Acrobat: a Journey into the Wondrous World of the Circus, Past and Present” by Duncan Wall (921 Wall, D.) takes a peek inside a prestigious school of nouveau cirque, while Tessa Fontaine’s “The Electric Woman: a Memoir in Death-Defying acts” (921 Fontaine, T.) recounts modern sideshow.
A seminal work in the checkered history of circus, “Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers: Freaks” (DVD FIC Tod) also includes interviews and commentary on this divisive cult classic. For further reading, “Freak Show: Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit” (791.1 Bog) by Robert Bogdan presents a nuanced and compassionate overview of the social institution of the sideshow.
All these books and more are currently on display on our second floor and ready to be checked out with your library card. Step right in and find one to enjoy!
