Circus Nonfiction

The History of the Circus: From Ancient Spectacles to Modern Big Top Entertainment takes you on a fascinating journey through one of the world’s most enduring forms of performance. From the roaring crowds of the Roman Circus Maximus to the colorful parades of Barnum & Bailey, and from medieval jesters to the groundbreaking artistry of Cirque du Soleil, this book tells the full story of how the circus has evolved over two thousand years. Discover how the circus began as a symbol of power and public spectacle in ancient Rome, survived through traveling fairs in medieval Europe, and was ...

Almost 7,000 fans eagerly packed into the Ringling Brothers big top on July 6, 1944. With a single careless act, an afternoon at the "Greatest Show on Earth" quickly became one of terror and tragedy as the paraffin-coated circus tent caught fire. Panicked crowds rushed for the few exits, but in minutes, the tent collapsed on those still struggling to escape below. A total of 168 lives were lost, many of them children, with many more injured and forever scarred by the events.

Step up, step up! In 1860s England, circus mania is sweeping the nation. Crowds jostle for a glimpse of the lion-tamers, the dazzling trapeze artists and, most thrilling of all, the so-called “human wonders.”

Bruno Wildermann of the Wrinfield Circus is the world’s greatest trapeze artist, a clairvoyant with near-supernatural powers and an implacable enemy of the East European regime that arrested his family and murdered his wife. The CIA needs such a man and recruits Bruno for an impossible raid—on the impregnable Lubylan fortress, where his family his held. Under cover of a circus tour, Bruno prepares to return to his homeland. But before the journey even begins a murderer strikes twice. Somewhere in the circus there is a communist agent with orders to stop Bruno at any cost.

Nothing bad ever happens in the quiet little town of Hope. However, when the circus rolls in one misty morning in late October, everyone decides to go see what they have. Even the Jorgenson family and their 8 year old son Noah head on down to the circus big top, but when it is time to leave he is nowhere to be found. With the help of Sheriff Langley, his parents search the premises, but they don't find him. Now that it is closing time, they are forced to leave in hopes that he will come home. Will they ever find him and all the other children that have gone missing from other towns?

The year is 1985, and O' Hare's Travelling Circus is touring the country. Their spectacular acts mesmerize audiences everywhere with entertaining clowns, high-flying acrobats, a muscular strongman, and a daredevil motorcycle stuntman, to name a few. They also have Psychic Sheila - resident fortune-teller and agony aunt - who stumbles through life, one disastrous romantic interlude at a time. Of course, no close-knit group would be complete without its fair share of secrets and who better to uncover them than Sheila, with her sixth sense and natural nose for a good mystery.

This is the deeply touching story of an elephant who captured the world's imagination, brought beautifully to life with enchanting storytelling. Follow Jumbo’s amazing journey from his remote home in the rugged mountains of East Africa and the time he spent delighting visitors with elephant rides and comedy routines at London Zoo. Be amazed by his spectacular stint in P.T. Barnum’s 'Greatest Show on Earth’ and how he led a herd of elephants across the newly built Brooklyn Bridge to test its strength.

Various aspects of love, life, and death, set against the circus background.

Lizzie’s joining the circus! Her sister, Emma, is a high-flying trapeze star, but Lizzie’s terrified of heights! She’s going to be a clown - the funniest around! Hotdog and Kev can’t wait to see the show. Will everything go as planned?

The gentle, off-beat narrator of The Circus is perfectly content with his quiet life. By day, he works in a bakery, and by night, he obsessively organizes and reorganizes his record collection: It’s all just the way he likes it. But when his childhood friend, Magnus, comes calling out of the blue, the contours of our narrator’s familiar world begin to shift. On a visit to the circus together, Magnus volunteers to participate in the magician’s disappearing act, and midway through the routine, he vanishes. Is this part of the act? What’s happened to Magnus?

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Beautifully written' - The Times 'An absolute triumph' - Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars 'A glittering follow-up to The Doll Factory' - Guardian 'Entrancing. I couldn’t put it down' - Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton This audiobook...

The nineteenth century saw the American circus move from a reviled and rejected form of entertainment to the “Greatest Show on Earth.” Circus Life by Micah D. Childress looks at this transition from the perspective of the people who owned and worked in circuses and how they responded to the new incentives that rapid industrialization made possible.