Come Run Away with the Circus

What is it about the old-style traveling circus in literature these days? Recently I’ve read the popular “The night circus” by Erin Morgenstern, and also “Water for elephants” by Sara Gruen. There’s even a movie coming out on the latter starring the erstwhile vampire Robert Pattinson. Is it because they are their own magical world separated from the mundane, stick-in-the-mud world of everybody else? Is it that they live in a world dedicated to putting on the illusion (?) of magic? Could they really be satanic traps for the unwary? Here are some books for adults, teens and children that have come out recently about circuses or the even older medicine shows.

The night circus by Erin Morgenstern. Waging a fierce competition for which they have trained since childhood, circus magicians Celia and Marco unexpectedly fall in love with each other and share a fantastical romance that manifests in fateful ways.

Water for elephants by Sara Gruen. The memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind; memories of himself as a penniless and newly orphaned young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It is home to Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, who was there because she married the handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And home to Rosie the elephant because she was the new act that was supposedly going to be the salvation of the circus. Love and trust were their only hope of survival.

Circus Galacticus by Deva Fagan. Trix's life in boarding school as an orphan charity case has been hard, but when an alluring young Ringmaster invites her, a gymnast, to join Circus Galacticus she gains an entire universe of deadly enemies and potential friends, along with a chance to unravel secrets of her own past.

The boneshaker by Kate Milford. When Jake Limberleg brings his traveling medicine show to a small Missouri town in 1913, thirteen-year-old Natalie senses that something is wrong and, after investigating, learns that her love of automata and other machines make her the only one who can set things right.

The nine pound hammer by John Claude Bemis. Drawn by the lodestone his father gave him years before, twelve-year-old orphan Ray travels to the post-Civil War South, meeting along the way various characters from folklore who are battling against an evil industry baron known as “The Gog”. For much of the story he travels as part of a medicine show.

Circus Mania by Douglas MacPherson (791.3094). The ultimate book for anyone who has dreamed of running away with the circus.

Henrietta Hornbuckle’s circus of life by Michael de Guzman. Twelve-year-old Henrietta Hornbuckle and her parents perform as clowns in a tiny, ramshackle traveling circus until a family tragedy jeopardizes Henrietta's whole offbeat world.

Mechanique: A tale of the circus Tresaulti by Genevieve Valentine. Outside any city still standing, the Mechanical Circus Tresaulti sets up its tents. Crowds pack the benches to gawk at the brass-and-copper troupe and their impossible feats. War is everywhere, but while the Circus is performing, the world is magic. Yet even a careful ringmaster can make mistakes. Two of Tresaulti's performers are trapped in a secret stand-off that threatens to tear the Circus apart, just as the war lands on their doorstep.

Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck. Seventeen-year-old Oregon teenager Kelsey forms a bond with a circus tiger who's actually one of two brothers, Indian princes Ren and Kishan, who were cursed to live as tigers for eternity, and she travels with him to India where the tiger's curse may be broken once and for all.

Tom Thumb: The remarkable true story of a man in Miniature by George Sullivan. This biography explores the life and career of the dwarf Tom Thumb, who toured the world as a curiosity at the behest of showman P.T. Barnum.

The autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin. Never growing beyond two feet and eight inches, Mercy Lavinia "Vinnie" Bump spent much of her life in seclusion. However, when she impressed legendary showman P.T. Barnum, she suddenly became the world's most unlikely celebrity. A fictional imagining of a true life.

Something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury. Okay, so this is older than the others in this list, but how can I omit a classic Bradbury? A carnival rolls in on a chill Midwestern October eve, ushering in Halloween a week before its time. A calliope's shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. And two inquisitive boys standing precariously on the brink of adulthood will soon discover the secret of the satanic raree-show's smoke, mazes, and mirrors, as they learn all too well the heavy cost of wishes -- and the stuff of nightmare.

-Kathy