Nights at the Circus Book Summary

In "Nights at the Circus," Angela Carter weaves a fantastical tale of the indomitable Fevvers, a winged trapeze artist with a mysterious past. Set against the backdrop of a traveling circus, her story unfolds through the eyes of a skeptical journalist eager to uncover the truth. As Fevvers navigates the surreal world of performance and illusion, she challenges societal norms and explores themes of gender and identity. With rich, poetic language, Carter invites readers to question reality and embrace the extraordinary. Will you dare to enter the magical realm of the circus and uncover the wonders that lie within?

By Angela Carter

Published: 1986

""I am a woman, and I will not be trapped by others' expectations, for my spirit is as wild and untamed as the night itself.""

Book Review of Nights at the Circus

Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction From the master of the literary supernatural and author of The Bloody Chamber, her acclaimed novel about the exploits of a circus performer who is part-woman, part-swan Sophi Fevvers—the toast of Europe's capitals, courted by the Prince of Wales, painted by Toulouse-Lautrec—is an aerialiste extraordinaire, star of Colonel Kearney's circus. She is also part woman, part swan. Jack Walser, an American journalist, is on a quest to discover Fevvers's true identity: Is she part swan or all fake? Dazzled by his love for Fevvers, and desperate for the scoop of a lifetime, Walser joins the circus on its tour. The journey takes him—and the reader—on an intoxicating trip through turn-of-the-century London, St. Petersburg, and Siberia—a tour so magical that only Angela Carter could have created it.

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"I am a woman, and I will not be trapped by others' expectations, for my spirit is as wild and untamed as the night itself."

Nights at the Circus

By Angela Carter