Nights at the Circus

Angela Carter

Oct 2012 · Random House

About this ebook

'Raunchy, raucous...a rich, turn of the 19th century world, which reeks of human and animal variety' The Times

Is Sophie Fevvers, toast of Europe's capitals, part swan...or all fake?

Courted by the Prince of Wales and painted by Toulouse-Lautrec, she is an aerialiste extraordinaire and star of Colonel Kearney's circus. She is also part woman, part swan. Jack Walser, an American journalist, is on a quest to discover the truth behind her identity. Dazzled by his love for her, and desperate for the scoop of a lifetime, Walser has no choice but to join the circus on its magical tour through turn-of-the-nineteenth-century London, St Petersburg and Siberia.

**One of the BBC’s 100 Novels That Shaped Our World**

Ratings and reviews

Its probably 20 years since I first read this but it stayed with me as good books do. And on a fresh reading it continues to delight with its fierce fey heroine and otherworldly yet gritty settings. A classic which I won't leave another 20 years to reread!

About the author

Angela Carter was born in 1940. She lived in Japan, the United States and Australia. Her first novel, Shadow Dance, was published in 1965. Her next book, The Magic Toyshop, won the John Llewllyn Rhys Prize and the next, Several Perceptions, the Somerset Maugham Award. She died in February 1992.