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.
Angela Carter (1940–1992) wrote nine novels and numerous short stories, as well as nonfiction, radio plays, and the screenplay for Neil Jordan's 1984 movie The Company of Wolves, based on her story of the same name. She won numerous literary awards, traveled and taught widely in the United States, and lived in London.
What People are Saying About This
From the Publisher
"An ebullient tall tale… spellbinding… entrancing." —Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Loud, bawdy, and unabashedly sentimental … a wonderfully vital creation." —The New York Times
"Night at the Circus is good, clean fun—well, good fun anyway. Its raunchy moments are steaming, bizarre, at times unsettling, but there is definitely an appreciation here for love, sentiment, and entertainment." —Raymond Mungo, San Francisco Chronicle
"A three-ring extravaganza … Carter's brand of fanciful and sometimes kinky feminism has never been more thoroughly or entertainingly on display." —Time
Welcome to our monthly roundup chronicling the books the B&N SFF stable of bloggers loved in the previous month. Old or new, it doesn’t matter—these are the best sci-fi & fantasy books we’ve read in the past 30 days.
