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Beneath the Big Top: A Social History of the Circus in Britain
Beneath the Big Top is a social history of the circus, from its ancient roots to the rise of the ‘modern’ tented traveling shows. A performer and founder of a circus group, Steve Ward draws on eyewitness accounts and contemporary interviews to explore the triumphs and disasters of the circus world. He reveals the stories beneath the big top during the golden age of the circus and the lives of circus folk, which were equally colorful outside the ring:

• Pablo Fanque, Britain’s first black circus proprietor
• The Chipperfield dynasty, who started out in 1684 on the frozen Thames
• Katie Sandwina, world's strongest woman and part-time crime-fighter
• The Sylvain brothers, who fell in love with the same woman in the ring
"1119627737"
Beneath the Big Top: A Social History of the Circus in Britain
Beneath the Big Top is a social history of the circus, from its ancient roots to the rise of the ‘modern’ tented traveling shows. A performer and founder of a circus group, Steve Ward draws on eyewitness accounts and contemporary interviews to explore the triumphs and disasters of the circus world. He reveals the stories beneath the big top during the golden age of the circus and the lives of circus folk, which were equally colorful outside the ring:

• Pablo Fanque, Britain’s first black circus proprietor
• The Chipperfield dynasty, who started out in 1684 on the frozen Thames
• Katie Sandwina, world's strongest woman and part-time crime-fighter
• The Sylvain brothers, who fell in love with the same woman in the ring
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Beneath the Big Top: A Social History of the Circus in Britain

Beneath the Big Top: A Social History of the Circus in Britain

by Steve Ward
Beneath the Big Top: A Social History of the Circus in Britain
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Beneath the Big Top: A Social History of the Circus in Britain

Beneath the Big Top: A Social History of the Circus in Britain

by Steve Ward

Overview

Beneath the Big Top is a social history of the circus, from its ancient roots to the rise of the ‘modern’ tented traveling shows. A performer and founder of a circus group, Steve Ward draws on eyewitness accounts and contemporary interviews to explore the triumphs and disasters of the circus world. He reveals the stories beneath the big top during the golden age of the circus and the lives of circus folk, which were equally colorful outside the ring:

• Pablo Fanque, Britain’s first black circus proprietor
• The Chipperfield dynasty, who started out in 1684 on the frozen Thames
• Katie Sandwina, world's strongest woman and part-time crime-fighter
• The Sylvain brothers, who fell in love with the same woman in the ring

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781473840867
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date: 02/20/2019
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 224
Sales rank: 574,349
File size: 38 MB
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About the Author

A former performer, teacher and director of a prize-winning youth circus, Steve Ward has worked for many years with circus groups worldwide. He has an MA researching the role of circus in education and has written widely on the subject. He has previously written two books on aspects of the circus, _Beneath the Big Top: A Social History of the Circus in Britain_ (2014) and _Sawdust Sisterhood: How Circus Empowered Women_ (2016). He still occasionally performs, creates and directs circus shows.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vi

Foreword viii

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 From Ancient Roots to the Restoration: The Circus Survives 1

Chapter 2 Acrobats, Ale and Aristocrats: The Eighteenth Century Age of Decadence 16

Chapter 3 Clowns, Competition and Conflagrations: The Circus is Born! 33

Chapter 4 The Queen and the 'Lion King': The Rise of the Nineteenth Century Menageries 51

Chapter 5 Spectacles, Disasters and Murder: The Victorian Circus 72

Chapter 6 Railways and Rings: The Circus in Nineteenth Century America 100

Chapter 7 Magic, Movies and Music Halls: Stiff Competition for the Late Nineteenth Century British Circus 117

Chapter 8 The Circus Goes to War: 1900-1919 134

Chapter 9 Decades of Depression: The Circus Between the Wars 151

Chapter 10 Fighting for Survival: The 1940s-1960s 173

Chapter 11 And So the Wheel Turns: The Circus from 1970 to the Present 190

Select Bibliography 205

Sources on the British Circus Industry 207

Index 212

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Music, Film & Performing Arts
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