Cranston Public Library

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.

"Under the Lilacs is a children fiction novel about two girls (Bab and Betty Moss), Miss Celia, a circus runaway (Ben Brown) and his dog (Sancho). When two young girls decide to have a tea party with their dolls and a mysterious dog comes and eats their prized cake, they end up finding a circus run-away in their play barn, Ben Brown. Ben is a horse master, and loves horses, so when the Moss' take the young boy in they decide to give him work at the...

"An original musical screenplay brings to life the story of P.T. Barnum and his creation of "the greatest show on Earth". Rising from nothing, P.T. sets out to make a better life for his family. His creativity and drive take him on an fantastic journey beyond what he or anyone else could have imagined. In the end he creates a magical experience that will be enjoyed and celebrated by generations to come." --

The Lost Girl, D. H. Lawrence’s forgotten novel, is a passionate tale of longing and sexual defiance, of devastation and destitution.
Alvina Houghton, the daughter of a widowed Midlands draper, comes of age just as her father’s business is failing. In a desperate attempt to regain his fortune and secure his daughter’s proper upbringing, James Houghton buys a theater. Among the traveling performers he employs is Ciccio,...

For anyone who loves the historical novels of Sara Gruen, Geraldine Brooks, and E. L. Doctorow, a barnstorming tale of an irrepressible, brawling, bawdy era and the remarkable woman who had the courage to match the unique spirit of America’s Gilded Age.
She was only two feet, eight inches tall, but more than a century later, her legend reaches out to us. As a child, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Warren Bump was encouraged to live...

"In 1911, Mabel MacGinnis is Europe's strongest woman and has performed beside her father in the Manzo Brothers Circus her entire life. But at his unexpected death, she loses everything she's ever known and sets off in the company of acrobat Jake Cunningham for America in hope of finding the mother she's just discovered is still alive. Isabella Moreau, the nation's most feted aerialist, has given everything to the circus. But age and injury now threaten...

"An unconventional woman and a man shrouded in mystery walk a tightrope of desire as they race against a killer to find a machine that could change the world"-- Former trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn moved to Burning Cove to reinvent herself, but after spending her inheritance on a mansion with the intention of turning it into a bed-and-breakfast, she learns that the villa is said to be cursed. When the first guest, Dr. Norman Pickwell, is murdered...

"Follows the author on a life-affirming journey of loss and self-discovery through her time on the road with the last traveling American sideshow and her relationship with an adventurous, spirited mother"--Amazon.com.

Over a half century, a small Indiana town hosts a circus troupe during the off-seasons in linked stories "as graceful as any acrobat's high-wire act" (San Francisco Chronicle).
A Story Prize Finalist
From 1884 to 1939, the Great Porter Circus made the unlikely choice to winter in an Indiana town called Lima, a place that feels as classic as Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, and as wondrous as a first trip to the Big...

"Here is a dark, passionate tapestry of a young woman's struggle from poverty to wealth . . .of a rebellious heart's tempestuous journey toward love . . . set in the savage contrasts of Georgian England, a time alive with treachery, grandeur and intrigue." --back flap.