The novel begins on 20 December 2007, the twenty-first birthday of musician, illusionist, escapologist and entertainer, Andrew Miller, showbiz name, Captain Romano. It starts in Regent's Park half way through a show when Captain Romano is in his dressing room having a rest after the first half of the circus and thinking about seeing his girlfriend and fiancee Jennifer Keating for a drink later after the show. When he is preparing to go into his dressing room for a private rest he is interrupted by a young Mexican man who when Andrew allows him in to talk gives his name as Carlos Meza Lopez. He tells Andrew he is a rich and powerful leader of a Mexican drug cartel called Juarez and regards him as a future member. He tells Andrew he will be well paid and also will be allowed to become a part of the cartel and its authoritative body, which is made up not only of Carlos but also his six brothers. As he comes from a poor family and has always been poorly paid by his employer Edward Smyth, (Show Biz name, Lord Beauchamp) the thought of being well paid and having a powerful position in society he finds very tempting. He knows however being involved in the operations of a drug cartel, working as a go-between and trafficker he knows may well cause trouble between himself and all his circus friends and in public where he is regarded as a great young popular performer but most of all he thinks just how much being involved in drugs and Mexican drug wars will devastate Jennifer who has often said how she opposes drugs and the people who traffic them. The circus concludes with Andrew having agreed to leave London the following day and fly with Carlos who has only been staying in London for three days to see his son who lives in the city with his uncle. When Andrew is flown to the mansion which belongs to Carlos he is introduced to the family but is welcomed by the Lopez brothers in a hostile manner. This story is based on a true story which happened to a circus boy with a travelling circus in Atlanta in 2004. In the true story the boy escaped from the cartel leader however I changed the story slightly to fit the characters I have created.

The year is 1985, and O' Hare's Travelling Circus is touring the country. Their spectacular acts mesmerize audiences everywhere, with entertaining clowns, high-flying acrobats, a muscular strongman and a dare-devil motorcycle stuntman, to name a few. They also have Psychic Sheila - resident fortune-teller and agony aunt - who stumbles through life one disastrous romantic interlude at a time. Of course, no close-knit group would be complete without its fair share of secrets, and who better to uncover them than Sheila, with her sixth sense and natural nose for a good mystery. But for some members of the clan, time is running out... and the race to uncover the biggest secret of all is on. This cozy mystery will have you laughing and crying in equal measure, and might even prompt a visit to the circus.

This book analyses two features of the traditional circus that have come under increasing attack since the mid-20th century: the use of wild animals in performance and the act of clowning. Positioning this socio-cultural change within the broader perspective of evolutionary semiotics, renowned circus expert Paul Bouissac examines the decline of the traditional circus and its transformation into a purely acrobatic spectacle. The End of the Circus draws on Bouissac's extensive ethnographic research, including previously unpublished material on the training of wild animals and clown make-up, to chart the origins of the circus in Gypsy culture and the drastic change in contemporary Western attitudes on ethical grounds. It scrutinizes the emergence of the new form of circus, with its focus on acrobatics and the meaning of the body, showing how acrobatic techniques have been appropriated from traditional Gypsy heritage and brought into the fold of mainstream popular entertainment. Questioning the survival of the new circus and the likely resurgence of its traditional forms, this book showcases Bouissac's innovative approach to semiotics and marks the culmination of his ground-breaking work on the circus.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.

While almost entirely fictional, this story about the famous entertainer Barnum, his beautiful daughter, and one very clever clown, set against the backdrop of an old-fashioned circus, is witty, sweet, and romantic.