Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter

One of the BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World

Winner of the 1984 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction.

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.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SARAH WATERS

'A spellbinding achievement' - Literary Review

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

'The more I read, the more I began to understand that Carter was also talking about – among other things – the abuse of power and the abuse of strength. About cruelty and confinement. About the difficulty of ever spreading your wings and showing who you really are. I realised she was saying something serious and strong and that all those flights of fancy and absurdities reveal heavy truths. It’s the iron fist in the plushvelvet glove, the one that draws your eye right in so it can whack you blindingly hard.' Sam Jordison, The Guardian