The Circus in Winter

From 1884 to 1939, the Great Porter Circus makes 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 Top. In Lima an elephant can change the course of a man's life-or the manner of his death. Jennie Dixianna entices men with her dazzling Spin of Death and keeps them in line with secrets locked in a cedar box. The lonely wife of the show's manager has each room of her house painted like a sideshow banner, indulging her desperate passion for a young painter. And a former clown seeks consolation from his loveless marriage in his post-circus job at Clown Alley Cleaners.

In her astonishing debut, Cathy Day follows the circus people into their everyday lives, bringing the greatest show on earth to the page.

Author: Cathy Day
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Published: 07/06/2005
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 5.20h x 8.00w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780156032025
Award: Story Prize - Finalist

Review Citation(s):
Ingram Advance 07/01/2005 pg. 52
New York Times 08/28/2005 pg. 24

About the Author
Day, Cathy: - CATHY DAY grew up in Peru, Indiana, once the winter homem of several circuses. One of her great-uncles was the world's fastest ticket taker, another was an elephant trainer. She lives in Ewing, New Jersey, and teaches at The College of New Jersey.