Step right up.
Step right up, folks and get a load of my wares.
These here books are hot.
Oh, so hot they make my fingers burn.
Oh, but you're sure to get some enjoyment from these newbies...
Meet Tom, the world's smallest man...
The Remarkable True Story of a Man in Miniature
by George Sullivan
Release date: February 28, 2011
Description from NetGalley:
When Charles S. Stratton was born in 1838, he was a large baby, perfect in every way. But then he stopped growing. At age four, though a happy and mischievous child, he was just over two feet tall and weighed only fifteen pounds—the exact same size he had been as a seven-month-old baby.
It was then that the notorious showman P.T. Barnum dubbed him Tom Thumb and put him on display, touring him around the world as a curiosity. A natural performer, Charley became enormously popular and wealthy, more so than any other performer before him.
In this spirited biography—the first on its subject—George Sullivan recounts the fascinating adventures of Tom Thumb, and raises challenging questions about what constitutes exploitation—both in the 19th century and today.
get your free e-galley from Netgalley here
Meet Bartholomew, the world's thinnest man...
by Ellen Bryson
Just released: June 2010
Description from the amazon:
Water for Elephants meets Geek Love in this riveting first novel, an enchanting love story set in P. T. Barnum's American Museum in 1865 New York City.
Bartholomew Fortuno, the World's Thinnest Man, believes that his unusual body is a gift. Hired by none other than P. T. Barnum to work at his spectacular American Museum—a modern marvel of macabre displays, breathtaking theatrical performances, and live shows by Barnum's cast of freaks and oddities—Fortuno has reached the pinnacle of his career.
But after a decade of constant work, he finds his sense of self, and his contentment within the walls of the museum, flagging. When a carriage pulls up outside the museum in the dead of night, bearing Barnum and a mysterious veiled woman—rumored to be a new performer—Fortuno's curiosity is piqued. And when Barnum asks Fortuno to follow her and report back on her whereabouts, his world is turned upside down.
Why is Barnum so obsessed with this woman? Who is she, really? And why has she taken such a hold on the hearts of those around her?
Set in the New York of 1865, a time when carriages rattled down cobblestone streets, raucous bordellos near the docks thrived, and the country was mourning the death of President Lincoln, The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno is a moving novel about human appetites and longings.
With pitch-perfect prose, Ellen Bryson explores what it means to be profoundly unique—and how the power of love can transcend even the greatest divisions.
Prize: The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson
Oops - US ONLY
Offer ends: October 31, 2010
TO DO:
1. Sign the guestbook (if you signed it already or in September - no need)
2. In comments, tell me: What is your favorite show or ride at a carnival?
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Contest has ended - winner is here
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* image source from the Strangeling
