Linda Simon is Professor of Emerita of English at Skidmore College, New York. Her previous publications include Dark Light: Electricity and Anxiety from the Telegraph to the X-ray (2004) and Coco Chanel (2011), a title in Reaktion's Critical Lives series.
"In the age of CGI and editing, the 'fleeting moment of magical
spectacle' that the circus represents holds a grip on our popular
imagination about as firm as an aerialist's on the trapeze. It's an
obsession that is intriguingly documented in Simon's The Greatest
Show on Earth . . . its great strength is providing both a strong
practical narrative and a considerably interwoven portrait of the
related thoughts of artists and writers (and later filmmakers) from
the earliest stages of the circus's existence, given, in many
cases, the very specific inspiration that the circus provided
them." -- "Daily Beast"
"Throughout, Simon demonstrates her understanding that circuses are
mystical and complex, full of dazzle and escapism, both social and
sexual. . . . Simon brings a learned hand to this bright history of
the circus, which emblazons as it preserves the magic."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
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