| Edition |
First Pegasus Books hardcover edition. |
| Description |
376 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), portraits ; 24 cm |
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text txt rdacontent |
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still image sti rdacontent |
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unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 315-364) and index. |
| Contents |
Curtain up: Buckingham Palace, 23 Mach 1844 -- Introduction -- Act one: Dress rehearsals. Jeffrey Hudson -- Józef Boruwłaski -- Daniel Lambert -- George Sanger -- Act two: Show time. Chang and Eng -- Science and Siam -- Their own men -- Joice Heth -- Stardom of sorts -- The American Museum -- Act three: Double act. Bridgeport baby -- Conquering America -- Man in miniature -- Queen Victoria's pet -- Triumph and tragedy -- Finding Charles -- Act four: The climax. Maximo and Bartola -- Darwin on display -- Circus sideshow -- Peeping at Pastrana -- Anna and Martin -- Wonder of the world -- The final act -- Encore. |
| Summary |
On March 23, 1844, General Tom Thumb, just 25 inches tall, entered the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace and bowed low to Queen Victoria. This meeting marked a tipping point in the nineteenth century, and the age of the freak was born. Dwarfs, giants, bearded ladies, Siamese twins, and swaggering showmen-- it was a world of spectacle. But their real stories have often been forgotten or marginalized in the histories of the very people who exploited them. Woolf uses recently discovered material to bring to life the sometimes tragic, sometimes triumphant stories of people who used their (dis)abilities and difference to become some of the first international celebrities. -- adapted from jacket |
| Subject |
Abnormalities, Human -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
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Freak shows -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
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Human body -- Social aspects -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
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Freak shows -- History -- 19th century.
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Freak shows -- Social aspects -- 19th century.
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Circus -- History -- 19th century.
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Hudson, Jeffrey, 1619-1681.
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Thumb, Tom, 1838-1883.
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Borusławski, Józef, 1739-1837.
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Lambert, Daniel, 1770-1809.
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Sanger, George, 1827-1911.
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Heth, Joice, -1836.
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Barnum's American Museum -- History.
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| Genre/Form |
Biographies.
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| ISBN |
9781643132204 hardcover |
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1643132202 hardcover |
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