Circus Life and Circus Celebrities
Thomas Frost
Play
Length 7 h
Chapters 18
First published 1881
Discover the exciting, shocking, and sometimes strange world of the 19th century big top! In Circus Life and Circus Celebrities, you'll read real-life stories of circus performers, animal acts, scandals, accidents and more.
Note: This book uses racial terms and descriptions reflective of colonial attitudes from the 19th century. These views are outdated and offensive by today’s standards. Additionally, it features descriptions of animal performances that may involve practices considered cruel or inhumane today. - Summary by Carrie Streb
Chapters
1
PREFACE Read by Carrie Mae Streb 4:34
2
Fortunes of the Royal Circus—Destruction of Astley’s Amphitheatre by Fire—Its Reconstruction—Second Conflagration—Astley in Paris—Burning of the Royal Circus—Erection of the Olympic Pavilion—Hengler, the Rope-dancer—Astley’s Horses—Dancing Horses—The Trick Horse, Billy—Abraham Saunders—John Astley and William Davis—Death of Philip Astley—Vauxhall Gardens—Andrew Ducrow—John Clarke—Barrymore’s Season at Astley’s—Hippo-dramatic Spectacles—The first Circus Camel Read by marisad6 28:50
3
Ducrow at Covent Garden—Engagement at Astley’s—Double Acts in the circle—Ducrow at Manchester—Rapid Act on Six Horses—‘Raphael’s Dream’—Miss Woolford—Cross’s performing Elephant—O’Donnel’s Antipodean Feats—First year of Ducrow and West—Henry Adams—Ducrow at Hull—The Wild Horse of the Ukraine—Ducrow at Sheffield—Travelling Circuses—An Entrée at Holloway’s—Wild’s Show—Constantine, the Posturer—Circus Horses—Tenting at Fairs—The Mountebanks Read by bgkellem 19:40
4
A few words about Menageries—George Wombwell—The Lion Baitings at Warwick—Atkins’s Lion and Tigress at Astley’s—A Bull-fight and a Zebra Hunt—Ducrow at the Pavilion—The Stud at Drury Lane—Letter from Wooler to Elliston—Ducrow and the Drury ‘Supers’—Zebras on the Stage—The first Arab Troupe—Contention between Ducrow and Clarkson Stanfield—Deaths of John Ducrow and Madame Ducrow—Miss Woolford Read by MaybeCordelia 16:08
5
Lions and Lion-tamers—Manchester Jack—Van Amburgh—Carter’s Feats—What is a Tiger?—Lion-driving and Tiger-fighting—Van Amburgh and the Duke of Wellington—Vaulting Competition between Price and North—Burning of the Amphitheatre—Death of Ducrow—Equestrian Performances at the Surrey Theatre—Travelling Circuses—Wells and Miller—Thomas Cooke-Van Amburgh—Edwin Hughes—William Batty—Pablo Fanque Read by Sarah Rothwell 16:22
6
Conversion of the Lambeth Baths into a Circus—Garlick and the Wild Beasts—Batty’s Company at the Surrey—White Conduit Gardens—Re-opening of Astley’s—Batty’s Circus on its Travels—Batty and the Sussex Justices—Equestrianism at the Lyceum—Lions and Lion-tamers at Astley’s—Franconi’s Circus at Cremorne Gardens—An Elephant on the Tight-rope—The Art of Balancing—Franconi’s Company at Drury Lane—Van Amburgh at Astley’s—The Black Tiger—Pablo Fanque—Rivalry of Wallett and Barry—Wallett’s Circus—Junction with Franconi’s Read by Robert H. Cherny 34:01
7
Hengler’s Circus—John and George Sanger—Managerial Anachronisms and Incongruities—James Hernandez—Eaton and Stone—Horses at Drury Lane—James New-some—Howes and Cushing’s Circus—George Sanger and the Fighting Lions—Crockett and the Lions at Astley’s—The Lions at large—Hilton’s Circus—Lion-queens—Miss Chapman—Macomo and the Fighting Tigers Read by Carrie Mae Streb 18:01
8
Pablo Fanque—James Cooke—Pablo Fanque and the Celestials—Ludicrous affair in the Glasgow Police-court—Batty’s Transactions with Pablo Fanque—The Liverpool Amphitheatre—John Clarke—William Cooke—Astley’s—Fitzball and the Supers—Batty’s Hippodrome—Vauxhall Gardens—Garnett’s Circus—The Alhambra—Gymnastic Performances in Music-halls—Gymnastic Mishaps Read by Sarah Rothwell 27:03
9
Cremorne Gardens—The Female Blondie—Fatal Accident at Aston Park—Reproduction of the Eglinton Tournament—Newsome and Wallett—Pablo Fanque’s Circus—Equestrianism at Drury Lane—Spence Stokes—Talliott’s Circus—The Gymnasts of the Music-halls—Fatal Accident at the Canterbury—Gymnastic Brotherhoods—Sensational Feats—Sergeant Bates and the Berringtons—The Rope-trick—How to do it Read by MaybeCordelia 19:47
10
Opening of the Holborn Amphitheatre—Friend’s Season at Astley’s—Adah Isaacs Menken—Sanger’s Company at the Agricultural Hall—The Carré Troupe at the Holborn Amphitheatre—Wandering Stars of the Arena—Albert Smith and the Clown—Guillaume’s Circus—The Circo Price—Hengler’s Company at the Palais Royal—Re-opening of Astley’s by the Pal’s—Franconi’s Circus—Newsome’s Circus—Miss Newsome and the Cheshire Hunt—Rivalry between the Sangers and Howes and Cushing Read by Robert H. Cherny 29:41
11
Reminiscences of the Henglers—The Rope-dancing Henglers at Astley’s—Circus of Price and Powell—Its Acquisition by the Henglers—Clerical Presentation to Frowde, the Clown—Circus Difficulties at Liverpool—Retirement of Edward Hengler—Rivalry of Howes and Cushing—Discontinuance of the Tenting System—Miss Jenny Louise Hengler—Conversion of the Palais Royal into an Amphitheatre—Felix Rivolti, the Ring-master Read by Robert H. Cherny 29:52
12
The Brothers Sanger—First Appearance in London—Vicissitudes of Astley’s—Batty and Cooke—Purchase of the Theatre by the Brothers Sanger—Their Travelling Circus—The Tenting System—Barnum and the Sangers Read by Robert H. Cherny 13:47
13
American Circuses—American Performers in England, and English Performers in the United States—The Cookes in America—Barnum’s Great Show—Yankee Parades—Van Amburgh’s Circus and Menagerie—Robinson’s Combined Shows—Stone and Murray’s Circus—The Forepaughs—Joel Warner—Side Shows—Amphitheatres of New York and New Orleans Read by Carrie Mae Streb 40:51
14
Reminiscences of a Gymnast—Training and Practising—A Professional Rendezvous—Circus Agencies—The First Engagement—Springthorp’s Music-hall—Newsome’s Circus—Reception in the Dressing-room—The Company and the Stud—The Newsome Family—Miss Newsome’s wonderful Leap across a Green Lane—The Handkerchief Trick—An Equine Veteran from the Crimea—Engagement to Travel Read by Robert H. Cherny 19:00
15
Continuation of the Gymnast’s Reminiscences—A Circus on the move—Three Months at Carlisle—Performance for the Benefit of local Charities—Removal to Middlesborough—A Stockton Man’s Adventure—Journey to York—Circus Ballets—The Paynes in the Arena—Accidents in the Ring—A Circus Benefit—Removal to Scarborough—A Gymnastic Adventure—Twelve Nights at the Pantheon—On the Tramp—Return to London Read by Robert H. Cherny 17:06
16
Continuation of the Gymnast’s Reminiscences—Circus Men in Difficulties—Heavy Security for a Small Debt—The Sheriff’s Officer and the Elephant—Taking Refuge with the Lions—Another Provincial Tour—With a Circus in Dublin—A Joke in the Wrong Place—A Fenian Hoax—A Case of Pikes—Return to England—At the Kentish Watering-places—Off to the North Read by Robert H. Cherny 14:02
17
Lions and Lion-tamers—Lorenzo and the Lions—Andros and the Lion—The Successor of Macomo—Accident in Bell and Myers’s Circus—Lion Hunting—Death of McCarthy—True Causes of Accidents with Lions and Tigers—Performing Leopards—Anticipating the Millennium—Tame Hyenas—Aggrieves Menagerie—Performing Lions, Tigers, Leopards, and Hyenas—Camels and Dromedaries—The Great Elephant Read by MaybeCordelia 16:16
18
Circus Slang—Its Peculiarities and Derivation—Certain Phrases used by others of the Amusing Classes—Technicalities of the Circus—The Riders and Clowns of Dickens—Sleary’s Circus—Circus Men and Women in Fiction and in Real Life—Domestic Habits of Circus People—Dress and Manners—The Professional Quarter of the Metropolis Read by anorris 16:52
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens gutenberg.org) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
