CARTER, Angela. Nights at the Circus. London: Chatto & Windus/The Hogarth Press, 1984.
8vo. Original red boards, lettered in gilt to spine; in the unclipped pictorial dust-jacket (£8.95 net) designed by Barbara Kaiser; pp. [vi], 7-294, [ii]; a fine copy, mildly pressed to spine tips; in the the near-fine jacket just mildly rubbed to upper corner and a touch lightened to spine.
First edition.
The novel focuses on the life and exploits of Sophie Fevvers, a woman who is - or so she would have people believe - a Cockney virgin, hatched from an egg laid by unknown parents and ready to develop fully fledged wings. Courted by the Prince of Wales and painted by Toulouse-Lautrec, she is an aerialiste extraordinaire and star of Colonel Kearney's circus. Jack Walser, an American journalist, is on a quest to discover the truth behind her identity. Desperate for the scoop of a lifetime, Walser has no choice but to join the circus on its magical tour through London, St Petersburg and Siberia.
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