Marco takes a position as majordomo to the producer of the circus he works from the outside in, connected to the circus but not a part of it. A.H- trains his orphan ward with books in the ways of glyphs and sympathetic magic and illusory worlds that exist only in the mind of the beholder. Celia takes her position on the game board as the illusionist who makes true transformations, adding tents and maintaining wondrous aspects from the inside. Prospero teaches his daughter to hone her innate talents by holding ever larger and more complex magical workings in her mind. A.H- groom their young proteges, Celia Bowen and Marco Alisdair, to proxy their rivalry with the exhibits as a stage. The magicians Prospero the Enchanter and the enigmatic Mr. The circus serves a darker purpose beyond entertainment and profit.

The magical nature of the circus is occluded under the guise of legerdemain the illusionist truly transforms her jacket into a raven and the fortune teller truly reads the uncertain future, and both are applauded for their ingenuity. A network of devoted fans styling themselves 'rêveurs' ('dreamers') develops around the circus they identify each other by adding a splash of red to garb that otherwise matches the characteristic black and white of the circus tents. The circus has no set schedule, appearing without warning and leaving without notice they travel in a train disguised as an ordinary coal transport. Le Cirque des Rêves, the Circus of Dreams, features such wonders and 'ethereal enigmas' as a blooming garden made all of ice, acrobats soaring without a net, and a vertical cloud maze where patrons who get lost simply step off and float gently to the floor. 'The only response to this novel is simply: wow.The Night Circus is a phantasmagorical fairy tale set near an ahistorical Victorian London in a wandering magical circus that is open only from sunset to sunrise. With the lives of everyone at the Circus of Dreams at stake, they must test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love.Ĭomplete the gorgeous anniversary collection with The Starless Sea, the second novel from the author of the The Night Circus, out now. But behind the glittering acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists a fierce competition is underway.Ĭelia and Marco are two young magicians who have been trained since childhood for a deadly duel. A sign hanging upon an iron gates reads:įull of breath-taking amazements and open only at night, Le Cirque des Rêves seems to cast a spell over all who wander its circular paths. Against the grey sky the towering tents are striped black and white. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Rediscover the million-copy bestselling fantasy read with a different kind of magic, now in a stunning anniversary edition to mark 10 years since it's paperback debut.

The night circus book