The Night Circus
A spellbinding fantasy of magic, mystery and midnight wonder
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4.1 • 51 Ratings
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
Beyond the gates of Le Cirque des Rêves, the ordinary world falls away.
The circus arrives without warning. Yesterday it was not there. Today, beneath the grey sky, its towering tents are striped in black and white.
A sign hanging upon the iron gates reads:
Opens at Nightfall
Closes at Dawn
As dusk deepens, tiny lights begin to flicker across the tents until the whole circus seems covered in fireflies. Then another sign lights up: Le Cirque des Rêves. The Circus of Dreams. The gates shudder, unlock and swing open.
Now the circus is open. Now you may enter.
The Night Circus is an enchanting fantasy novel about magic, performance, wonder and illusion. Richly visual and atmospheric, Erin Morgenstern’s world of black-and-white tents invites readers into a dreamlike circus where every act offers a different kind of marvel.
A magical fantasy for readers drawn to mystery, spectacle and stories that unfold after dark.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Debut author Morgenstern doesn't miss a beat in this smashing tale of greed, fate, and love set in a turn of the 20th-century circus. Celia is a five-year-old with untrained psychokinetic powers when she is unceremoniously dumped on her unsuspecting father, Hector Bowen, better known as Le Cirque des Reves' Prospero the Entertainer. Hector immediately hatches a sinister scheme for Celia: pit her against a rival's young magician in an epic battle of magic that will, by design, result in the death of one of the players, though neither Celia nor her adversary, Marco, is informed of the inevitable outcome. What neither Hector nor his rival count on is that Celia and Marco will eventually fall in love. Their mentors Marco's mentor, Alexander, plucked him from the London streets due to his psychic abilities attempt to intervene with little success as Celia and Marco barrel toward an unexpected and oddly fitting conclusion. Supporting characters such as Bailey, a farm boy who befriends a set of twins born into the circus who will drastically influence his future; Isobel, a circus employee and onetime girlfriend of Marco's; and theatrical producer Chandresh Christophe Lef vre are perfectly realized and live easily in a giant, magical story destined for bestsellerdom. This is an electric debut on par with Special Topics in Calamity Physics.
Customer Reviews
A wondrous story that takes you on a shared journey.
I loved the beautiful storytelling that kept me captivated throughout the book. At times I did find that I had to really concentrate to imagine some of the more intricately described props but all in all, this is a stunning story of love and live.
I loved the small chapters, peppered through the book that involved the reader as a visitor to the circus.