Wonder Show (24 page)

By 1939, when this story takes place, sideshows had largely fallen out of favor with the public. There was a new sense of discomfort, a feeling that paying money to look at human oddities was socially, and perhaps morally, inappropriate. However, one could argue that the sideshow provided a context for people who would otherwise have been marginalized or rejected by society to make a living, to survive and to form relationships with others who understood their point of view. Whether “freaks” were exploited or not is a question that has been and will continue to be debated for many years. Nonetheless, the era of the traveling circus and sideshow was a unique period in the history of American entertainment and provided countless stories that will be shared for generations to come.

The noblest art is that of making others happy.

—P. T. Barnum

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I must thank the Associates of the Boston Public Library for selecting me as their first Children’s Writer-in-Residence and giving me the great gift of time, space, and financial support that allowed this novel to begin its existence.

Thanks also to Susan Bloom and Cathryn Mercier at the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at Simmons College, for opening the door to the field of children’s literature, and to Anita Silvey, for showing me how many different paths awaited me.

To my advisors at Vermont College—for drawing stories out of me and teaching me to shape them.

To my editor, Kate O’Sullivan, for sharing her wisdom and guidance and for years of friendship that made working together more fun than a writer deserves.

To my family, especially my incomparable mother-in-law, Margaret Thomas Barnaby, for watching over my children with unparalleled love and patience while I hid at the library and worked on revisions.

And to Eddie, for making me get up early, for pouring the wine, for cheering me on, and for complicating my life in the most beautiful ways.

• Title Page
  
• Table of Contents
  
• Copyright
  
• Dedication
  
• Preface: The Banshee of Brewster Falls
  
• PART ONE
  
• Begin at the Beginning
  
• Circus
  
• Gone
  
• Portia
  
• The Apple Tree
  
• Broken Promise
  
• Meeting Mister
  
• Family Traditions
  
• Night Voices
  
• Bluebeard
  
• Portia
  
• Caroline at Night
  
• Bluebeard Takes a Bride
  
• Little Girl Lost
  
• Solutions
  
• Wicked Deeds, and a Plan
  
• Wedding Eve
  
• The Funeral
  
• Scraps
  
• One Last Chance
  
• Escape
  
• PART TWO
  
• Welcome to the Wonder Show
  
• The Pie Car
  
• Practical Matters
  
• The Chicken-Fried Steak Trial
  
• Gideon
  
• Jackal
  
• The Woeful Tale of Lord Mountebank
  
• Why She Was There
  
• Inside
  
• Brotherly Love
  
• Girl on the Inside
  
• Fortunetelling
  
• Doula
  
• Dining, Carnival Style
  
• Angry
  
• Jimmy
  
• Jim
  
• The Secret Lives of Ladies
  
• Mrs. Collington
  
• The Meaning of “I Don’t Know”
  
• The Legend of Marie
  
• Family Recipe
  
• More Secrets
  
• Mosco
  
• Polly
  
• Pippa
  
• The Blowoff
  
• Impressions
  
• Trouble Inside
  
• Violet
  
• Joseph
  
• Red Lipstick
  
• Kites at Midnight
  
• Silence Is Not Empty
  
• What Was Left Behind
  
• What (Else) Was Left Behind
  
• The Size of an Empty Space
  
• Gideon
  
• Joseph
  
• Punks
  
• What Comes After
  
• Joseph
  
• Caught
  
• Meanwhile
  
• PART THREE
  
• Return
  
• Bluebeard’s Closet
  
• The Big Idea
  
• Mission of Mercy (and a Bit of Revenge)
  
• Graveyard Girls
  
• After All Is Said and Done
  
• Portia
  
• Author’s Note
  
• Acknowledgments