| Description |
376 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), portraits ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 315-364) and index. |
| Contents |
Curtain up: Buckingham Palace, 23 March 1844 -- Introduction -- Act one: Dress rehearsals. Jeffrey Hudson -- Józef Boruwłaski -- Daniel Lambert -- George Sanger -- Act two: Show time. Chang and Eng -- Science and Siam -- Their own men -- Joice Heth -- Stardom of sorts -- The American Museum -- Act three: Double act. Bridgeport baby -- Conquering America -- Man in miniature -- Queen Victoria's pet -- Triumph and tragedy -- Finding Charles -- Act four: The climax. Maximo and Bartola -- Darwin on display -- Circus sideshow -- Peeping at Pastrana -- Anna and Martin -- Wonder of the world -- The final act -- Encore. |
| Summary |
"On March 23, 1844, General Tom Thumb, just 25 inches tall, entered the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace and bowed low to Queen Victoria. On both sides of the Atlantic, this meeting marked a tipping point in the nineteenth century, and the age of the freak was born. Bewitching all levels of society, it was a world of curiosities and astonishing spectacleof dwarfs, giants, bearded ladies, Siamese twins, and swaggering showmen. But the real storieshuman dramas that so often eclipsed the fantasy presented on the stageof the performing men, women and children, have been forgotten or marginalized in the histories of the very people who exploited them. In this richly evocative account, John Woolf uses a wealth of recently discovered material to bring to life the sometimes tragic, sometimes triumphant, always extraordinary stories of people who used their (dis)abilities and difference to become some of the first international celebrities. Through their lives we discover afresh some of the great transformations of the age: the birth of show business, of celebrity, of advertising, and of zalternative factsy while also exploring the tensions between the power of fame, the impact of exploitation, and our fascination with zotherness.y" -- Amazon.com. |
| Subject |
Hudson, Jeffrey, 1619-1681.
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Thumb, Tom, 1838-1883.
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Borusławski, Józef, 1739-1837.
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Lambert, Daniel, 1770-1809.
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Sanger, George, 1827-1911.
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Heth, Joice, -1836.
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Barnum's American Museum -- History.
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Abnormalities, Human -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
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Freak shows -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
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Human body -- Social aspects -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century.
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Freak shows -- History -- 19th century.
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Freak shows -- Social aspects -- 19th century.
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Circus -- History -- 19th century.
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Abnormalities, Human.
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Human body -- Social aspects.
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| Genre |
Biographies.
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| ISBN |
9781643132204 (hardcover) |
|
1643132202 (hardcover) |
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