Shannon+Mills


 * Booktalk**: Fantasy Novel and Historical Fiction Novel


 * AUTHOR**: Erin Morgenstern


 * TITLE**: The Night Circus


 * PUBLICATION DATE**: 2011


 * NUMBER OF PAGES**: 387


 * GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING**: London, other cities throughout world


 * TIME PERIOD**: late 19th to early 20th century


 * PLOT SUMMARY**: A magical, wandering circus appears without warning throughout the cities of Europe and the world. Yet the circus is merely a stage for a battle between two rival magicians and their proteges, who seek to outdo each other through the creation of fantastic exhibits and seemingly impossible entertainments. When Marco and Celia fall in love, the enchantments begin to unravel, leaving the fate of the cast and the circus in danger.


 * SUBJECT HEADINGS**: Fantasy, Magical-realism, Magic/Magicians, Circus, London, Imagination, Romance, Victorian


 * APPEAL**: enchanting, compelling, many-layered, quirky cast, dream-like, romantic, vivid imagery, unique, fairy tale, dark


 * SIMILAR AUTHORS**: Susanna Clarke, Neil Gaiman, Ransom Riggs, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Audrey Niffenegger


 * AUTHOR**: Melanie Benjamin


 * TITLE**: Alice I Have Been


 * PLOT**: Alice I Have Been thrills fans of Alice in Wonderland, mystery readers, and historical fiction devotees alike through its emotional and poignant telling of the life of Lewis Carroll's muse Alice. Alice's struggles to grow up are heartbreakingly realistic, as is Benjamin's depiction of Victorian era Oxford.