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Carnie King The Story of Patty Conklin and Conklin Shows [electronic resource] : by Thurston, John.aut; cloudLibrary;
The story of the audacious showman who built the greatest carnival dynasty in North America. Enter the realm of the carnie king, Patty Conklin, the flamboyant founder of what would become the world’s largest carnival company. Patty started on the mean streets of New York selling peanuts before becoming a a small-time operator. Willing to try anything to promote his show, he established himself as a carnie celebrity. Winning the midway contract for the Canadian National Exhibition in 1937, he made it his personal world’s fair. It became the foundation for his son and grandson to expand Conklin Shows until they were playing the biggest fairs and exhibitions throughout North America. Carnie King begins with the birth of Joseph Renker to German immigrant parents, tells of his personal transformation into Patty Conklin, and follows his incredible life through to his death in 1970. It covers his company's history after Jim Conklin took over, expanded it beyond recognition, then handed it on to his own son. Not only a history of Conklin Shows, Carnie King explores how midways work and their commercial and popular presence in North America The story it tells is based on dozens of interviews with carnies and access to the Conklin archives. It includes anecdotes about a range of characters and insights about life on the midway. Carnie King is at once a revealing look at a unique part of twentieth-century culture and a vivid account of three generations of showmen and their dominance of midways across the continent.General adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; 20th Century; Circus; Entertainment & Performing Arts;
© 2024., Dundurn Press,
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The lonely hearts hotel / by O'Neill, Heather,1973-author.;
Set in Montreal and New York between the wars, a spellbinding story about two orphans whose unusual magnetism and talent allow them to imagine a sensational future, from the bestselling, two-time Scotiabank Giller Prize-shortlisted author. Exquisitely imagined and hypnotically told, The Lonely Hearts Hotel is a love story with the power of legend. Set in the early part of the 20th Century, it is an unparalleled tale of charismatic pianos, invisible dance partners, radicalized chorus girls, drug-addicted musicians, brooding clowns, and an underworld whose fortune hinges on the price of a kiss. In a landscape like this, it takes great creative gifts to escape one's origins. It might also take true love. Two babies are abandoned in a Montréal orphanage in the winter of 1914. Before long, their true talents emerge: Pierrot is a piano prodigy; Rose lights up even the dreariest room with her dancing and comedy. As they travel around the city performing for the rich, the children fall in love with each other and dream up a plan for the most extraordinary and seductive circus show the world has ever seen. Separated as teenagers, both escape into the city's underworld, where they must use their uncommon gifts to survive without each other. Ruthless and unforgiving, Montréal in the 1930's is no place for song and dance. But when Rose and Pierrot finally reunite beneath the snowflakes, the possibilities of their childhood dreams are renewed, and they'll go to extreme lengths to make those dream come true. After Rose, Pierrot and their troupe of clowns and chorus girls hit the stage and the alleys, the underworld will never look the same. With extraordinary storytelling, musical language, and an extravagantly realized world, acclaimed author Heather O'Neill enchants us with her best novel yet -- one so magical there is no escaping its spell.
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Circus performers; Orphans; Man-woman relationships;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The housekeepers : a novel / by Hay, Alex(Writer),author.;
"Mrs. King is no ordinary housekeeper. Born into a world of con artists and thieves, she's made herself respectable, running the grandest home in Mayfair. The place is packed with treasures, a glittering symbol of wealth and power, but dark secrets lurk in the shadows. When Mrs. King is suddenly dismissed from her position, she recruits an eclectic group of women to join her in revenge: A black market queen out to settle her scores. An actress desperate for a magnificent part. A seamstress dreaming of a better life. And Mrs. King's predecessor, with her own desire for vengeance. Their plan? On the night of the house's highly anticipated costume ball--set to be the most illustrious of the year--they will rob it of its every possession, right under the noses of the distinguished guests and their elusive heiress host. But there's one thing Mrs. King wants even more than money: the truth. And she'll run any risk to get it ... "--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Balls (Parties); Black market; Circus performers; Housekeepers; Revenge; Robbery; Swindlers and swindling;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Truevine : two brothers, a kidnapping, and a mother's quest : a true story of the Jim Crow South / by Macy, Beth,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: Biographies.; True crime stories.; Muse, George.; Muse, Willie.; Circus performers; African American entertainers; Albinos and albinism; Kidnapping;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Show / by Peacock, Shane,author.;
"In an alternate 1899, farm boy Solomon Hunt leaves home after his father's death to seek income for his family, only to stumble into the adventure of a lifetime when he rescues a young genius showman from captivity in a sideshow. Together, the duo flee across the terrifying, entertainment-obsessed Empire of America, performing for a living while evading a group of vicious pursuers led by Leonard J. Coop, who not only dominates the Empire through his circus-like extravaganzas, but seeks to be president too. From Buffalo to New Orleans, Denver to Los Angeles, and everywhere in between, Solomon befriends and recruits diverse young performers trapped in shows, including a human cannonball, a giant acrobat, a blues musician, an outlaw gunslinger, a talking gorilla, and more. As Coop closes in and vile secrets are revealed, the ragtag troupe reaches little Hollywood, California, where they present an explosive, groundbreaking performance intended to save them all"--
Subjects: Young adult fiction.; Novels.; Circus performers; Entertainment events; Fugitives from justice; Voyages and travels; Circus performers; Entertainment events; Fugitives from justice; Voyages and travels;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Scythe & Sparrow / by Weaver, Brynne,author.;
Doctor Fionn Kane is running from a broken heart, one he hopes to mend in small-town Nebraska, far away from his almost-fiancé and his derailed surgical career. It's a simpler life: head down, hard work, and absolutely no romantic relationships. He wants none of the circus he left behind in Boston. But then the real circus finds him. Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with the Silveria Circus, and it suits her just fine, especially when she has the urge to indulge in a little murder when she's not in the spotlight. But when a kill goes awry and she ends up with a broken leg, Rose finds herself stuck in Nebraska, at the home of the adorably nerdy town doctor. The problem is, not every broken heart can be sewn back together ... And the longer you stay in one place, the more likely your ghosts will catch up.
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Erotic fiction.; Novels.; Man-woman relationships; Physicians; Small cities; Women circus performers; Women serial murderers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Passion play [videorecording] / by Dubiecki, Daniel,1977-; Ellison, Megan.; Fox, Megan,1986-; Glazer, Mitch.; Hirsch, Jonah.; Ifans, Rhys,1968-; Lynch, Kelly,1959-; Murray, Bill,1950 Sept. 21-; Rourke, Mickey.; Annapurna (Firm); Cordel Pictures.; Entertainment One (Firm); Rebecca Wang Entertainment (Firm);
Director of photography, Christopher Doyle ; editor, Billy Weber ; music composer, Dickon Hinchliffe.Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox, Bill Murray, Kelly Lynch, Jerry Sawyers.After a jazz musician rescues a circus performer from her life of captivity, a ruthless gangster decides he wants the woman for himself.Canadian Home Video Rating: 14A.DVD ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby digital 5.1 surround.
Subjects: Circus performers; Feature films.; Gangsters; Jazz musicians; Thrillers (Motion pictures); Triangles (Interpersonal relations);
© c2011., Entertainment One,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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Circus of wonders : a novel / by Macneal, Elizabeth,1988-author.;
"An atmospheric and spectacular novel where one woman's life is transformed by the arrival of a Victorian circus of wonders"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Betrayal; Birthmarks; Circus performers; Friendship; Interpersonal relations; Kidnapping victims; Man-woman relationships; Young women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Hidden on the high wire / by Kacer, Kathy,1954-;
Irene grew up traveling around Germany with her familys circus, surrounded by her loved ones and thrilling the crowds with her performance on the high wire... until one day, the audience boos. The Lorch family is Jewish, and the increasing power of Adolf Hitlers Nazis has put them all in grave danger. When the circus is forced to shut down and Irenes father is taken away, Irene and her mother must go into hiding with another circus.LSC
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Circus performers; Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945); Jewish children in the Holocaust; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Sophie [videorecording] / by Bristow, Brittany.; Bristow, Leif.; Durance, Erica.; Prew, Augustus,1987-; Radford, Natalie.; Rhys-Davies, John.; Riefenstein, Thure.; Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm.; Alliance Films.;
Director of photography, David Perrault ; edited by Stephen Lawrence.Brittany Bristow, Erica Durance, Thure Riefenstein, Augustus Prew, John Rhys-Davies, Natalie Radford.A teenage girl abandons her dreams of becoming a world-renowned ballet dancer in favor of rescuing her best friend - a 5 ton elephant named Sheba - from the circus in this charming tale for the entire family. Sophie's (Brittany Bristow) parents own a small family-operated zoo. As a result, as Sophie grew up she developed an unusual rapport with all creatures great and small. But her closest friend was also her biggest; from the first time they met, Sophie and Sheba the elephant were inseparable. When her parents sell Sheba to a traveling circus in order to pay for Sophie's tuition fees at the American Ballet, the young girl joins the show in order to protect her friend from his new, heavy-handed trainer Magnus. Before long, however, Sophie has struck a deal with circus owner Alistair Winston (John Rhys-Davies) that will allow her to earn Sheba back by performing with her. Yet despite Sophie's determination to get Sheba back home to the family zoo, the teen begins having second thoughts about her plan when a reporter points out that the elephant might be happier back in Africa. Later, after striking up a romance with a kindhearted young trapeze artist named Blake, Sophie begins to realize that sometimes doing what is best for the ones we love requires making a substantial personal sacrifice.Canadian Home Video Rating: G.DVD ; widescreen presentation ; Dolby digital 5.1.
Subjects: Children's films.; Circus performers; Elephants; Family-owned business enterprise; Feature films.; Human-animal relationships; Video recordings for children.; Zoos;
© c2010., Alliance Films,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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