The small English travelling circus of Mr Marvel is stranded by disaster in a remote part of the seemingly limitless plain of La Mancha, in Spain. Mr Marvel returns to England to deal with the insurance problems; and the story is that of the members of the circus ""family" who are left to handle the animals of the menagerie, of the acts and the horses. Among this group of misfits is Rose, who chooses to stay with Toby of the equestrian troupe and Mr. Albert, who has taught her to love the wild animals as he does. Rose - despite her dubious morals - has managed to keep a strange kind of goodness and innocence, even when she sells the only commodity she owns to secure food for the animals. Then Mr. Albert and the dwarf Janos find that they too have something to sell - to the Marquesa, whose desperate plight can never find recompense in her fortune. This is a story of dark romance, disaster and eventual deliverance, cowardice and greed, compassion and cruelty, kindness and love - and told with brilliantly observed humour and pathos.
The small English travelling circus of Mr Marvel is stranded by disaster in a remote part of the seemingly limitless plain of La Mancha, in Spain. Mr Marvel returns to England to deal with the insurance problems; and the story is that of the members of the circus ""family" who are left to handle the animals of the menagerie, of the acts and the horses. Among this group of misfits is Rose, who chooses to stay with Toby of the equestrian troupe and Mr. Albert, who has taught her to love the wild animals as he does. Rose - despite her dubious morals - has managed to keep a strange kind of goodness and innocence, even when she sells the only commodity she owns to secure food for the animals. Then Mr. Albert and the dwarf Janos find that they too have something to sell - to the Marquesa, whose desperate plight can never find recompense in her fortune. This is a story of dark romance, disaster and eventual deliverance, cowardice and greed, compassion and cruelty, kindness and love - and told with brilliantly observed humour and pathos.
Described as 'mainly autobiographical' by Gallico, this is a collection of some of his short stories that appeared in American and British magazines, spanning the years from his very first which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post to later stories which reflected his life in Europe. Of course, there is always more to the tale than first appears. From where did the idea come? How much of the writer's personal life, personality and personal problems have got into the telling? For each story in this volume, Gallico has written a separate background. The tales herein: McKabe; Flood; Did You See The Coronation? The Roman Kid; The Witch Of Woonsapucket; Penntifer's Plan; Oh, Them Golden Mittens; Thief Is An Ugly Word; The Dowry; Verna; The Enchanted Doll; The Glass Door; The Awful Secret of M. Bonneval; The Hat; The Silver Swans; The Silent Hostages; Shut Up Little Dog; Love Is A Gimmick; The Lost Hour; Orchestrations for Twelfth Night.