The Wonders
Lifting the Curtain on the Freak Show, Circus and Victorian Age
Published on 2. May 2019
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-1-78243-993-6 (ISBN)
Description
'A promising young historian with a taste for the exotic.' Stephen Fry
The Wonders is a radical new history of the Victorian age: meet the forgotten and extraordinary freak performers whose talents and disabilities helped define an era.
On 23 March, 1844, General Tom Thumb, at 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 - the age of the freak was born.
Bewitching all levels of society, it was a world of astonishing spectacle - of dwarfs, giants, bearded ladies, Siamese twins and swaggering showmen - and one that has since inspired countless novels, films and musicals. But the real stories (human dramas that so often eclipsed the fantasy presented on the stage), of 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, Dr 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. And through their lives we discover afresh some of the great transformations of the age: the birth of showbusiness, of celebrity, of advertising, of 'alternative facts'; while also exploring the tensions between the power of fame, the impact of exploitation and our fascination with 'otherness'.
The Wonders is a radical new history of the Victorian age: meet the forgotten and extraordinary freak performers whose talents and disabilities helped define an era.
On 23 March, 1844, General Tom Thumb, at 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 - the age of the freak was born.
Bewitching all levels of society, it was a world of astonishing spectacle - of dwarfs, giants, bearded ladies, Siamese twins and swaggering showmen - and one that has since inspired countless novels, films and musicals. But the real stories (human dramas that so often eclipsed the fantasy presented on the stage), of 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, Dr 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. And through their lives we discover afresh some of the great transformations of the age: the birth of showbusiness, of celebrity, of advertising, of 'alternative facts'; while also exploring the tensions between the power of fame, the impact of exploitation and our fascination with 'otherness'.
Reviews / Votes
A promising young historian with a taste for the exotic. -- Stephen Fry A personality-driven history of the 'freak' show... alive and informative. * The Spectator * Nuanced and complex, Woolf deftly shows there are stories of empowerment alongside those of exploitation. Woolf gives these marginalised performers a voice - a voice that was rarely heard in life' * BBC History Magazine * Woolf balances colourful, detailed storytelling with sharp-eyed cultural unpacking * Publishers Weekly * Fascinating and thought-provoking. A marvellously researched account of the freak industry - an extraordinary side of Victorian life which has been ignored for too long. * Jane Ridley, author of Bertie * A wonderfully rich, compassionate and pungent potpourri of the extraordinary, the unusual and the rare. Turns our notions of Victorian prudery, propriety and voyeurism upside down. Brilliantly researched and written with great verve. * Neil McKenna, author of Fanny and Stella, and The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde * John Woolf's book will dazzle you with details of extraordinary lives, long underestimated by history. * Matthew Sweet, broadcaster and author of Inventing the Victorians * Highly readable. The life stories of those paid to be gazed at and ridiculed have been deftly teased from the archives, providing a sympathetic account of these amazing individuals. * Sarah Wise, author of Inconvenient People, and The Blackest Streets * As an actor and writer who has also performed in contemporary freak shows for many years, I find this book a refreshingly integrated and balanced account of these amazing lives. -- Mat Fraser, writer, disability artist and actor in 'American Horror Story, Freak Show' A remarkable book. Painstakingly researched and beautifully written, John Woolf tells a brilliant and vibrant history. -- Katharine Norbury, author of 'The Fish Ladder' There is so much to see at the Freak Show which Woolf provides his readers; and he makes it clear that it does the memory of these amazing artists a disservice to avert your eyes. -- Therese Oneill, author of 'Unmentionable' Explores with subtlety and consideration the many facets of humanity's strangeness. A really excellent book and an important study of the physically marginalized and neglected. -- Clive Bloom, author of 'Victoria's Madmen' Exceptional. The Wonders shines a bright light on the real human experiences behind Victorian freak spectacles. With carefully researched historical detail and a knack for storytelling, Woolf's style is impressive. -- Lillian Craton, author of 'The Victorian Freak Show' An intriguing and fascinating look into the world of 'freaks'. Beautifully researched and well written. -- Richard Butchins, award-winning artist and disabled filmmaker A 'remarkable social history' * The Guardian *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
16pp colour plate section
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-78243-993-6 (9781782439936)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2019
Michael O'Mara Books Ltd
€6.99
Available for download
Person
Dr John Woolf is a researcher, writer and historian specializing in nineteenth-century cultural history. Having read history at the University of Cambridge, he went on to obtain a PhD on Victorian freak shows and currently works across TV, radio and film. He has most recently co-written the bestselling Audible book Stephen Fry's Victorian Secrets and has developed and featured in a number of BBC series and documentaries on freak performers and the Victorian period.
In 2017, The Wonders was awarded the Biographers' Club Tony Lothian Prize for the best proposal for an uncommissioned first biography.
In 2017, The Wonders was awarded the Biographers' Club Tony Lothian Prize for the best proposal for an uncommissioned first biography.