“Pet Lions & Well-Dressed Elephants, a Circus Journey to Greatness 1846-1873”
People ask, “What is your book about?” It is difficult to describe simply because I’ve been submerged in it for seven years. Last month as I stumbled around trying to clarify exactly how I should summarize it, Al (a real circus man) summarized it beautifully:
“A compelling read into early circus life along with the growth of a couple’s love and other varied relationships amongst the pioneers of the traveling circus business in North America.” -A.W. Stencell
During the research for my own circus great grandmother, Mattie Lee Price, I had the good fortune of meeting some circus folks. I tend to gravitate towards the animals and the animal trainers because we’ve always had animals and trained them for fun and function. Before we knew our great grandmother was in the “freak show,” we believed she was a horseback rider in Barnum’s circus. The earliest photo I have of my father from about 1936 is of his circus-dog-balancing-act on the front porch of a depression era shack. We believed with all our hearts that we had inherited our animal training skills and were very proud. I digress…
I have met several animal trainers since Mattie’s book came out. Some have tigers and lions, some have pigs, and some have elephants. I did meet a seal trainer once, but he retired sans seals. Because retired elephants cannot be left to roam free and forage, someone must take care of them. The same goes for tigers and lions and bears. If you think it takes a lot of money to maintain a golden retriever, imagine what it costs to feed ten retired (domestically bred and humanly sterilized) tigers! Elephants can eat tons of food a day! Tigers eat meat, a lot of meat! That little picket fence for fido isn’t quite enough for tigers or elephants or retired bears. All of the care takes money.
20% of all royalties from book sales will go directly to 5013C organizations to help pay for retired circus animal food and lodging. Many of those that devote their lives to the welfare of the retired animals do think of them as their “pet” lions and tigers and bears. While the elephant folks rarely dress up their elephants, the 2- or 3-ton creatures need pedicures and dental care. Some of them even like to paint, so there’s that….
This book is about people and animals of the Victorian circus and their relationships.
Pet Lions & Well-Dressed Elephants, a Circus Journey to Greatness 1846-1873 is available on Amazon and Barnes and Nobel.
Mattie’s book, “Mattie Lee Price, the Forgotten Georgia Wonder” is also available on Amazon and Barnes and Nobel, too.
