Death Defying: A Day at the Victorian Circus

The Devil's Dinner Hour

Explore a world of stunning spectacle: The Victorian Circus. Let's take a stroll through the dusty sands of the circus ring, and learn what daily life was like for both performer and proprietor. In this episode, we will walk alongside misfits of every kind, color, creed, and identity who used their creativity and ingenuity to create a place, not only of danger, wonder, and excitement… but of belonging.

Some stories to look forward to in this episode: Pablo Fanque: the first recorded black circus owner, Madame Ella Zoyara: a little lady with a big secret, Macomo: an African Sailor who would one day become a king and the various Lion Queens that battled lions and astounded audiences with their strength and bravery.

“ Open the gates, and draw the curtain, Here comes something fine that’s certain; Lounder the band begins to play, Open the gates, and clear the way! Enters a Queen with a King beside her; Every horse is proud of his rider, Two by two they march to the tune, And head the procession that will follow soon...”

-Mcloughlin Brothers

Works Cited:

Frost, Thomas. Circus Life and Circus Celebrities. 1875.

James Redding Ware. Passing English of the Victorian Era. E.P. Publishing, 1972.

Daily News (London, England), Monday, January 14, 1850, Issue 1135

The Annals and History of Leeds, and Other Places in the County of York. 1860.

Manchester Evening News, "A Lion-Tamer Killed by His Beasts at Bolton," January 4, 1872, p. 2

Unknown. The Circus Procession. New York, Mcloughlin Brothers, 1888, www.loc.gov/resource/rbc0001.2003juv12208/. Accessed 28 June 2024.

“V&a · the Story of Circus.” Victoria and Albert Museum, V&A, 2011, www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-story-of-circus.