Overview

Raised on opposite shores of Lake Ontario in the mid-19th century, two talented young adults begin their journey toward becoming key players in the birth and success of P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth. A young man's destiny When fourteen-year-old Charley White stops to help with a crippled circus wagon in upstate New York, he has no idea that his act of kindness will alter the course of his life forever. He joins the show for just that one summer, intending to go home again at the end of the season, but he never does. As the boy grows into a man, he will go from commanding animals to commanding men in a war within a torn nation. But, as the country recovers, Charley's own journey toward healing comes from returning to the life he loved not so long ago. A young woman's search for a new life Newly un-engaged eighteen-year-old Anna Matchett is determined to start afresh in the US. As she sets off from Canada West for New Orleans, little does she know her journey will be derailed in Cincinnati as rumors of war begin to spread. Low on funds, the young woman uses her talent for sewing to make a living, until one day she fashions a costume for a handsome blue-eyed acrobat. Falling madly in love, Anna finds herself traveling off with her new husband and the little circus, earning a reputation as a talented seamstress. The dawn of The Greatest Show on Earth Planning a new circus unlike any other, revolutionary showman P.T. Barnum is determined to recruit the industry's best talent. And with that, Charley White receives a telegram, Anna Matchett gets a referral, and the rest is history.

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Reviews

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, Past President Circus Historical Society Donna Lee Dicksson takes on the challenge of telling the lives of Charles and Anna White, who in the 1870s travelled with P. T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth. Pet Lions & Well-Dressed Elephants gives a unique view into the life and times... -John Polacsek, Past President, Circus Historical Society

Author Information

Donna Lee Dicksson was born with insatiable curiosity and a compulsive need to share. While researching her first book, Mattie Lee Price, the Forgotten Georgia Wonder, she stumbled across two intriguing historical circus characters. Pulling on that little red thread of lost history, she found a world of resilient and fascinating people and a story that needed to be told. Thus began the quest to uncover and tell the story of Anna Matchett and Alasco Charles White.She lives in Texas with her husband and two African Grey parrots. She is the mother of two grown children, has three granddaughters and one great granddaughter. When not researching and writing, Donna is an avid photographer, gardener, and homemaker. Training her own birds and dogs has helped her build great relationships with her pets. She is a volunteer photographer for a service dog organization.At eight I wanted to be a clown. My teachers and parents were concerned and asked why. My answer: People take themselves too seriously. They need to laugh more. *20% of royalties will be donated to 501C3 organizations that care for retired circus animals.

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