An account of
Oxford-educated Nell Stroud's life in the
circus. It is also the story of the people of
the circus, from the trapeze artists and clowns
to the high-wire acts and grooms, as Nell
reveals their commitment and expertise, and
their hard, marginalized lives. Following a
terrible riding accident which left her mother
permanently brain-damaged, Nell ran away to the
circus. What she found there was a life which
became more real to her than the one she left
behind. She found people who had sacrificed
their lives for their art, who worked in all
weathers, perfecting some of the most dramatic
and beautiful acts she had ever seen. She found
third-generation show-people who travelled
around forgotten parts of Britain to bring their
abstract, polished, multi-layered show to
ever-dwindling audiences. She found herself in
an art form that may soon be lost. Nell lived
and worked among the circus people for several
years, but she is not one of them: she was not
born in the circus. In their words she is a
"josser" a person in the circus from the outside
world.
