The Night Circus (2011) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Celia Bowen: One of the protagonists; an illusionist for Le Cirque des Rêves and daughter of Prospero the Enchanter, also one of the competitors in "the game."
• Marco Alisdair: Celia's opponent in the "game"; chosen from an orphanage by the mysterious man in the grey suit. Competes in the game while working as Chandresh's assistant.
• Hector Bowen: aka Prospero the Enchanter. Celia's father and instructor; responsible for entering Celia in the "game."
• Mr. Alexander H: Marco's teacher aka "the man in the grey suit." He believes that anyone can learn to perform magic; agrees to the game with Hector Bowen.
• Chandresh Christophe Lefevre: Theatrical producer, knife thrower, host of elaborate and mysterious Midnight Dinners, and owner of Les Cirque des Reves; Marco is Chandresh's assistant.
• Ethan W. Barris: Architect and engineer for the circus. One of the original Midnight Dinner guests.
• Mme. Padva: Fashion designer for the circus who was once a prima ballerina. Also referred to as "Tante Padva" or "Aunt Padva" by the founding group of the circus.
• Tara Burgess: Sister of Lainie and circus designer - attends to details like material of curtains, etc. Sees the "bigger picture" and pays attention to scope.
• Lainie Burgess: Sister of Tara and circus designer - attends to details like material of curtains, etc.
• Tsukiko: The circus's tattooed contortionist. The first performer hired for the circus.
• Isobel Martin: Tarot card reader for the circus.
• Herr Friedrick Thiessen: Creator of the circus clock, journalist who writes extensively about the circus, and the original reveur (circus follower).
• Winston Aiden Murray: aka Widget, Poppet's twin brother and a kitten trainer. He was born the night of the circus opening.
• Penelope Aislin Murray: aka Poppet, Widget's twin sister and a kitten trainer. She was born the night of the Circus opening.
• Bailey: A patron of the circus. His family owns an apple orchard/farm.
• Lorena Murray: Mother of the twins (Poppet and Widget) and a big cat trainer for the circus.
• Caroline: Bailey's older sister.

Quotes edit see section history

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• “"I do not wish to know" he says. "I prefer to remain unenlightened, to better appreciate the dark"”

  Friedrick

• “"Magic" The man in the grey suit repeats, turning the word into a laugh. "This is not magic. This is the way the world is, only very few people take the time to stop and note it."”

  Alexander

• “The finest of pleasures are always the unexpected ones.”

  Tsukiko

• “Wine is like bottled poetry.”

  Alexander quoting Robert Louis Stevenson

• “The circus arrives without warning.”

• “A show without an audience is nothing, after all. In the response of the audience, that is where the power of performance lives.”

  page 45

• “Better to have a single perfect diamond than a stack of flawed stones.”

  page 67

• “Should you choose your questions more carefully, you may receive more satisfying answers.”

  Tsukiko

• “Once they were librarians, but that is a subject they will only discuss if heavily intoxicated.”

  Narrator

• “You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows that they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.”

  Alexander

• “Secrets have power. And that power diminishes when they are shared, so they are best kept and kept well. Sharing secrets, real secrets, important ones, with even one other person, will change them. Writing them down is worse, because who can tell how many eyes might see them inscribed on paper, no matter how careful you might be with it. So it's really best to keep your secrets when you have them, for their own good, as well as yours.”

  Widget

• “That's the beauty of it. Have you seen the contraptions these magicians build to accomplish the most mundane feats? They are a bunch of fish covered in feathers trying to convince the public they can fly, I am simply a bird in their midst.”

  Hector

• “People see what they wish to see. And in most cases, what they are told to see.”

  Alexander

• “Not a one of them even has an inkling of the things that are possible in this world, and what's worse is that none Of them would listen if you attempted to enlighten them.”

  Alexander

• “Old stories have a habit of being told and retold and changed. Each subsequent storyteller puts his”

  Tsukiko

• “A very long time ago—I suppose you could say once upon a time, if you wished it to sound a grander tale...”

  The Man in The Grey Suit

• “I don't think there's anything wrong with being a dream. There is not. But dreams have ways of turning into nightmares.”

  Dialogue between Widget and The Man in the Grey Suit

• “Prospero the Enchanter's immediate reaction meeting his daughter is a simple declaration of: "Well, fuck."”

• “People see what the wish to see. And in most cases, what they are told that they see.”

  Alexander

• “The Burgess sisters arrive together. Tara and Lainie do a little bit of everything. Sometimes dancers, sometimes actresses. Once they were librarians, but that is a subject they will only discuss if heavily intoxicated.”

• “"Why do we wind our watches?" "Because everything requires energy. We must put effort and energy into anything we wish to change."”

  Hector, Celia

• “"There are no more battles between good and evil, no monsters to slay, no maidens in need of rescue. Most maidens are perfectly capable of rescuing themselves in my experience, at least the ones worth something, in any case. There are no longer simple tales with quests and beasts and happy endings. The quests lack clarity of goal or path. The beasts take different forms and are difficult to recognize for what they are. And there are never really endings, happy or otherwise. Things keep going on, they overlap and blur, your story is part of your sister's story is part of many other stories, and there is no telling where any of them may lead. Good and evil are a great deal more complex than a princess and a dragon, or a wolf and a scarlet-clad little girl. And is not the dragon the hero of his own story? Is not the wolf simply acting as a wolf should act? Though perhaps it is a singular wolf who goes to such lengths to dress as a grandmother to toy with its prey"”

  The man in the grey suit

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• London: Chandresh Lefevre's home
• Le Cirque des Rêves: The traveling circus
• Concord, Massachusetts: Bailey's home town

Organizations edit see section history

• The Rêveurs: A group of persons devoted to the Night Circus. They begin by finding one another through the writings of Herr Fredrick and establish a complex web of relationships that allow them to assist one another in 'finding' the circus. It also serves as a salon of sorts for those persons who would like to discuss the circus with others who share their appreciation.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Time: Clocks, past catching up with the present, three time settings, Poppet reads the future and her twin Widget reads the past, the illusionists cannot control time.
• Dichotomies: Black/white; good/evil; past/present; night/day; dreams and magic vs. reality.
• Names: Alexander is often referred to as "the man in the gray suit." "Names are not of nearly as much import as people like to suppose.". Many characters have nicknames.It is ironic the author chose the name Prospero as Hector Bowen's stage name. He does not love his daughter as Shakespeare's Prospero did. She is only a means to an end for him. It is a brilliant stroke of the author to have Bowen's daughter Celia reject the name Miranda, which he tried to foist on her, which I feel is a subtle hint to the reader that Celia knows her father does not love her, not as Shakespeare's Prospero loved his daughter Miranda.
• Trees: Ice tree, wishing tree, Marco draws trees in his journal, Bailey's secret lair is in a tree.
• Love: Describe this theme.
• Symbiosis: There are several pairs of people throughout the book who experience this: Marco and Celia, Poppet and Widget, Lainie and Tara, Mr. Alexander and Hector, and even Tsukiko and someone she once knew. On top of the people, the circus and the clocks represent this as well; Each piece of them relies on all the rest to survive. In the case of the people, it's not completely about physical survival, but it is referenced that they live their lives based on the other person. That is how they judge themselves and without it, they have little purpose.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and followed by Just My Type.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Erin Morgenstern (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Guardian First Book Award (Finalist, 2011, Longlist)
• Kirkus Star
• Alex Awards (January 2012)
• The Kitschies (Finalist, 2011: The Golden Tentacle for Best Debut Novel)
• Orange Prize for Fiction (Finalist, 2012, Longlist)
• Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (Finalist, 2012: Adult Literature)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3613.O74875N54
• Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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Brief strong language including the use of the F word, a good read for young adults. Minimal violence (a stabbing) and one non-explicit sexual passages. Be warned, it is a romance novel.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Teens › Literature & Fiction › Love & Romance
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Magic & Wizards

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Book Review: Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel, “The Night Circus,” is quietly, enchantingly perfect. In 1873, two men who may or may not be immortal make a bet. In a world that does not believe in magic, they will stage a grand magical contest. Each will train a student in the magical arts and then set one against the other. The competition will last for years. One man chooses his small daughter, Celia. He trains her in a form of magic that draws its power from her emotions — rage, passion, delight. The other man chooses an orphan, Marco. He trains him in a magic that owes its power to the intellect — mathematics, history, physics. The arena for the competition must be one where the average person, expecting sleights of hand, will not recognize real magic: The Circus.

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