The Circus and Victorian Society by Brenda Assael

I found this study to be well organized and strikingly informative. Assael starts with a chapter on the origins of the Victorian circus and then examines the circus through five classes of performances: the nationalist/patriotic equestrian play, the incorporation of the exotic (animals), clowns, female acrobats, and child acrobats. Remarkably well-supported by particular detail, Assael's theories address both the relation of the circus to the coming of industry and British imperialism, and the gaze and gasp of the spectator watching dangerous acts.