Part 1 Media Depictions: The Stories Told About Circus People 19 --
1 Circus in the Established Media: Unnatural, Scandalous, Perilous 21 --
2 Circus by Press Agents: Contradictory Extremes 28 --
3 Circus Books for Children: Gendered Romantic Dreams 36 --
4 Romanticized Books for Men and Women 43 --
5 The Complexities of Filmic Representation 52 --
Part 2 Circus Depictions: The Stories Circus People Told 59 --
6 Separation and the Status of Other 63 --
7 Entering a Circus Career 67 --
8 Behavior Rules for Women and Their Contracts 74 --
9 The Rigors of Practice 78 --
10 Life on the Road and Rails 83 --
12 The (Difficult) Road to Success 89 --
Between pages 92 and 93 are 8 pages containing 8 color plates. --
Part 3 The Circus Comes to Town 93 --
13 The Power of the Poster 95 --
14 The Unloading and the Parade 103 --
15 To the Menageries, Games of Chance and the Sideshows 106 --
16 Into the Dressing Tents 111 --
17 The Big Show / The Circus Gaze 115 --
18 Late-Night Girlie Shows 120 --
Part 4 Circus Women Ranked and Seen 123 --
20 Statuary/Tableaux Artists 129 --
21 Mostly Stationary Freaks 132 --
22 The Silent Assistant and the Magic Act 148 --
24 Trainers of Wild Animals 158 --
26 Bike/Car Tricksters 176 --
29 Circus Managers/Owners 188 --
30 Toward the End of a Career 191.
