Nights at the Circus Chapter Summary & Analysis | Book 1, Chapter 1

Book 1, Chapter 1 Summary

Jack Walser is interviewing Sophia Fevvers for an article entitled "Great Humbugs of the World." In his mind, he is there to expose the truth, that Fevvers' wings and her trapeze act are all an illusion and a fake. Fevvers begins by letting Walser know that she was hatched out of an egg rather than birthed. As she interrupts the story of her beginnings to remove her false eyelashes and offer Walser champagne, Walser surveys the surroundings of her dressing room where the interview is being conducted. He makes a note of a large poster, which, aside from a vase of violets, is the only real personal touch in the room. The poster is of Fevvers in mid-flight, reaching for an unseen trapeze with the large heading: Is she fact or is she fiction? Walser, a man who has no interest in personal feelings and who is a noted skeptic,...
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