Erin Morgenstern
Anticipation
The circus appears unexpectedly in an unnamed location. No advertisements announce its arrival. The circus is unusual because it is entirely black and white. There is a large clock at the entrance, where a crowd gathers at the gates waiting for the circus to open. When dusk arrives, a sign made of light illuminates to read “Le Cirque des Rêves.” A woman explains that it means the Circus of Dreams to her daughter. The gates open so the crowd may enter.
Part I: Primordium
Two epigraphs introduce Part I of the novel. One epigraph is an extract from a writing about Le Cirque des Rêves by a man named Friedrich Thiessen. It describes how the circus is made of circles and how there are numerous small tents rather than one big top. The second epigraph is a quote from Oscar Wilde about how dreamers see the world.
Unexpected Post
At five years old, Celia is delivered to a theater by an attorney with her mother’s suicide note pinned to her jacket. The note is to her father, Hector Bowen, known by the stage name Prospero the Enchanter. Hector is surprised to meet his daughter, not having known of her existence before that moment. When Prospero makes a joke at Celia’s mother’s expense, Celia gets angry and uses magic to break a nearby teacup. Moments later, the cup reforms perfectly as though nothing had happened. Seeing this, Hector says that Celia may be interesting after all. Some months later, he sends a letter.
A Gentlemen’s Wager
Hector performs a sold-out show in London in 1873. In the audience is a person referred to as “the man in the grey suit.” The man in the grey suit is unimpressed with Hector’s show but follows him back to a dressing room where he meets Celia. The man in the grey suit is skeptical when Hector says she has a natural ability for magic. Hector has Celia give a demonstration. Celia spins a pocket watch in the air, but when the man in the grey suit says calls it unremarkable, Celia gets angry and breaks the watch with her mind. Only when she puts it back together again does he call her impressive.
Hector suggests that he and the man in the grey suit play a game. The man in the grey suit uses magic to ensure that Celia can’t understand what they’re saying while they parse out the rules. The man in the grey suit warns Hector that he risks losing Celia if the game goes forward. Hector is confident that Celia won’t lose. They agree that the man in the grey suit will choose a player who can match her. The man in the grey suit places a silver ring on Celia’s finger. The ring shrinks and burns into her skin, leaving a scar in its place. Hector proposes a more public arena for this new challenge than what they have used in the past. He says that he will drop hints to a man named Chandresh about creating an appropriate venue. After the man in the grey suit leaves, Celia asks why Hector called him “Alexander.” She says that it’s not his real name, but she can’t explain why she knows this. Hector replies that Celia is cleverer than he expected.
Shades of Grey
The man in the grey suit interviews three children at an orphanage. The first two are dismissed after a short conversation. The third child, a boy, has keen grey-green eyes that take in the details of the room quickly. The man in the grey suit asks him how old he is and whether he can read. The boy answers that he will be turning nine soon and that he can read, but that there aren’t enough books at the orphanage. The man in the grey suit tosses his cane suddenly and the boy catches it. Satisfied with what he sees, the man in the grey suit tells the boy that he will go to study with him. The boy asks if he has a choice in the matter, so the man in the grey suit asks if he wishes to stay at the institution. The boy says no, and they leave together.
Magic Lessons
Celia begins to learn magic from her father. Hector’s lessons involve everyday things, and he forces her to use her magic to do menial tasks. Even as he trains her for the challenge, Hector does not answer her questions about it. When one of the doves that Hector uses for his show breaks its wing, Celia attempts to fix it using magic but is unable to. Hector breaks the dove’s neck and tells her that there are different rules for fixing living things. She accuses him of having been able to fix the bird, but he tells her that she wouldn’t have learned anything if he had. Hector repeatedly cuts the tips of Celia’s fingers to force her to heal them and ignores it when she cries.
Growing up in London, the boy has little contact with the world outside of the townhouse he lives in save for the man in the grey suit who visits for exactly one hour every day. He teaches him through lectures and the boy spends the rest of his time reading and copying passages from books. Unexpectedly, the man in the grey suit takes the boy to France for a week where he visits two magic shows. The first show is that of a parlor magician. The second is Prospero the Enchanter’s show, and the boy is immediately able to identify that he uses real magic. Eventually, the man in the grey suit gives the boy Hector’s ring, which burns into his skin with binding magic. The boy questions what he is bound to and the man in the grey suit replies that it’s to someone he won’t meet for some time.
Le Bateleur
The man in the grey suit stops formal lessons with the boy when he comes of age and moves him into a flat. On a walk, the boy, now a man, realizes his notebook is missing from his pocket. He discovers a young woman reading it under an awning. He introduces himself as Marco Alisdair and learns her name is Isobel Martin. Marco asks her out to a café as thanks for finding his notebook. Having recognized the tarot card in his notebook, Isobel shows him the tarot cards she owns. Marco turns the first card on the top of her deck and is amused that it’s Le Bateleur, the Magician. Later, Marco takes her to a secluded area near an alley to demonstrate his magic. He covers her eyes with his hand and when he removes it, the alleyway has been transformed into a snowy glade surrounding an inky black tree where they kiss.
False Pretenses
Celia struggles with her father as he transitions from touring as Prospero the Enchanter to using her as a fake spiritual medium. Celia endures chiding and physical abuse at the hands of her father. Once, he breaks her wrist with a heavy paperweight after she uses her magic to fold the papers on his desk. Hector berates her for crying as she heals her wrist. Eventually, Hector and Celia settle in New York. One day, Celia discovers that Hector has made his arm fade away completely. He tells Celia she should not concern herself with what he is doing.
Meanwhile, Marco tries to teach Isobel to make charms. Marco has Isobel hide when the man in the grey suit comes to the door. He tells Marco that he must interview for a position working for a Monsieur Lefèvre the following day. Marco understands that this will be part of the challenge, but the man in the grey suit tells him that it’s a preliminary maneuver.
Target Practice
Chandresh Lefèvre is a theatrical producer upset about a review. His most recent show has been called “almost transcendent,” so he pins the article to a dartboard and throws knives at the word “almost.” The article was placed on his desk by his assistant, Marco. That his show was not truly transcendent infuriates him.
Darkness and Stars
The narrator returns to the second person point of view as a long line of circusgoers enters the circus for the first time. Circusgoers push through a black-and-white curtain into a tunnel that appears completely dark at first. The darkness gives way to tiny, starlike lights that line the walls. The empty tunnel is long and maze-like, but it ends with another set of stage curtains. On the other side of the velvety curtains, there is a blindingly bright light.
Truth or Dare
Bailey Clarke and his older sister Caroline sit in a tree with his sister’s friends. Caroline picks on Bailey for being the youngest. During a game of truth or dare, Caroline dares him to break into the Night Circus, He agrees in part because he desperately wants to visit the circus again. Bailey squeezes between the bars of the fence. He encounters into a girl dressed all in white with bright red hair. Bailey awkwardly apologizes for trespassing. The girl offers to help him leave before anyone else sees him. She offers him her white glove as proof he broke in. Bailey thanks her and when she tells him that he’s welcome, she calls him by name. Bailey is partway home before he realizes he never told her his name.
Associates and Conspirators
Chandresh hosts lavish soirées at his home known as Midnight Dinners. Chandresh invites five people under the auspices of a business matter. The guests are fashionista Mme. Padva, engineer and architect Mr. Barris, renaissance women Tara and Lainie Burgess, and the man in the grey suit, who uses the pseudonym Mr. A. H—. Working as Chandresh’s assistant, Marco is also in attendance. Once the extravagant meal concludes, Chandresh begins to theatrically describe his plans for an innovative circus with immersive exhibitions and he invites the guests to work with him. Marco lays out the plans for the circus and Burgess sisters and Mr. Barris begin poring over them. By the time the morning comes, they have tripled the number of plans that Chandresh started with.
Condolences
In March of 1885, an announcement is made about the death of Hector Bowen. Well-wishers send condolences from around the world including flowers, letters, and even marriage proposals to Celia. At these, Celia remarks that she is already married and she touches the scar on her finger where the binding ring once sat. A grey envelope arrives addressed to Hector that contains a note that simply says, “your move.” Celia brings it to the upstairs parlor where the ghostly remains of her father resides. She shows him the note and he laughs.
The Contortionist’s Tattoo
The Conspirators meet regularly for Midnight Dinners. Though Mr. A.H— rarely appears, the remaining group uses the time to plan the circus and socialize. One night a woman named Tsukiko arrives unannounced. Tsukiko provides vague answers about who she is and why she’s there, but Chandresh surmises that she must be a substitute for the usual entertainment and invites her to perform for them. Marco takes notes the elaborate tattoo of arcane symbols covering Tsukik’s torso. Tsukiko performs a contortionist act so skilled that Chandresh immediately offers her a job as the only contortionist at the circus, which she accepts. Tsukiko becomes a regular at the Midnight Dinners.
Horology
Mr. Barris meets with Herr Thiessen, an exceptional clockmaker from Munich, to commission a custom clock. Herr Thiessen is intrigued as he is told that it should be “dreamlike” and completely black and white. Mr. Barris tells him that money is no object and that he wants the clock to be Herr Thiessen’s masterwork. Herr Thiessen spends several months building a clock that becomes his masterpiece. He names it the Wunschtraum, or dream clock. It undergoes a slow transformation as the hours tick by, with the colors changing from white to black and the body turning itself inside out. The clock is covered in delicately carved figures that interact as the clock changes, such as an entire miniature game of chess being played. The centerpiece is a juggler who juggles the number of balls that correspond with the hour. Herr Thiessen ships the clock and receives a note from Mr. Barris saying that it is perfection.
Auditory
Several illusionists wait to demonstrate their skills to Chandresh to secure a job at the circus. A single woman is amongst them. Marco is immediately intrigued by her. When she takes the stage Chandresh dismissively says that they’re not looking for assistants. When Celia says that she is an illusionist, he is still dubious and debates with Mme. Padva debate about whether it’s appropriate for female illusionist to perform. Celia explains that she has never performed as a professional illusionist but when she reveals that her father is Prospero the Enchanter, Chandresh is intrigued. Celia's performance includes transforming her jacket into a raven and Marco’s notebook into a dove before returning both to their original forms. Celia’s performance delights Chandresh who hires her on the spot.
Stratagem
Chandresh sends Marco home because he’s pale. Isobel is sitting by the fire in Marco’s flat working on a charm made of hair that she conceals in her pocket when he arrives. Marco tells her that he found out that his opponent is Prospero the Enchanter’s daughter and that he is worried she will beat him in the challenge. Because Celia will be working at the Night Circus, Isobel reasons that it must be involved in the challenge. Marco realizes that it’s why the man in the grey suit sent him to work for Chandresh. Marco is distracted as they continue to talk and Isobel pulls two tarot cards: the Lovers and the Tower. Isobel offers to work at the circus to act as a spy for him as he must stay in London. Marco agrees to convince Chandresh to hire her. Marco unconsciously strokes where the ring had once been when he tells Isobel Celia’s name.
Fire and Light
The narrator shifts once again to the second person point of view in the circus’s courtyard. Venders move through the crowd of circusgoers, selling refreshments as a contortionist performs on a nearby platform. A juggler captures the attention of numerous spectators as he deftly maneuvers monochromatic balls. Everything in the courtyard is illuminated by the light of the circus’s central bonfire. The bonfire sits in a cauldron that looks as though it’s melting at the edges. The flames are white.
Hidden Things
Bailey frequently argues with his father about his future. His father wants him to take over the family farm, but Bailey’s grandmother demands that he go to Harvard. Averse to the monotony of the farm, Bailey would rather go to college. When he visits his grandmother, she tells him that she doesn’t really care about whether he goes to Harvard or not. Rather, she wants him to pursue his dreams, whatever they may be. Bailey spends a lot of time in his oak tree, reading and contemplating his future. He wonders why only girls seem to get whisked away from their mundane lives in fairy tales and wishes that he will be taken away on an adventure. He stores a keepsake box in the tree, in which he keeps many treasures including notes about the circus and the red-haired girl’s glove. One morning when he returns to the tree to read, he sees the circus in the distance.
Part II: Illuminations
Herr Thiessen writes about the lighting of the circus in 1894, saying that it seems to glow from within. He ruminates on whether the whole circus is a complex illusion because the phrase “trick of the light” is used so often to describe what he sees there.
Opening Night I: Inception
The circus’s opening night is a feat of coordination. In a display of incredible synchronicity, twelve fire performers shoot a flaming arrow so that they hit the bonfire just as the Wunschtraum clock chimes at midnight. Each arrow changes the bonfire’s color with the final one turning it white. Opening night is considered a huge success as circusgoers enthuse about what they see. Unexpectedly, the wild-cat tamer’s wife gives birth to twins. The boy, Widget, is born just before midnight, and the girl, Poppet, comes just after midnight. The performers visit the babies between performances and many remark about their brilliantly red hair.
Opening Night II: Sparks
Because the circus is the venue for his challenge with Celia, Marco devises a way to magically bind himself to it while it travels. On opening night, he surreptitiously places a notebook inside the cauldron before it is lighted. The notebook is a replica of one he keeps in his office. The book opens to reveal the drawing of a tree when it lands in the bottom of the cauldron. Marco watches carefully while the archers light the cauldron with their arrows.
Meanwhile, Celia performs as an illusionist. Between performances, she goes to watch the lighting of the bonfire but gets swept up in the excitement of the Murray twins’ births. After the first child is born, Celia feels an energy course through the circus and her body. She swoons but is steadied by Tsukiko. Celia is left rattled but understands that the feeling was a move made by her opponent. She observes that it feels like the entirety of the circus has been encircled by a net.
Opening Night III: Smoke and Mirrors
Chandresh moves through the circus on opening night making notes for small adjustments. Chandresh is joined by Tara Burgess and they watch the bonfire lighting. When the final arrow lands, Chandresh stumbles and drops his cigar. Tara asks if Chandresh is all right and leads him away from the crowd. Suddenly, Marco appears and takes over caring for Chandresh. Realizing that Tara is staring, Marco assures her that Chandresh is in good hands. Later, Lainie asks Tara if something is wrong and Tara asks what Lainie knows about Marco. Lainie says that she knows that Marco has worked for Chandresh for some time, that he specializes in accounting, and that he was a scholar before that. The sisters return to exploring the circus.
The Hanged Man
The narrator switches back to second person point of view as the story moves into a tent where aerialists perform. There are no nets as acrobats perform directly above the audience. One acrobat spins above the audience while hanging by one leg. When he appears to fall toward the audience below him, they react by diving and looking away. He stops just as he reaches eye level with the audience and he takes a bow while upside-down making it clear his descent was all part of his act.
Oneiromancy
Bailey eagerly awaits dusk so he can go to the circus. On arriving, he thinks of the red-haired girl he met the last time he was there and chides himself for being silly enough to look for her. He watches the contortionist twist herself into a small glass box and disappear. After the rest of the crowd disperses, Bailey walks around her platform trying to understand where she went. He is awestruck as he cannot explain how she performs her tricks. Bailey exits the tent to find a statue-like figure dressed in all white with a memorial plaque at the base of her platform.
Rules of the Game
Marco asks the man in the grey suit how he is doing in the challenge. When Marco asks for more details of how the challenge works, the man in the grey suit tells him that each player will use the circus to display their skills until there is a victor. Marco receives frequent letters from Isobel but is frustrated that they do not give more details about Celia. When the circus arrives near London, Isobel visits Marco. He takes her out to tea instead of letting her inside.
Hector’s ghost calls Celia reckless for getting Mr. Barris to help her build the carousel. They argue about the rules and how he refuses to tell her who her competitor is. Celia asks when he’ll determine a victor to which Hector responds that he is not the one who determines the outcome. Celia is enchanted by the new Ice Garden tent and is impressed by the power and skill her opponent must possess. Celia enjoys the solitude and peace within.
Tasting
Herr Thiessen visits the circus in France after hearing about its clock. When he arrives, he is surprised to see that the clock is the Wunschtraum clock that Mr. Barris commissioned from him. When he tells the ticket seller that he was the person who built it, she lets him in for free. Herr Thiessen leaves only when he is too tired to continue to wander the circus. He is completely intoxicated by it and writes to Chandresh. Chandresh writes back and speaks highly of the clock and about how glad he is that Herr Thiessen enjoyed the circus. Herr Thiessen feels so inspired that he begins to make tributes to the circus in the new clocks he creates.
Chaperoned
Celia chaperones Poppet and Widget while the circus is in Cairo. Poppet seems distracted and after some prodding, she tells Celia that she saw a woman dying in the stars. When Celia asks if Poppet sees things in the stars often, she replies that she does and that Widget sees things on people. Celia realizes that the children are special. She tells Poppet that she should tell her if she sees anything important in the stars. Celia tells them that she will give them magic lessons when they are older.
Wishes and Desires
Marco visits Isobel in the fortune-teller’s tent when the circus arrives in Paris and interrogates her about a new tent, the Wishing Tree. Marco struggles to clarify the rules of the game to her and uses an example of how their moves balance back and forth like a scale. Isobel points out that the scale will eventually break if each side keeps adding weight to tip it in their favor. Isobel says that she misses Marco as he leaves, but he does not respond. After she finishes working for the night, Isobel draws a single card from her deck that she does not return to it.
Atmosphere
Tsukiko invites Celia to a social engagement when the circus arrives in London. Celia is soon dressed in one of her finest gowns for a Circus Dinner. She is quickly swept up by conversation with the Conspirators. When she sees her father’s ghost, she confronts him in the library. They have a brief argument before she is approached by Marco, who she recognizes as Chandresh’s assistant. Unsure of how much he saw, she says that she was looking at the books. Marco politely ushers her back for dinner. After the initial dinner, Celia is invited more often. Later, Marco returns to the area of the library where Celia was standing to inspect it. He does not see Hector in the shadows.
Rêveurs
Herr Thiessen attends the circus several times in Dresden and writes extensively about the experience. He talks to an editor at a pub, who asks to include some of Herr Thiessen’s writing in his newspaper. Herr Thiessen’s writing quickly takes on a life of its own, getting reprinted and translated into other languages. He becomes the unofficial figurehead for the rêveurs, a group of passionate circus fans. He begins to meet and correspond with numerous rêveurs who even adopt a style of wearing black, white, or grey with a splash of red. Herr Thiessen begins corresponding with a writer he finds particularly interesting for her knowledge of the circus named Celia.
Collaborations
Marco visits Mr. Barris, who is in the midst of moving out of London. When Marco asks Mr. Barris how much Celia has told him about the circus, Mr. Barris discerns that Marco is her opponent. Though Mr. Barris only knows a little bit about the competition itself, he tells Marco about the parts of the circus he helped Celia with, including the carousel. Marco asks if Mr. Barris would be interested in helping him build some tents for him as well. Mr. Barris agrees and stresses that he will remain neutral. Sometime later, Celia writes to Mr. Barris to ask if she may make additions to the new tent he helped Marco build. This becomes a maze-like tent in which Celia and Marco each create rooms. Marco begins to build a paper mockup of the tent he and Celia created together in his flat.
The Ticking of the Clock
Tara visits Mr. Barris in Vienna and asks if he has the plans for the circus in his office. Mr. Barris explains that he gave them to Marco before leaving London. Tara asks why he left London and Mr. Barris insinuates that it is because he stopped aging and worries that other people are noticing. Tara is troubled by their connection to the circus and admits that she feels like she is constantly dreaming. Mr. Barris tells Tara that if she’s looking for answers, she should talk to the man in the grey suit. He inscribes an address on a card that has the initials A.H. on it.
The Magician’s Umbrella
In Prague, Celia walks to a café because the circus is closed due to inclement weather. She deposits her umbrella in a stand near the door. She sees that Isobel is already at the café and joins her by the fire. Celia asks if Isobel will give her a tarot reading. Isobel tells Celia a source of conflict will soon be revealed to her. Later as Celia walks away from the café, she notices that she is not getting wet despite the heavy downpour. Celia realizes that the umbrella she grabbed is enchanted. Just then, she hears someone call her name and turns to see Marco holding an identical umbrella. He tells her that she took his umbrella by mistake. That is when Celia pieces together that Marco is her opponent. Marco asks if he can take her for a drink. She is tempted, but she tells him maybe at another time. They switch umbrellas and Celia vanishes.
Reflections and Distortions
Returning to the second person point of view, the narrative enters the hall of mirrors that come together to form an elaborate tent filled with illusions. Some mirrors hide aspects of the room that should be visible while others show things that are not in the room at all. A man in a bowler hat appears in several mirrors, though he is not there when the room itself is observed.
Cartomancy
After passing several tents, Bailey feels compelled to enter the fortune-teller’s tent. Bailey’s card reading reveals that he has a journey ahead of him and that he will have a great deal of responsibility at the end of it. The fortune-teller asks if his name is Bailey and he hesitantly confirms. She says that she believes that he came to see the red-haired girl, who is really named Poppet. Bailey is shocked. She tells Bailey that he will see her again and asks if he likes the circus. He enthuses about how much he enjoys it. She tells Bailey that he will be fine, but he has a lot of decisions to make and that there will be many surprises in his future. Before leaving, Bailey asks the fortune-teller’s name. She replies that she is named Isobel.
The Wizard in the Tree
Poppet and Widget sit underneath a tree drinking cider as the circus nears closing. Poppet tells Widget about the last time she read the stars and describes overlapping images of flame and a feeling like things are unravelling. When Widget asks if she told Celia about the vision, she says that she hasn’t because it doesn’t make sense yet. Poppet asks Widget to tell her a story. He tells her the story of the wizard in the tree, who loses his power when he shares his secrets with a beautiful, clever girl. When Widget finishes his story, the tree looks more alive than it had before.
Temporary Places
Tara arrives at the hotel and asks for the man in the grey suit at the front desk but the concierge tells her that there is no such guest. Confused, she wanders through the lobby where the man in the grey suit comes to meet her. She tries to explain her concerns about the circus, but the man in the grey suit tells her that the circus is nothing more than a circus. He escorts her to the train station where the man in the grey suit suggests Tara find something to get her mind off the circus. Tara can’t recall certain aspects of their conversation and doesn’t remember what she’s doing at the station. She sees the man in the grey suit on the opposite side of the platform having an argument with someone she cannot see. When she realizes the person is an apparition, she takes a step forward and unknowingly steps into the path of an oncoming train.
Movement
Celia visits Herr Thiessen when the circus is outside of Munich. They have been exchanging letters for many years, but Herr Thiessen is surprised when he sees that Celia is the illusionist. He asks why she wrote him in the first place and she admits that, because of her relationship to the circus, she can’t see it for what it is. She likes being able to see it through Herr Thiessen’s eyes. Over dinner, Celia asks why he hasn’t asked her how she does her tricks. He tells her he feels he can better appreciate them by not knowing the secret. After the show, they walk arm in arm through the circus and meet again every night that it is near Munich.
In Loving Memory of Tara Burgess
Tara Burgess’s funeral is well attended and unusually lighthearted and bright. Lainie gives a eulogy in which she asserts that she does not mourn her sister for she is always in her heart. Tsukiko initiates a conversation that troubles Isobel about how the people in the circus don’t change and that Tara is the first of them to die. Tsukiko believes there’s a possibility that Tara stepped in front of the train on purpose because the truth of the circus may have driven her mad. Tsukiko asks if Isobel is still tempering the circus. Isobel tells her that she is but that she doesn’t believe it is working.
Labyrinth
The narrator uses the second person point of view to describe the Labyrinth tent, which contains numerous rooms and unusual architecture. Behind one of six identical doors, there is a forest of bright white coniferous trees which are difficult to navigate. There is the sound of a woman’s laugh, but no one is there.
Ailuromancy
After exiting the fortune-teller’s tent, Bailey sees Poppet performing. Poppet notices Bailey in the crowd and comes to meet him when her show concludes. She greets him by name and introduces herself as Poppet and the boy she performed with as her brother, Widget. Poppet and Widget invite Bailey to walk around the circus with them, which he eagerly accepts.
Poppet admits that she can see the future in the stars when Bailey asks how she knows his name. They visit the stargazer tent and the Cloud Maze where Bailey and Poppet spend time alone together. When it’s time for him to leave, Poppet gives him a special ticket that gives him free unlimited admission to the circus. Bailey tells her that he’ll be back the following night and she kisses him on the cheek.
Tête-à-Tête
Marco asks Celia to stay and have a drink with him after a Midnight Dinner. Marco gives Celia a private tour of the house while they talk about their challenge. Their conversation wanders to many topics about the difficulties they’ve faced. When Celia explains the way that her father used magic to ensnare her mother’s heart, Marco drops the enchantment that he uses to change his appearance. Celia and Marco spend time demonstrating their magic to one another using a deck of cards. In the opulent parlor, they spread out on pillows and speak of the circus, revealing some of the secrets they built into it and sharing their favorite attractions. When they touch, it sends a powerful surge of energy between them. Marco focuses their energies together and takes Celia’s hand so it is less jarring when they touch. They only part when the clock chimes and Celia returns to the circus.
Part III: Intersections
Herr Thiessen’s writes how he would love to read every person’s experience of the circus. He feels fortunate that he has been able to share so many stories with the rêveurs. He ruminates on how each visitor adds their own stories to the circus.
The Lovers
Two performance artists are posed in a statue-like display in the middle of a crowd. The woman has dark hair and is wearing a black-and-white outfit like a ballerina’s. The man wears a pinstriped suit and bowler hat. They are entwined but not touching one another but moving subtly closer as they appear to be on the cusp of a kiss.
Thirteen
The thirteenth anniversary of the circus is celebrated at Chandresh’s house and nearly everyone is in attendance. The party is a fête unlike any other as Chandresh lavishes his guests with food and drinks. Celia spends much of the party socializing and showing off her color-changing gown. Marco whisks Celia away into an alcove and they share a romantic moment hidden away from the rest of the crowd. When Marco kisses Celia’s neck, the man in the grey suit interrupts them and Celia excuses herself. The man in the grey suit and Marco argue when he admits he interrupted them on purpose. Marco tells him that he is in love with Celia and that everything he has done for the circus has been for her. The man in the grey suit tells Marco that this will make the challenge more difficult for Marco but it will not free him from the game. Marco storms away and kisses Celia in the middle of the ballroom before removing the memory from everyone’s minds but theirs.
Bedtime Stories
Bailey returns to the circus where he explores the Labyrinth with Poppet and Widget. Poppet is deeply upset when they get trapped in a room that resembles a large birdcage. Bailey frees them by finding a key, but Poppet remains distressed as she and Widget leave to perform. Bailey explores the Bedtime Stories tent where he finds bottles that contain captured dreams and memories. He is disturbed by one that depicts a violent scene from the perspective of an unknown person being hurt in the circus. When he leaves the tent, he encounters a statue performer with love letters written all over her gown. A woman in a red scarf gives the statue a red rose. Poppet appears by Bailey’s side and confesses that the woman, known as the Paramour, is her favorite of the statue performers. Poppet explains the rêveurs to Bailey as they walk around the circus. They end the night by playing hide-and-seek in the Ice Garden.
Bookkeeping
Drunk, Chandresh breaks into Marco’s office to snoop. He finds a book filled with strange symbols, the signatures of all the people in the circus, and locks of hair locked in the drawer of Marco’s desk. Chandresh finds his own name in the book just as Marco arrives. Marco confronts him about looking through his things and they argue. Chandresh accuses him of lying and keeping secrets. Marco wipes Chandresh’s memory with a charm before packing his belongings and leaving Chandresh with a bottle of brandy. Later that night, Chandresh drunkenly speaks with Hector’s ghost.
Three Cups of Tea with Lainie Burgess
Lainie visits both Mme. Padva and Mr. Barris privately trying to get answers about the circus. It becomes clear to Mr. Barris that Lainie is trying to understand what happened to Tara. Lainie asks if he knows the truth of the circus and, while he admits that he does, he tells her that he can’t tell her. She stays with him in Switzerland for a little while before leaving for the circus. Having deduced from her conversation with Mr. Barris that Celia knows more about the circus than the rest, she asks her about what is really going on. Celia tells Lainie about the challenge and the truth of the circus. Lainie intentionally breaks a teacup so she can see Celia put it back together with her magic. Before she leaves, Lainie tells Celia that she should ask her if she needs anything. She reminds her that the people involved in the game are not as easily repaired as teacups.
Stormy Seas
Having watched all of Celia’s performances that evening, Marco stays behind when the rest of the audience leaves. Celia asks him to perform an illusion so he covers the inside of the tent with love letters. Celia jokes that Marco shouldn’t work so hard to impress his opponent, and they speak about how neither of them fully understands the game. When their conversation turns to their instructors, Celia tells Marco about how her father was able to shed himself of his physical form, but neglected to bind himself to anything, thereby cursing himself to remain adrift and constantly struggling to keep himself together.
Marco changes the illusion so that they’re standing on a great ship made of books in the middle of the ocean. As Marco leans in to kiss her, she turns away and says that she doesn’t want to complicate things. She tells him that she feels like she is losing control when she is with him and that she struggles to keep control in the first place. Marco asks her to run away with him and Celia tells him that they can’t. She explains that when he kissed her at the anniversary party, she thought about running away with him but was overcome with pain. Marco buckles with pain when he repeats the exercise. Marco asks why they can’t be together during the challenge, and Celia reveals that she cannot keep control of the circus while he distracts her. Realizing that Celia is constantly using her power to retain control of the circus, Marco lets the topic together drop. They spend the evening on the illusion boat telling each other stories. Before they part, Marco gives her a card with the address to his flat on it.
An Entreaty
Poppet visits Bailey’s farm while he is tending to the sheep. To Bailey’s surprise, she asks him to come with the circus when it leaves. She explains that she had a vision that there will be no more circus if Bailey doesn’t go with them, and reveals that the circus is already starting to crumble. Poppet gives him a gift from Widget, which is a bottle that has a memory of the oak tree on his farm inside. Poppet kisses Bailey on the lips. After, Bailey knows that he will follow her.
Invitation
Celia looks for the man in the grey suit at his hotel. She waits in the lobby and speaks with no one until he arrives. When he does, they have a conversation but its details are not revealed. Celia leaves and the man in the grey suit stands in the lobby for some time.
Intersections I: The Drop of a Hat
On All Hallows’ Eve in 1901, Marco visits Isobel’s tent to tell her that he is in love with Celia and to end things between them. When Marco leaves, she closes for the night and unearths an old hat box from its hiding spot. She retrieves an intricate charm that she weaved years earlier. The charm contains a bowler hat, a handkerchief with Celia’s initials, and the Temperance card. Though it was a precaution to keep the scales of the circus from breaking, she takes it apart. A moment passes and she doesn’t feel anything change, but then the quiet of her tent is shattered by Poppet Murray screaming.
Darkest Before the Dawn
On All Hallows’ Eve of 1902, Poppet and Widget wait by the gates for Bailey to arrive. Poppet tells Widget that she worries Bailey doesn’t understand why it’s important for him to leave with the circus. Poppet wonders why her sight is getting worse when Widget’s is getting better. She tells Widget about seeing the courtyard on fire in her vision and admits that she still hasn’t told Celia about it because Celia has been distracted with something else. Widget offers to kidnap Bailey, but Poppet declines and continues to wait by the gate.
Intersections II: Scarlet Furies and Red Destinies
Chandresh enters the circus and dons one of the Halloween masks that are available to the circusgoers. Chandresh follows the man in the grey suit throughout the circus as he visits tents and watches performances. Chandresh is unaware that Marco is following him in turn. Just as the man in the grey suit pauses in a relatively clear area, something changes in the circus. The bonfire sputters, performances falter, and Marco crumples over. Chandresh draws a knife and throws it at the man in the grey suit, who moves out of the way just in time. Instead, it strikes nearby Herr Thiessen in the chest. Chandresh staggers away. The man in the grey suit lowers Herr Thiessen to the ground and says something unheard over Herr Thiessen’s dying form. Poppet screams when she sees Herr Thiessen’s blood. The man in the grey suit leaves the scene and hands Chandresh’s dagger to Marco as he passes him.
The Pool of Tears
The narrative switches to second person point of view to describe the Pool of Tears. At the center of this tent is the pool where smooth black stones can be dropped to collect at the bottom. The tent is melancholy and still. It invites sad memories to come to mind. Dropping the stone into the pool makes one feel lighter.
Farewell
Bailey retrieves his keepsake box from the oak tree and packs his belongings. He sneaks out of his room after everyone has gone to bed and writes a note to his family. As he sets it on the table, his sister asks what he’s doing. He admits that he is leaving home but does not elaborate. The two argue about him running away and Caroline tells him to grow up. Bailey tells her that his decision to leave is him growing up because he can’t be happy if he stays there. He walks to the circus but when arrives, it has gone.
Retrospect
The man in the grey suit leaves the circus to find Hector waiting for him at the edge of the courtyard. The man in the grey suit uses his power to turn the attention of the circusgoers away. He tells Hector that the challenge has gotten out of hand because the venue is too exposed. They argue about the flaws they see in the challenge and each other’s approach to it. Hector argues that the man in the grey suit becomes too attached to his students and the man in the grey suit points out that seven of Hector’s students have chosen to end the challenge themselves. He tells Hector that Celia will hate him if she wins and Hector insists that she will be the victor. He reminds Hector that an innocent man died at the circus that night and departs when Hector replies that the game isn’t over.
Beautiful Pain
Celia arrives at Marco’s flat in London the night of Herr Thiessen’s death, covered in blood. She tells Marco that she tried to heal Herr Thiessen, but it didn’t work. The two piece together the events of the night and what lead to Herr Thiessen’s death. Marco told Isobel that he was in love with Celia, which motivated her to break the charm holding the circus together. Celia invited the man in the grey suit to the circus in the hopes of getting a verdict, which led to Chandresh following him there. Neither knows how Chandresh found out the man in the grey suit would be there that night.
Marco and Celia begin to speak of their magic and their relationship. Marco shows Celia how he does his manipulations using his notebooks and shows her the miniature version of the circus he has built out of paper. When Marco offers to talk to the man in the grey suit about getting a verdict, Celia tells him that she doesn’t want to talk about the game. She tells him that she’s tired of holding things together and holding herself back. She leans on him for comfort and the touch escalates into passion. Celia and Marco make love for the first time. While Marco sleeps, Celia steals the notebook that contains the circus signatures and sneaks out.
Part IV: Incendiary
In an excerpt of his writings, Herr Thiessen ruminates on how there are parts of the circus he has not yet explored. He explains how each time he goes there are places he had not yet discovered.
Technicalities
While Marco sleeps, Celia thinks about how learning his systems might help make the circus independent of her power. She takes the book that contains the circus names as a place to start studying them and leaves his flat. Hector’s ghost is waiting for her just outside and he harangues her for staying the night with Marco. Noticing the notebook, he tells her that she shouldn’t be doing anything with the systems the man in the grey suit and Marco use. When he calls her weak, she tells him that he should let her lose. To this, Hector reveals that a winner isn’t declared, but is the one who survives the challenge. When one contestant can no longer endure the magic they are using, the other becomes the victor. Celia realizes that Hector was willing to sacrifice her life for the sake of the challenge and asks who the previous winner was. Hector tells her it is Tsukiko.
Playing with Fire
Returning to the second person point of view, the narration describes the show in the fire performers’ tent. The showpiece of the tent is a performer who manipulates flame in her hands into various shapes including a book and a boat, shooting stars and birds.
月子
Celia visits Tsukiko’s compartment on the train and asks why she never told her about being the victor of the previous challenge. Tsukiko is evasive but eventually tells her that she promised not to reveal herself unless asked about it directly. Tsukiko tells her that the challenge is larger than Celia believes and everything she does is a move, not just the building of tents. Tsukiko encourages Celia to find a way to separate herself from the circus as anything happening to her at this point would likely destroy the circus. Tsukiko also tells Celia that she will step in if the circus is threatened. When Celia asks about what happened to Tsukiko’s opponent, Tsukiko tells her that she is a pillar of ash in Japan.
Escapement
Bailey goes to the train depot in the hopes of catching up with the Le Cirque des Rêves before it leaves Massachusetts. There, he meets rêveurs who, after he tells them he’s trying to catch up with Poppet and Widget, invite him to travel with them. Though he hesitates to call himself a rêveur at first, the people he meets insist that he must be because of the clear passion he has for the circus. They invite him to stay with them until they get word of where the circus will be next. The hotel they stay at in Boston is luxurious and the rêveurs treat him to a new charcoal grey suit—with a red rose tucked into the lapel—and dinner at a fancy restaurant. They share stories of the circus and the one of the rêveurs explains who Herr Thiessen is to Bailey. They explain that something about the circus has been different since Herr Thiessen’s death. By the end of dinner they receive a telegram telling them the circus is on the outskirts of New York.
Impasse
Marco visits Celia’s tent when the circus is in Montreal. Celia is surprised that Marco has come to North America, but he tells her that it’s difficult for her to hide because she travels with a whole circus. He isn’t angry that she took his notebook as he knows it’s safe with her. Marco offers to help when she explains that she wanted to learn his techniques but she refuses. He realizes that she doesn’t trust him. Marco tries to convince her that his love for her is real, unlike what passed between him and Isobel, and that he’s not trying to deceive her. When he tells her that being without her is killing him, she reveals that the challenge is designed to kill one of them. Marco begs her not to leave him, but she tells him that it’s too late for them to be together because there are too many people involved in the circus. She asks him not to come back to Le Cirque des Rêves and vanishes.
Visitations
Celia is studying Marco’s techniques for magic when Hector appears in her rooms. He berates her for trying to learn the man in the grey suit’s methods and tells her that she’s beyond what she can learn from books. When she asks him to bother someone else, he replies that he finds the man in the grey suit boring and that Chandresh is too addled. Celia is surprised to learn that he speaks to Chandresh and puts together that he was the person who told Chandresh that the man in the grey suit would be at the circus the night Herr Thiessen died. They have a vicious argument that ends in Celia calling him a coward and saying that she hates him.
Marco summons the man in the grey suit to his flat to ask him about whether either he or Celia must die for the game to end. The man in the grey suit confirms and reminds Marco that he told him the challenge would be harder for him if her continues to love Celia. Marco asks the man in the grey suit why he bound him to such a challenge. The man in the grey suit tells him that he did it because he thought it would be better than the life he would have lived otherwise. Marco closes the door in his face.
Charming but Deadly
The narrator assumes the second person point of view to describe a performance of two snake charmers. Two white cobras raise up from a basket in time with a flute that one of the performers plays. They circle one another and transform from white to black. It is unclear which of the snakes strikes the other first.
Precognition
Poppet brings Widget with her to seek out Celia’s council on the train between Massachusetts and New York. She tells Celia she had a premonition of the circus in flames and that Bailey is part of the circus’s future. Poppet worries that the circus is in danger because Bailey never showed up. Celia asks Poppet to try to see the vision again and Poppet does so, though it is painful. Poppet tells her that in addition to the fire, she sees Celia and a man in a bowler hat. Because Celia knows that Marco is in London, she believes that Poppet has mistaken the timing of her vision. Despite Poppet’s urgency that they must do something, Celia suggests they talk more later. Before they leave, Widget asks Celia if the circus is a game. She confirms that it is and lets Widget read her to get a better idea of what it means. When he does, he sees more than just the challenge and he tells Celia he’s sorry for what she’s been through. Widget agrees with Celia that he and Poppet should wait to see what happens. Celia begins to work on a charm to fireproof the circus.
Pursuit
Bailey and the rêveurs travel to New York City by train. Victor, the rêveur who bought Bailey the suit, gives him a red scrapbook filled with Herr Thiessen’s writings. He also is gifted a red scarf recently knitted by one of the rêveurs. Bailey pores over the book until they reach the city. The group goes to meet up with the rêveur who reported the circus’s location because the circus is in a field not far his home. He tells them that it’s closed for the night because of inclement weather. Without another word, Bailey runs to meet up with the circus.
Old Ghosts
Isobel is waiting at Marco’s door when he arrives home on October 31, 1902. Though he does not let her in, they speak. Isobel tells Marco that she left the circus with Celia’s blessing and that she’s sorry for what happened with the tempering charm. Isobel admits she realized that she, herself, had no future with him when she read Celia’s cards in Prague. Isobel begins to talk about the importance of timing. Marco is confused as she explains that timing is hard to read. Isobel says Marco had a chance to be with Celia, but the timing wasn’t right. She blows a handful of ash in his face and Marco disappears.
Aftermath
Bailey arrives at the circus to find it closed. Weatherworn and smelling of something burning, the circus is nothing like it was before. When he makes it over the fence, he finds everything within completely still. The only person he encounters is Tsukiko, who is waiting by the unlit cauldron that normally holds the bonfire. When Bailey asks where Poppet is, Tsukiko tells him that she’s indisposed. He continues to pepper her with questions as she brings him to a tent to speak with someone else.
Incendiary
Marco lands hard on the ground after being transported by Isobel to the circus. Tsukiko appears from the shadows and reveals to him that she was also the man in the grey suit’s former student. She tells Marco that her competitor, Hinata, took her own life to end their competition and that Celia is planning to do the same. Almost immediately afterward, she mentions the story of the wizard in the tree as they come across the bonfire. Marco puts together that Tsukiko means to bind him to the bonfire to lock him away and end the challenge. Just then, Celia comes upon Marco and Tsukiko. She asks what they’re doing and Tsukiko explains that she cannot bear to watch the circus fade away, so she is stepping in. Frantic, Celia runs to them and throws herself into Marco’s arms. She whispers for him to trust her as pain rips through his body and they disappear. There is an explosion and the circus catches fire. It dies down quickly, but the bonfire has died out and Tsukiko waits by the cauldron.
Transmutation
Celia breaks apart and is suddenly enveloped in nothingness. Celia starts to pull herself back together and focuses on the stage of her tent. When she materializes there, everything around her is transparent. She moves through the circus fluidly to find that everything is still and transparent. She can feel traces of Marco everywhere but can’t find him. Marco floats between reality and non-reality for longer than Celia but eventually coalesces in the Ice Garden. When Celia finds Marco, the first thing they say to one another is a declaration of love. They embrace for a long time before Celia explains that she used her father’s technique to remove them from the physical world. Unlike her father, however, Celia used the circus as a touchstone, so they can hold themselves together. Realizing that Celia is the only thing holding the circus together, Marco asks what will happen to them if the circus collapses, but Celia doesn’t know. She tells him that it needs a caretaker.
Suspended
Bailey enters the tent with the paper menagerie where he meets Marco for the first time. Marco vacillates between looking solid and being transparent, depending on the angle. Marco tells Bailey what happened earlier that night while leading him to the Wishing Tree tent. They cut through the acrobat tent and see the circus performers frozen mid-party. Bailey stops when he sees Poppet and Widget. Marco hastens Bailey through to where Celia is waiting for them. Celia explains Poppet’s vision and how it relates to Bailey. They ask if Bailey will take over the circus so it doesn’t fall apart. When he tells them that he’s not special, Celia tells him that he is simply in the right place at the right time to change the fate of the circus. He thinks for a long moment but knows his answer already. He agrees to do it. As an added measure, Marco uses a ring to bind Bailey to the circus.
The Second Lighting of the Bonfire
Bailey gathers the supplies Marco and Celia tell him to find in Celia’s rooms, including the Temperance card and Hector’s pocket watch. He removes Poppet and Widget’s pages from the notebook and adds his own name. With his supplies in hand, he makes his way to the bonfire. He follows the steps Celia gave him to create a charm from the supplies and he throws it into the cauldron. On an impulse, he adds the contents of his own pockets to the charm. He lights a candle with Tsukiko’s lighter and thinks hard about how badly he wants this charm to work as he throws it into the cauldron. He feels a heaviness in his chest and the cauldron sparks to life.
Part V: Divination
An excerpt from Herr Thiessen’s writings reveals that he does not think of himself as a writer, but as a gateway to the circus. He ruminates on how writings can transport a reader to the circus when they cannot attend it themselves. He considers it something like magic. A second extract is from Act IV, Scene I of The Tempest by William Shakespeare. In this scene, Prospero compares life to a dream.
Fates Foretold
There is no line to the fortune-teller’s tent. Instead of a crystal ball or a deck of cards, she uses a scattered handful of stars on her table. After performing her reading, the fortune-teller offers a reminder that the future is not set in stone.
Blueprints
Poppet arrives at Chandresh’s house to find it in complete disarray. Chandresh tells her that he dismissed everyone on his staff except for the cooks. He asks why she is there and Poppet explains that she would like him to sign over ownership of the circus to her, Widget, and Bailey. They fill out the paperwork while they talk about the circus. Poppet asks Chandresh about a series of blueprints that are hanging on the walls. He explains they’re plans Mr. Barris sent him. Poppet helps him discern that they’re for a museum and they piece the plans together. Chandresh calls for Marco and, embarrassed, admits that he often forgets that Marco isn’t there anymore but he can’t remember why. Poppet tells him that Marco left to be with Celia. She offers to stay in London long enough to help him find a new assistant, which accepts. She gifts him a black and white kitten and tells him that she wouldn’t give him his memory back even if she could. When she kisses him on the cheek, Chandresh feels his mind clear as a fog lifts from it.
Stories
Widget meets with the man in the grey suit over a glass of wine and talk extensively of stories. They debate whether there are any simple tales left as Widget believes there are while the man in the grey suit disagrees. The man in the grey suit argues that stories are growing ever more complex. When the conversation turns to Celia and the challenge, the man in the grey suit explains how it all started. Hector was once a student of the man in the grey suit and believed that the systems he learned from him were outdated. Hector began teaching a new method and they pitted their students against one another to see which method was the strongest.
Widget tries to read the man in the grey suit but can only see parts of his past. When the man in the grey suit asks what purpose his power serves, Widget tells him that he tells stories with it. The man in the grey suit explains that stories are real magic for the way that they can inspire people and change the future. Widget asks the man in the grey suit if the game is over, and he tells him that it is complicated because it cannot go on as the players are but it hasn’t been completed exactly. Widget insists that they talk about tying up the loose ends of the challenge so that the circus can be free of it. When Widget tells him to name his price, the man in the grey suit asks for a story. Specifically, he wants the story of what brought them to where they are as told from Widget’s heart. He begins the story by saying that the circus arrives without warning.
Beaux Rêves
The narrative assumes the second person point of view one final time as dawn approaches and the circus nears closing. Passing through the curtain once again, the courtyard gives way to the entrance. There is a plaque at the bottom of the great clock that stands as a memorial to Herr Thiessen and Chandresh. A woman at the ticket booth offers a business card for the circus with Bailey’s name on it along with an email address. Stepping back through the gate into the adjacent field, it is no longer clear whether the dream is inside or outside of the fence.