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Seeing the Elephant: The American Dream of the Extraordinary
What does it mean to “see the elephant”? Jane D. Cairns traces the nineteenth-century American expression through Civil War soldiers, California gold seekers, and the era’s fascination with exotic animals. Exploring the tension between anticipation and experience, Cairns connects this enduring idiom to her novel Exalted Objects and Tim Schooley’s Circus of the Vanishing Elephant, where elephants become symbols of extraordinary dreams and the realities behind them.
The Symbionese Liberation Army and Me
What can the violent extremism of the 1970s teach us about the present? Tim Schooley, author of Circus of the Vanishing Elephant, reflects on his teenage fascination with the Symbionese Liberation Army and the real events that inspired his novel’s fictional Elephant Liberation Army. Connecting his memories of the SLA to contemporary political violence, Schooley considers how historical fiction can preserve difficult lessons from the past.
Killing Your Darlings, Circus Style
For historical fiction writers, real-life experiences can be both a source of inspiration and a challenge. In this personal essay, Tim Schooley reflects on his years as a Ringling Bros. clown and the real-life stories that inspired scenes in Circus of the Vanishing Elephant. He explores the difficult process of “killing your darlings” and explains why even his most memorable circus experiences ultimately had to be cut from the novel.
Two New Historical Novels to Watch: Exalted Objects and Circus of the Vanishing Elephant
One novel leads us into a struggling 1974 circus, where an elephant vanishes and freedom becomes the deepest question in the story. The other enters nineteenth-century New Hampshire, where railroads, ambition, artistry, and family loyalty collide.
Our new blog post reveals the covers of Circus of the Vanishing Elephant and Exalted Objects, shares what makes each book compelling, and explains how to preorder early through History Through Fiction.