• Home
  • Circus Facts
  • The Book
  • Author
  • Resources
  • Contacts

Additional Resources

"The Circus Fire" by Stewart O'Nan
The acclaimed author of A Prayer for the Dying brings all his narrative gifts to bear on this gripping account of tragedy and heroism-the great Hartford circus fire of 1944. Halfway through a midsummer afternoon performance, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus's big top caught fire. The tent had been waterproofed with a mixture of paraffin and gasoline; in seconds it was burning out of control, and more than 8,000 people were trapped inside. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of survivors, O'Nan skillfully re-creates the horrific events and illuminates the psychological oddities of human behavior under stress: the mad scramble for the exits; the hero who tossed dozens of children to safety before being trampled to death. Brilliantly constructed and exceptionally moving, The Circus Fire is history at its most compelling.
"The Greatest Show: Stories" by Michael Downs
Inspired by the true story of the 1944 Hartford Circus Fire, the interconnected stories in The Greatest Show explore the aftermath of disaster in a world of clowns, elephants, and childhood fantasies. A portrait of an American city and its people over five decades, these stories raise questions about wounds and healing, memory and forgetting, and about the human capacity for kindness—with all its futility and power—in the midst of great loss.
© Copyright 2024 JAHMS Computer Services. All rights reserved. All registered trademarks herein are the property of their respective owners.
Contact us
860-916-8777
hartfordcircusfire@gmail.com
Location
1 Brush Pasture Ln #201, Portland, CT 06480

We use cookies to enable essential functionality on our website, and analyze website traffic. By clicking Accept you consent to our use of cookies. Read about how we use cookies.

Your Cookie Settings

We use cookies to enable essential functionality on our website, and analyze website traffic. Read about how we use cookies.

Cookie Categories
Essential

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our websites. You cannot refuse these cookies without impacting how our websites function. You can block or delete them by changing your browser settings, as described under the heading "Managing cookies" in the Privacy and Cookies Policy.

Analytics

These cookies collect information that is used in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are.