Katherine H. Adams

The concept of WOMEN OF THE AMERICAN CIRCUS 1880-1940 is an interesting idea, a look at women in that era of few "working women" made a career for themselves under the big top (indeed, women only had ability to vote for the last twenty years of the period the book covers) but unfortunately there appears just too little information out there on the individual women who worked in the field during this period (few were probably interviewed during or after their careers) as a result too much of this book seems to center on just the circus world of this period rather than really covering the women headliners. Even most of the artwork in the book isn't specifically female related. I would have liked to have read more about the few who did apparently become "names" in the field like the Mae West lookalike (also named Mae)who the authors discuss for a few pages. I did find what is here interesting but overall was left with a little sadness that these pioneering big top gals couldn't have been written about with a little more intimate and detailed a study.… (mer)

Women of the American Circus, 1880 - 1940 is an overview of life under the Big Top. While the title can be a bit misleading (many readers may be disappointed to find out that the book does not include individual biographies of famous American women performers), the book is very well researched and documentation of secondary sources is very clear. Katherine Adams' book is an academic one -- not the sort of book that one would probably place on a nightstand. With that said, it is a very important work of scholarly writing and would make an excellent addition to a bookshelf dedicated to women's studies.… (mer)