Long Road to the Circus (by Betsy Bird) 7-Day Cover Reveal: Day Seven!
Today is the penultimate posting of the lead up to the cover reveal of Long Road to the Circus (releasing October 5th). Today, I thought I’d do something a little different.
Much of my book is based on historical fact. There was a Madame Marantette. She did own an ostrich named Gaucho. And she does hold sidesaddle records to this day. Sidesaddle, as a form of riding, is a bit peculiar. Considered a more “ladylike” way of riding, watching it in action can be a bit terrifying. Here, I’ll show you what I mean.
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This is Florence Harris Mardo, Madame Marantette’s adopted daughter. As you can see, she went into the family business. This sequence was shot of her in 1924. Note that you can see both of her legs in all three photographs:



Look for the final cover reveal of my book tomorrow!
Filed under: Best Books, Best Books of 2021, Cover Reveal

About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Kirkus, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on BlueSky at: @fuse8.bsky.social
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