Review by Thayer Slichter
I got the incredible opportunity to read and review the newest book from Modern Vaudeville Press in anticipation of its release. I am so grateful that they reached out and I get to share my thoughts on this new book!
Opulence and Ostentation by Steve Ward is a well-rounded and put-together book about the history of circus architecture. It covers many different aspects of these buildings such as the people who were associated with them, the physical attributes of these buildings, and timelines of what happened within these stunning spaces. This book is filled with pictures of the exteriors and interiors of these venues, works of art, and my personal favorite: floor plans. While reading this book, I found myself learning about so many buildings I hadn’t heard of before. My new favorite, which I found in chapter five, Ginnett’s Olympia, quickly became a topic of interest and a new favorite for me. Ward does a brilliant job of expanding on what made the buildings he chose to cover so fascinating. This book had a lot of information without feeling dull and was able to answer a lot about the history of these places in a way that was appealing to learn about.
My favorite part of this book is that it shows that even though these buildings were all created in different locations, they are all connected by a love for circus by the people in these places, and across these places how the meaning of circus possibly changes or stays the same. This book was able to show the similarities and contrasts between all sorts of different spaces and cultures and what these sites were used for, and it did so in a way that felt compelling for me to keep reading. The introduction and the chapters that follow go into what makes a circus a circus without feeling like there is a right or wrong answer which I absolutely love. Any opinions or thoughts in the introduction and the following chapters feel like an offer, and it is very clear when Ward is putting his own thoughts onto the paper and inviting you to think about the topics at hand vs. when they are factual statements without room for interpretation like the timelines of the building’s history.
If you like circus, history, and architecture then this book is absolutely for you. I certainly enjoyed reading it and I am very excited that I am able to write about and read this book. A huge thank you to Modern Vaudeville Press for letting me do this review!
Check out Modern Vaudeville Press to see the other wonderful circus books they already have in their catalog and keep an eye out for the release of Opulence and Ostentation by Steve Ward soon!
circus is my life 