The Night Circus

The Night Circus tells the story of the rivalry between two different forms of magic—the old and the new—and the competition and love affair between two young magicians who are destined to face each other in a magical duel to the death.

The novel opens in 1873, as five year-old Celia Bowen is left at the office of Prospero the Entertainer, her estranged magician father, after her mother’s suicide. Though Prospero does not wish to raise his child, he nevertheless becomes fascinated by Celia’s mastery of “new magic.” Prospero immediately contacts his former teacher, the Man in Grey, and requests a duel to the death between their magical protégés: a clash of old magic and new. Inspired by Prospero’s challenge, The Man in Grey locates a pupil of his own, a young orphan named Marco Alasdair, to whom he teaches the ways of “old magic.” Upon turning 18, Marco is sent to work for Chandresh Christopher Lefevre, who is the creator of the Night Circus, a mysterious traveling circus featuring mesmerizing—and sometimes magical—shows and exhibits. Chandresh also hires Celia Bowen as an illusionist and, in turn, unknowingly establishes the Night Circus as a venue for the impending magical battle between Celia and Marco.