The Great Southern Circus

About the Book

With Civil War closing in, a small horse-drawn circus travels the southeastern United States in a time when there was no electricity, no paved roads, few bridges, and poor directions between towns. Braving bad weather, outlaws, and the clouds of war, this is the true story of one circus family that made that tour. It is a love story of a young girl who was a bareback rider with the circus and the young man who joined the circus just to be near her. It is also the story of a black man who joined the circus to search for his sister who was a slave. It is the story of lifetime friendships that bonded men from the North and South, black and white, in a love for each other that transcended the horror of approaching war. Based on characters who were there and events that actually happened, this book is at once a love story and great adventure. This is the story of a two–and-a-half-year-long, six-thousand-mile adventure and the people who were there. For reader reviews, log on to Amazon.com and search for “The Great Southern Circus.”

About the Author

Nick West was born in Gainesville, Florida and grew up on a family farm near Archer, Florida. He attended Gainesville High School and the University of Florida. He is a veteran of the United States Navy, and together with his family, have owned and operated a landscape business in the area for over twenty years. He and his wife Kay live on the farm where he grew up. The Great Southern Circus is his first book. A collection of circus stories told to him by his grandmother as they were told to her by her grandmother, Miranda Madderra.