Previously unpublished manuscripts--James Frowde's account of his young life with the famous Henglers' circus in the 1850s and Thomas Lawrence's 1871 gag book--offer unique, unmediated access to the grass roots of popular entertainment. Through them this book explores the role of the circus clown at the height of equestrian entertainment in Britain, when the comic generated audience attention for the riders and acrobats, by parodying their skills in his own tumbling and contortionism, and also offered a running commentary on the times through his own 'wheezes' or stand-up comedy sets.

Previously unpublished manuscripts--James Frowde's account of his young life with the famous Henglers' circus in the 1850s and Thomas Lawrence's 1871 gag book--offer unique, unmediated access to the grass roots of popular entertainment. Through them this book explores the role of the circus clown at the height of equestrian entertainment in Britain, when the comic generated audience attention for the riders and acrobats, by parodying their skills in his own tumbling and contortionism, and also offered a running commentary on the times through his own 'wheezes' or stand-up comedy sets.