Cover of The Night Circus

The Night Circus

  • 2011 first published
  • 512 pages
  • ★ 4.1 (68 ratings)
  • 37 editions

Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus (2011) is a historical fantasy and romantasy novel. Readers will find themes of magicians, circus, games and circus performers.

Open Library readers give it an average of 4.1 out of 5 from 68 ratings, and 661 more have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 37 editions across 7 languages.

It runs to roughly 512 pages — 9–10 hours of reading at an average pace.

About The Night Circus

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart. - Publisher.
Description from Open Library

Awards & lists

Themes, setting & tropes

Genres

Subjects

  • Magicians
  • Circus
  • Games
  • Circus performers
  • Psychokinesis
  • Magic
  • Fate and fatalism
  • Night
  • Amerikanisches Englisch
  • Competition, Psychology
  • Fantasy romance
  • Historical fantasy
  • Ciracus

Quick answers

Who wrote The Night Circus?

The Night Circus was written by Erin Morgenstern and first published in 2011.

What genre is The Night Circus?

It is usually shelved as Historical Fantasy, Romantasy, Circus & Carnival and Magicians & Illusionists.

How long is The Night Circus?

The median edition has 512 pages, about 9–10 hours of reading at 250 words per minute.

What books are similar to The Night Circus?

Readers who like it often enjoy Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, A Conjuring of Light and The Paper Magician.

More by Erin Morgenstern

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