Description
Book SynopsisTravelling showfolk have been entertaining Scots for centuries and a visit to 'the shows' was a highlight of the year until recent memory. The Codonas are one of the longest and most established show families, having arrived from the continent in the late eighteenth century. The book is based almost entirely on original research and draws on interviews with three generations to give a vivid and richly anecdotal account of this ever-changing world. Illustrations, mostly previously unpublished, enhance the text. The interviews have been kept intact as much as possible, to keep the flow of overlapping individual life stories but are organised chronologically from the 1890s, when it enters living memory, up to the present. The hundred years from 1790 are described in a lively introduction including many first-hand accounts and following the family fortunes in the United Kingdom, the United States where members reached the top of the circus profession and as far afield as Hawaii.
Trade Review' ... a fascinating book ... a very worthy addition to the library of fairground books.' Fairground Mercury ' ... a rare insider's view of fairground life in Scotland.' Romany Routes ' ... oral testimonies that recall their remarkable family story across the last two centuries ... The book is structured around the interviews, which have been kept largely intact, but still manages to progress the family story in chronological order ... All the fun of the fair and more.' Discover My Past Scotland ' ... Bruce's volume illustrates the world of the showfolk, and shows that this was a business that required constant innovation and a careful juggling, within a closely knit community, between competition and co-operation.' Ayrshire Notes ' ... this book is a valiant effort to capture and record the lives of those who might be on the periphery of local lives, but played an important part in local leisure activities.' The Local Historian
Table of ContentsThe fair familiar faces Geggies, gallopers and the ghost show The fun city Four brothers and thirteen cousins The rides, the people and the winter ground Family and fairground community Travelling and Settling Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Codona family tree Glossary Bibliography
