The Final Confession of Mabel Stark

by Hough, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780871138705
• ISBN10: 0871138700
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-04-01
• Publisher: Pgw

Summary

Barely five feet tall and dressed in her trade-mark skintight white leather jumpsuit, Mabel Stark made her mark in a man's world as the greatest female tiger trainer in history. In the 1910s and 1920s, when the circus was in its golden age and the most popular form of entertainment in North America, the tiny, curvaceous Kentucky blonde was a center-ring attraction for the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. She was brazen, suicidally courageous, obsessed with tigers, and sexually adventurous. She survived a dozen severe maulings - and five husbands. Always, her relationship with the big cats came first, especially her beloved Bengal tiger Rajah. As Mabel said, "You can't mix tigers and husbands. And anyhow, I prefer tigers." Now Robert Hough has created a captivating fictional autobiography of Mabel Stark that immerses us in the carnival world of the Big Top.

Author Biography

Robert Hough has made his name writing narrative-driven nonfiction about characters "who live beyond our culture's conception of normalcy" for such magazines as Saturday Night and Toronto Life. His fiction has appeared in many journals, including Canadian Fiction, Quarry, The Fiddlehead, and The Antigonish Review. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two daughters

Table of Contents

The Barnes Show
The Athenian Tailor	p. 2
The Young Psychiatrist	p. 24
JungleLand	p. 46
The Southern Cotton Mogul	p. 63
The Hungarian Military Officer	p. 95
The Bengal Punk	p. 134
JungleLand	p. 164
The Handsome Bigamist	p. 175
The Ringling Show
The Ringling Accountant	p. 206
The Ex-Polar Bear Man	p. 239
JungleLand	p. 265
The New Menage Boss	p. 298
Art	p. 328
John Robinson / Barnes
Lucky Barnes	p. 394
JungleLand	p. 422
Research Notes	p. 425
Acknowledgements	p. 429
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