A. H. Saxon is the author of many books and articles on the history of the theatre, circus, and popular entertainments.
For too long the public impression of P.T. Barnum has been one laced with thoughts of humbug and chicanery, with the shadiness of the pitchman. Here, in these fascinating letters, we find him to be too complex, too complicated a man to have such a reputation. The quintessential Barnum, a man we've never quite seen before, turns out to be full of ideas and energy, a humorist, a social critic, now beleaguered, now triumphant, a most fascinating character.