Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus

I am not sure how or why this book was classified as an art book in the Amazon Vine program, but it got my attention. Somewhere between biography and non-fiction, this book tells the story of aerialist Lillian Leitzel and her fellow aerialist husband Alfredo Codona. Leitzel, as she was commonly known, was the equivalent of a rock star in the world of the bigtop. Her act was so precise and daring that she quickly became a standout among many talented performers. She was pretty and tiny, weighing in at 95 lbs. and standing at no more than 4'9". She was immensely popular and well known and had played all the capitals of Europe as well as the United States. With two failed marriages and other relationships behind her, she met Alfredo Cadona and their three year union would define the rest of their lives. Leitzel enjoyed all the trappings of celebrity and could be part diva and conversely kind to children and a giving person. While appearing in Copenhagen in 1931, the metal of one of the two rings she used in her act crystalized and resulted in her crashing to the ground. She lingered for two days and died from her traumatic injuries. Cadona, in his grief, carried on and eventually remarried but by 1937 would also be dead under circumstances nearly as tragic as Lieitzel's. While I knew some general facts about the circumstances surrounding their deaths, this book did a magnificent job telling Leitzel's story as well as Cadona's. This book was extremely well researched and very well written. A huge plus to me as a reader was how visual the narrative was. It captured circus life as well as the acts that were performed. The end effect was dizzying in regard to the work of Cadona as part of the Flying Cadonas act and Leitzel's performances. Almost as interesting as the sweeping narrative were the notes the author had at the end of the text. Dean Jensen, the author, managed to clear up some misconceptions and inaccuracies and clearly sourced his information. This may seem picky to some readers, but to me it helps explain how information is extracted/validated. I really loved this book. It was evocative of Water For Elephants but was an interesting true story that had everything including ghost like spectres, romance, tragedy, conflict, death by accident, murder, and suicide. It also captured the excitement of the circus and realistically presented the nomadic lives of its performers.

I really got caught up in the drama and this review is more my own emotional responses and philosophic reflections than any effort at a formal critical review. But it brings pleasure and I would wish the same for other readers. It is hard to attend the flaws and complaints a few other reviewers note. The writing style is fluid and descriptions, especially of the performance routines of the saltimbanques are superb. The descriptions of the glitz and explosion of the art nouveau opulence of the turn of the nineteenth century and first quarter of the twentieth are really thrilling. It really reads like fiction and I began it as entertaining escapist summer reading filled with extravagance and glamour. But this is not fiction. In the final chapters the full arc of the lives of some of those entertainers is apprehended through the lives of the of Pelikans and Cordobas. Clearly these real people protagonists escaped nothing of the tragedies and trials of life and sacrificed much of their potential for contentment in the constancy possible for the fortunate. I begin to feel guilty for being so entertained and so unaware of the price that is extracted from those providing it. But then, that is just how they are most fulfilled; to know they have concealed their burdens and entertained me, distracted for a few moments from my own. I consider a book that evokes reflection is a book worth reading. Queen of the Air is one of those.

Reading Dean Jensen's Queen of the Air was special. It is one of the few books where I felt like a participant in the story, rather than a reader. This intimate quality was necessary to make the book successful, and Jensen succeeded brilliantly. The circus thrived before the age of mass media, so the only way one could experience the circus was to be there in person. Unlike showings at the theater where actors impersonated the lives of their characters, trapeze artists played themselves in stark reality, not knowing whether their fate would be triumph or tragedy. Imagine the high drama of witnessing such a performance! Jenson allows us a vivid glimpse into that bygone era. The reader becomes a spectator sitting in rapt attention under the Big Top as the story of each artist is about to unfold. We watch in awe and cheer with amazement as Leitzel spins like a propeller, head over heels, while suspended from a ring held in one hand. We hold our breathe, fearing for Alfredo's life on the high trapeze as he performs yet another Salto Mortale. Woven into the high drama of the Big Top is the riveting pathos of Leitzel and Alfredo's 20-year love affair. We are privileged to gain an unusual familiarity with their star-crossed relationship, because Dean interviewed people directly acquainted with them, including Leitzel's brother Alfred and Afredo's sister Victoria. If you want a ringside seat at the circus, circa 1913, please read this book!

This books tells the story of the circus' most popular stars at its most popular time. It gives a history on the characters which makes the reader enter into the crude world of entertainment before film (movies & TV), modern, comfortable travel and labor laws. It morphs into a timeline of how the world was changing as these entertainers saw it and how they survived. You will also get a bit of a background on Barnum & Bailey and Ringaling Bros. circuses and original owners. A truly great book to read of passion and tragedy.

Gave me insight into a period of time I don't know much about. Very sad.

Wonderful story. Another one I couldn't put down!