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1-Page Summary of The Night Circus
Overview
There’s a circus that shows up, and it is not like the other circuses. It has an atmosphere of magic about it, as well as an unusual color scheme. The people who go there cannot help but be fascinated by the place.
Two magicians, Prospero the Enchanter (whose real name is Hector Bowen) and a man named Alexander (who is known by others as simply A.H.), are sworn rivals. They both choose students to teach them magic and start a competition to see who will win. The winner of this contest will be the stronger magician between the two of them. One must exhaust their opponent through magical spells in order to win; if one cannot do that, they must lose at all costs because there can only be one victor in this game. After losing the last game, Hector is determined to win this time around with his daughter Celia’s help; he believes she has natural talent for illusion when compared with other people he knows in his circle of friends such as Alexander’s student Nicholas. However, unfortunately for her father’s wishes, Celia isn’t very good at magic or following orders from him since she doesn’t like being pushed into doing things against her own nature just so that she can please him better than everyone else around her.
A.H. adopts a different method of teaching than most other teachers in the story, as he instructs his student to study on his own with only a few books for company. The boy’s life is brightened when Isobel enters it, and they begin dating.
The setting of the game, as well as the characters involved in it, is revealed at a dinner party with Chandresh and his guests. He plans to open a circus that features all sorts of fantastic attractions. The attendees are very interested in helping out. By this point in time, Marco works for him as an assistant. Chandresh knows nothing about magic or the game itself because he has not played it yet.
The circus is beginning to take shape. Chandresh hires the contortionist Tsukiko, and he begins to hire more talent. Celia goes to a casting for an illusionist act, but Marco realizes that she’s his opponent. Isobel decides to apply as a fortune teller so she can help Marco with any information about Celia.
The circus finally opens after a long wait. A magical bonfire springs up and continuously runs, making the night special. That night, twins are born who are nicknamed Poppet and Widget because they have the run of the circus as they grow up. Poppet can see parts of the future, while Widget can read people’s pasts on them by touching them for a few seconds.
The opening of the book introduces the characters and their situation. The two main characters, Marco and Celia, are unaware of what is going on but they do have a strong connection to each other. They don’t see each other often because they’re constantly traveling with the circus; however, when they do meet up it’s clear that there is something between them. Both are trying to figure out what exactly is happening in this magical rivalry game and how to make sure no one gets hurt by it.
Tsukiko reveals herself as the winner of a game with Celia. Tsukiko tells her that to end the game, one must die. However, this will also mean the death of the circus because either Marco or Celia’s death would be too much for it to bear. This pains Celia because she has been with the circus for so long and knows how many people have been positively impacted by its existence. A group of admirers started by Herr Thiessen called themselves rêveurs (meaning dreamers) and followed around the world writing about their experiences at different circuses all over Europe and America. Another person entranced by the circus is Bailey who took a dare as a child to enter during daytime hours when no one was there but Poppet showed him around despite his fears and gave him a white glove which he still keeps today even though he doesn’t know why since Poppet never told him what it meant or where she got it from but he assumes that it had something to do with her name since everything in her realm was red except for Widget who was always blue; however, neither Poppet nor Widget could tell Bailey anything about their origins other than they came from an alternate dimension through mirrors like those found in carnivals; furthermore, both were born on Halloween night hundreds of years ago after being conceived out-of-wedlock between two mortal enemies: Prospero (a sorcerer) and Miranda (a witch).
