Customer Reviews
Read the book..see the circus. - By: Bethany Williams, 15 Jan 2006 
I decided to buy this book after seeing Nell's own show - Gifford's circus, at the Hay on Wye festival last summer. I can honestly say that hers is the best circus I have ever been to, it was the complete epitome of everything I believe a circus should be. Reading this book led me to see where the inspiration for her circus came from.
The book itself, I will be honest, is not a great read. Stroud is not a natural writer, her style does not flow. However, if you can plough through it, its a great story. An incredible story, I might say. It is made all the more real by the fact that I have actually seen Nell's circus.
I have been to quite a few circus shows but never really given much thought to the peoplein them. This book uncovers the reality behind the romance, through the eyes of an outsider. It shows the true hardships & poverty of life on the road. It also shows what the politically correct British are doing to their way of life - killing it.
Stroud laments an England gone by & I think the best quote of the book has to be.. 'I doubt Santus circus will ever have an e-mail address..it is just a circus.'
Although on the surface, this book is very much about the circus, on another level it is also about Stroud's own life. Stroud admits herself that a reason for joining the circus was due to her mothers accident. She writes about human nature as well as the circus. This is a very interesting book, although I doubt it would be of much interest to you unless you have seen Gifford's circus or are a circus fanatic.
Touching and well-written - By: , 12 Nov 2004 
Nell Stroud fellin love with traditional circuses & learned her circus skills the hard way. This book is vivid on the hardships of circus life, the difficulties of establishing yourself as a circus person rather than a 'josser' (an outsider passing through), & the joys of circus as an art form.
A Great Read - By: Mr. J. C. Clubb, 24 Oct 2002 
There hasn't been a book like "Josser" since Paul Galligo's "Love, Let Me Not Hunger"in the 1960's.
Like Galligo Nell Stroud neither plays up to the imagined fairy tale of the circus nor looks down on it, but instead looks at the ailing traditional industryin UK through an outsider's eyes. What you get is an evocative & honest story of a young woman's quest for her childhood dream.
"Josser" brings the circus tale up to date & makes great comparisons between the different types of shows & the people who live on them. There is also a great passage explaining how circuses relate to the country of their origin.
I thoroughly enjoyed "Josser" & look forward to Ms. Stroud's next publication, "Phillip Astley."
THE SAWDUST WORLD BEHIND THE BIG TOP - By: , 20 Apr 2000 Nell Stroud shows us her highly individual view of the world of the Circus -- a world peopled by stubborn, physically hard people who aren't intending to let go of their way of lifein spite of the efforts of politicians & campaigners. She finds that the 'romance' is just blood, sweat, & tears; & then changes managements to find a show that seems genuinely romantic & quaint by comparison with the larger circus she's just abandoned. Not always totally accurate, but conveying the raw 'feel' of life under & around the Big Top.
A truly great book. - By: , 08 Jul 1999 Read this & weep,and then laugh & smile & be awed by someone who chose to travel her own road.
