The Clown King

The Clown King is a micro history of popular entertainment in the period 1840 to 1860 woven out of the career of Arthur Nelson, The Clown King. His ‘benefit stunt’ was to be drawn in a washing tub by four geese and drew huge crowds when performed in a town or city. This was to end in disaster in 1845 at Great Yarmouth when spectators watching fell into the icy waters of the river Bure (a story told in the author’s other Poppyland book The Fall of the Yarmouth Suspension Bridge  )