Katie Hickman went to Mexico looking for magic. She found it in the circus--Big Top, clowns, elephants, and all--where cheap, torn materials and tarnished sequins are transformed into nights of glittering illusion. Gradually adjusting to the harsh wasy of the circus's nomadic lifestyle, she soon became absorbed into this hypnotic new world, at first as a foreigner, but later as "La Gringa Estrella," a performer in her own right. Hickman's unforgettable account of her epic year-long journey through an extraordinary and bizarrely beautiful country has all the power and richness of a novel. Katie Hickman is the author of six previous titles, including two bestselling history books, Courtesans and Daughters of Britannia. She has written two travel books, one of which was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. She was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year award for her novel The Quetzal Summer and her previous novels, The Aviary Gate and Pindar Diamond , sold widely throughout the world. Katie Hickman lives in London with her two children and her husband, the philosopher A. C. Grayling.