From 1884 to 1939, the Great Porter Circus makes the unlikely choice to winter in an Indiana town called Lima, a place that feels as ordinary as Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, and as wondrous as a first trip to the Big Top. Over three generations, the circus transforms this small town, providing a magical backdrop to daily life. In Lima, Indiana, meeting an elephant can change a man's life or the manner of his death. Jeanne Dixianna entices men with her dazzling Spin of Death and keeps them in line with secrets locked in a cedar box. The lonely wife of the show's manager has each room of her house painted like a sideshow banner, indulging her desperate passion for the young painter. And a loveless marriage in his post-circus job at Clown Alley Cleaners. In Lima, legend and lore outlive the circus itself, luring contemporary inhabitants to faraway places in search of the adventure that has moved on. The connected tales of The Circus in Winter display the rise and fall of an American circus. Cathy Day follows the performers and their progeny into history, vividly bringing the everyday lives of circus people to the page. --front flap