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    Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus
    Unavailable
    Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus
    Unavailable
    Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus
    Audiobook11 hours

    Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus

    Written by Dean Jensen

    Narrated by Emma Bering

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A true life Water for Elephants, Queen of the Air brings the circus world to life through the gorgeously written, true story of renowned trapeze artist and circus performer Leitzel, Queen of the Air, the most famous woman in the world at the turn of the 20th century, and her star-crossed love affair with Alfredo Codona, of the famous Flying Codona Brothers.

    Like today's Beyonce, Madonna, and Cher, she was known to her vast public by just one name, Leitzel. There may have been some regions on earth where her name was not a household expression, but if so, they were likely on polar ice caps or in the darkest, deepest jungles.

    Leitzel was born into Dickensian circumstances, and became a princess and then a queen. She was not much bigger than a good size fairy, just four-foot-ten and less than 100 pounds. In the first part of the 20th century, she presided over a sawdust fiefdom of never-ending magic. She was the biggest star ever of the biggest circus ever, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, The Greatest Show on Earth.

    In her life, Leitzel had many suitors (and three husbands), but only one man ever fully captured her heart. He was the handsome Alfredo Codona, the greatest trapeze flyer that had ever lived, the only one in his time who, night after night, executed the deadliest of all big-top feats, The Triple--three somersaults in midair while traveling at 60 m.p.h. The Triple, the salto mortale, as the Italians called it, took the lives of more daredevils than any other circus stunt.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 11, 2013
    ISBN9780385362528
    Unavailable
    Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus

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    Reviews for Queen of the Air

    3.5/5

    45 ratings17 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Although she began life as the daughter of a poor circus family, Leitzel’s skill as a trapeze artist catapulted her to world-wide fame. This allowed her to become something like circus royalty, making extreme demands of her managers and carrying on illicit affairs that would be grounds for dismissal in others. Her passionate affair with another exceptional trapeze artists, Alfredo Codona was one of the most dramatic events of her drama-filled life.

      This book had a lot of the qualities that I look for in narrative non-fiction. The vivid descriptions of a by-gone era were fascinating. The extensive use of quotes was well-executed and indicative of impressive amounts of research. The story itself was full of drama and the writing was technically very good. Sadly, despite its strong points, Queen of the Air never fully engaged me in the story.

      The writing could possibly have done something to create more of an emotional connection. In particular, direct quotes that gave more information about the emotional states of the characters would have helped me get to know them better. However, I think the real problem was not the writing, but the people themselves. Leitzel and Alfredo were both incredibly selfish in their pursuit of romantic relationships. They were willing to hurt other people to be with their chosen partners and Leitzel never even seemed to love the men she was pursuing. Despite the titles intimation of disaster on the horizon, I wasn’t worried because I didn’t care much what happened to them. This lack of connection made what I think could have been a very engaging story fall a little flat.

      This review first published on Doing Dewey.
    • 4/5
      A fascinating story, lovingly researched and told. I found myself distracted and annoyed by numerous errors and lack of editing at first, until I noticed the cover's notation that mine was an uncorrected proof. Then the errors were only slightly distracting. Dean Jensen's writing style is lively and thorough. His use of foreshadowing and suspense were effective enough to have me covering the paragraphs ahead to keep from spoiling the shocks and surprises. Several times I found myself running to google different facts or images because my curiosity was so raised. Really well done and tightly focused on the circus world it portrays. To have veered into extraneous historical detail of an admittedly eventful time may have been a distraction, but could have added a little to the overall setting. All in all, however, the nearly total focus on the circus world did maintain the feeling of otherworldliness in this remarkable story. Jensen's deep feeling for his subjects is apparent. Wonderful read! I hope he has a fine editor!
    • 4/5
      Lillian Leitzel is widely regarded as the Queen of the Air, the most popular circus aerialist throughout the world. Born into a circus family, the story chronicles the life of her mother, Nellie and the life of Alfredo Cordono, Leitzel's third husband.I found this story extremely tragic. Leitzel's life, despite the glamor and fame, just seemed a bit sad. She worked hard to please her audiences, and in the end, was killed performing. I thought at times the writing seemed a bit detached. I didn't feel like I really knew the characters by the end of the book. Overall, this was a good story
    • 3/5
      Well written and interesting, I read this book in a day while sitting on the beach.
    • 3/5
      The true story of trapeze artist Leitzel, Queen of the Air, the most famous woman in the world at the turn of the 20th century,or so says the book, and her star-crossed love affair with Alfredo Codona, of the famous Flying Codona Brothers.It's a good evocation of the times. I had never heard of Leitzel before this book. A fascinating read.
    • 4/5
      Thank you Goodreads First Reads for this book.

      The circus is a fascinating subject, but I am not sure how many of us really understand how big the big top was before entertainment forms such as TV and film took over. Jensen's book not only follows the lives and careers of some of the most prominent stars of what used to be the most dominant form of entertainment, but also paints a vivid picture of a half a century of an ever changing world of politics, arts, and econimics surrounding the circus community.

      Perhaps the best and worst part of Jensen's book is the two main "characters," the Queen of the Air, and the Great Cordona. They seem to have been dazzling as stars, beautiful as celebrities, and extremely talented and driven as circus artists. They also have a way way of making the reader cringe often with their self-centered actions, but perhaps these make them real. Alas, otherwise, one could not believe such creatures ever existed.

      The historical detail, and the information covered in the book is fascinating and engaging, except for bits where Jensen's writing gets a bit unfocused. But the story has a life of its own, and it moves, I shoud say towards the end it hurtles, well.

      Recommended for those who like ariel arts, side shows, the first part of the 20th century, and men in tights.
    • 4/5
      What a meticulously researched and thoroughly enjoyable book! Jensen truly pulls back a corner of the big top tent and invites the reader to follow along as a very unique love story unfolds. I was totally fascinated by the historical portrait of early European and American circuses -- it added depth to the story without becoming a too-detailed history lesson. Really great read!
    • 3/5
      It is true that nonfiction is superior to fiction. Readers who favor fiction probably do because nonfiction is too often dull. The author of QUEEN OF THE AIR, Dean Jensen, was conscious of that when he wrote this biography. But along with his obvious effort to not put his reader to sleep, this book still has the drawbacks of a biography.QUEEN OF THE AIR is a presentation of the life of Lillian Leitzel, a great circus performer, an aerialist, during the 1920s and 30s. The story begins with her mother before Leitzel was born and ends after her death with her husband, Alfredo Codona, a famous trapeze performer, a flyer. Leitzel and Alfredo were familiar names to most people at that time.After Leitzel begins her work with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailely Circus, Jensen tries to inject suspense at crucial points in the careers and lives of Leitzel and Alfredo. This should be enough to make most readers want to keep reading, even though biographies ordinarily lack the dialog and interaction between characters they usually see in fiction.As I understand, Jensen did the research for QUEEN OF THE AIR long before he wrote the final draft because his initial draft was boring. It looks like he wanted his book to be a true-life WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. As much as a biography can, it succeeds in this. But it lacks, as biographies do, that same type of presentation that made readers feel empathy for the main character in ELEPHANTS.The reader of QUEEN OF THE AIR will feel more like an outsider looking in. But that’s what biography is.This review is of an ARC of QUEEN OF THE AIR, which I won from readitforward.com.
    • 4/5
      The circus, and circus performers, have long held a fascination for me. I was already familiar with who Lillian Leitzel was, so I was thrilled to receive this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. I think what makes this particular book an interesting read is the combination of the subject material and the author's writing style. It's clear that that the author has a love for his subject, and I enjoyed reading his Acknowledgments section almost as much as the book, itself. His writing puts the narrator in a position of describing not only the people and places, but also in a position where he is giving the reader someone's innermost thoughts. He has a vivid, descriptive writing style, so that it's very easy to imagine all of the places, and the people. At times, the book read more like fiction to me, and at first, I found it a little distracting. However, once I stopped, and went to the back of the book, and looked at the notes section, it was clear to me that the author had done a lot of research, and had pulled these first-person descriptions from that. Reading this book gives you insight into the life of the circus as much as it gives you the story of Leitzel, and it's nice to have some of the background and extra information to help give some perspective. Leitzel, as talented as she was, had issues, both in her personal and professional life, and as much as the author loves his subject, he doesn't shy away from giving us the less-than-happy details of her life. I think it's a great read if you know nothing about Leitzel, but it's an extra-special book for someone like me.
    • 4/5
      I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, this was a captivating tale of two circus performers that showed what it meant to be a rock star at the turn of the century. I really enjoyed this the story and found it to be an easy read.Unfortunately, I was not such a big fan of the author's style. He included far too many details that could only be fictitious - for example, the thoughts going through Alfredo's mind as he watched Leitzel perform - that the book would have been stronger without. I also had to question his desire to embellish certain incidents, such as Nellie's rape, which rather than enhancing the story, came off as cheap sensationalism. On the whole, it seemed as though the author had no affinity for his subjects and I spent the last half of the book trying to decipher what it was that motivated him to write it.I would recommend this book to anyone with a casual interest in circus life, but would caution readers not to take it too seriously.
    • 3/5
      A somewhat interesting, but not riveting, biography of two circus performers from the early 1900's, both aerialists. Lillian Leitzel and Alfredo Codona performed with the Ringling Brothers circus at various times in their careers. Leitzel (as she was known) specialized in the Roman rings, doing as many as 100 turns on those rings twice a day. Alfredo was a trapeze artist, the only one of his time to consistantly perform a triple somersault from the bar. Both their lives ended tragically.I found the book more interesting for its information on circus life in general rather than the information on these specific performers. I just couldn't connect with either performer; I don't think I would have liked either of them "in real life".
    • 3/5
      The true story of Leitzel and Alfredo was interesting and circus life in the 1920's was portrayed vividly. However, the book dragged somewhat for me at times. This was a draft copy of the book and I suggest tightening the prose, using fewer metaphors and revising those that remain to be less dramatic before publication. There is an interesting story here but editorial review would be helpful.
    • 4/5
      Although circus acts are now essentially a thing of the past, during the turn of the 19th century they were very popular entertainment. This is the story of one of the most popular circus acts of all Time - Lillian Leitzel - a highwire artist. Her life in all its glory and angst is protrayed in the pages of this well written book.The story is a good read, flows nicely and I could not have guessed the outcome.
    • 4/5
      II really enjoyed this story of two of the stars of the circus world during the early twentieth century. Aerial work has fascinated and terrified me for years (I cannot stand heights), but I love watching people who so totally love being in the air. The stories of Leitzel and Codona are full of drama and tragedy, partly because both of them are as dramatic in their living and reputations as many of today's rock stars. The circus today is not what it was to my grandparents' generation, and some of this loss is reflected in the vivid descriptions of the European and American circuses. My biggest disappointment is that in the unproofed copy (aside from the regular and annoying typesetting issues), is that the promised photographs are missing, except for section leads. Otherwise, I recommend this history for all fans of circus life.
    • 3/5
      In the acknowledgement section at the end of his book, author Dean Jensen admits that his first draft of "Queen of the Air" was completed around 1980 and then put in a drawer for over thirty years. At the time, he said, he hated his manuscript and felt it was vapid. Telling the story of the famous Leitzel as well as the interwoven one of Alfredo Codona kept gnawing at him, however, and eventually he decided to re-work and rewrite the manuscript. Unfortunately, Jensen's work has a lot of weaknesses and might still be considered by some - to use Jensen's own word - vapid.The redeeming factors are that Jensen had the determination to tell the stories of Leitzel and Alfredo Codona to the world and that he was committed to writing about the very special place the circus and its performers had on audiences in the United States, Mexico, Europe,and other places during the pre-television years. His love for the circus comes through and he makes us understand why, even today, an act like Cirque du Soleil can be so powerful. His real strength is when writing about the actual act of performing. Somehow his verbs work, and we feel a rush as Leitzel flies under the Big Top. He is fairly adept at creating a slight tension in the reader as he describes Leitzel's (or alternately, Alberto's) act.But Jensen can't sustain consistency in his writing and after feeling for a few pages that he, too, is flying, we get hit with sentences such as the first one in chapter ten: "Alfredo had never seen a fairy before." Granted, this was in an uncorrected proof, but there are other sentences that are nearly as poorly rendered.Perhaps the real question here: is Dean Jensen a writer or an historian? The truth seems to be somewhere in between. He appears to be a lover of the circus with a bent toward its history, a fascination with Leitzel, and a total believer in the strange and tragic romance of Leitzel and Alberto Codona. His book reads as though he wants to write a love story and, in a way, he has. Lacking historic filler, though, the book comes across as light. There was so much more of the circus world that he could have introduced. Even what was going on in the real world was rarely mentioned unless - like The Great Depression - it directly affected the circus. The book needed to be plumped out, so to speak. Obviously Jensen was at a disadvantage as even with extensive research, he probably had to imagine what was going on in the lives of Leitzel and Alfredo at certain times, and this is where he stumbled. Interestingly, with a few tweaks and edits, the manuscript could be adapted as a Young Adult book and might work better, introducing younger generations to heroines and heros of the circus and to an interesting part of history. As it stands, though, the book seems like a not-quite-adult-like effort to bring life to Leitzel and Alfredo. Still, anyone who takes the time to capture history, especially of a world that no longer exists in quite the same way, deserves some credit. Any reader infatuated with the circus will probably like "Queen of the Air." Jensen gets high marks for good intentions, but his writing needed another draft.
    • 5/5
      Glamour and grit--a real life soap opera and a fascinating historyEven though I've never been a big fan of the circus I was mesmerized by Queen of the Air, which focuses on the lives of two star-crossed circus superstars of the the early 1900’s. Lillian Leitzel and Alfredo Codona were both born into poor circus families and were equally driven, but she became a star aerialist for Ringling Brothers, the “Queen of the Air”, while his trapeze act was still in a side ring. During this era circuses tiny and grand crisscrossed the Americas and Europe, and circus performers were like Hollywood stars or royalty. Queen of the Air beams a spotlight on the glamour and grit of their culture--it’s a real life soap opera and a fascinating history.
    • 4/5
      Lacking any real knowledge, I always thought “circus folk” of the last century were thought of about as highly as the shimmy-shake dancers writhing away in the back tents. So this book really opened my eyes to entertainment “royalty” - swinging high in the air, constantly pushing themselves to the limit, while living off the adoration of their ever fickle fans. This is the story of Leitzel and Alfredo Codona, the Queen and King of the many circus circuits of the late 19th to 20th centuries. I could smell the roasted peanuts and often exhaled a sigh of fear and/or relief reading the miraculous tricks performed high in the big top. I’ll admit to the occasional blush crossing my cheeks as the performers were described in their finely decorated athletic garb. Flying free through the air, who could imagine all the rules and limitations they faced on the ground? It is amazing performers ever married with all the parents, managers, impersonal living quarters and circus detectives driving them apart at every turn! What a treat to be taken back in time and see the show through such adoring eyes, close media scrutiny and the performers’ own personal insights. All that suffering to be the best and most dazzling. This was a lively and informative read!