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In 1971, 17-year-old Elizabeth Carter Wellington was at a crossroads. She had already left Newton North High School to travel the world, and lived in India for a year. Back home, her search for a different path led to one that even she didn't expect: the circus.
Wellington, who has since earned a PhD and taught at Boston University and Simmons, Babson, and Wellesley colleges, recently wrote a book inspired by her experiences traveling with a three-ring circus to its winter quarters in Florida. “Circus Girl: A Novel” is a story of youthful adventure, love, betrayal, and self-discovery involving a teenage runaway, snake charmer, and mysterious elephant trainer.
Wellington, who now lives in Wellesley, recalls that she initially visited the circus on a whim, hoping to take a few pictures for her photography course.
"I was getting all these behind-the-scenes shots and realizing that I was really clicking with these people," said Wellington, who was also attracted by the free-spirited nature of the workers and the circus itself. "I went back to the darkroom, and every single image that came out seemed to say 'This is you. This is what you want.'"
Wellington worked for four-and-a-half months as a roustabout, earning $25 a week by putting the circus tents up and down and doing odd jobs. In writing the book, she relied on extensive diary entries and more than 100 photographs, such as a worker asleep on a hay bale, an aerialist performing a ladder act without a net, and a trainer smoking as his elephants drink at the water truck.
"The circus had a lot of super colorful characters," said Wellington, who recently returned from pitching the screenplay she co-wrote with her son, Tito W. James, to executives in Hollywood. "I was curious about all of it: the romance, the adventure, and the danger. I got my wish."
Wellington will read and sign copies of her book at the Needham Free Public Library - which will also feature her vintage circus photography - on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at 1139 Highland Ave. in Needham. Light refreshments will follow. The event. is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.circusgirlnovel.com.
