This book follows an English woman and her husband's year with a Mexican Circus. She talks about the people, the places, and the tragedies with such great love and fondness. It is a great read, and although I felt it was not always well written and prone to the side of sentimentality that occasionally distracts what is of interest to a reader. I also wished she paid more attention to the minor characters in the book, because each and every one of them seemed to have a story to tell, in fact those minor stories seemed to have more changes, tragedies and secrets to reveal. Instead Hickman concentrated on the powerful, the stars, and the family behind the circus.

Criticisms aside it was a wonderful travelogue and fulfilled a lot of my childhood fantasy of running away with the circus. The characters in the book are real, with their flaws and their good sides exposed. The details of how the circus is put together, the hopes and dreams of the people, the feeling of performance are all encompassed. The book does give you a sense of the great dramas, loves, and loyalties that involve a moving, roaming group of people. I know I used a lot of grand words to describe the book, but it is because circuses are a grand endeavor.

The diplomatic wives depicted in this book were a hardy lot. Many of the stories brought forth the visions of the proper Englishman dressing for dinner each night in the jungle. Ms. Hickman grew up in the diplomatic service and displays much affection and admiration for these unsung ladies. The letters diary excerpts are interesting, sometimes poignant reminders of how isolated and far from home the ladies were.

The book has a peculiar organization, not by date or individuals, but by their duties. I found this annoying and difficult to follow. We meet a lady on page 6 and do not hear of her again until page 200. It skips between the 17th century to the 20th and back within two paragraphs. Consequently, I had never had a clear idea of who they were and when their stories were taking place.

Ms. Hickman is almost too discreet. Some of the incidents beg for clarification. (She is not a diplomat's daughter for nothing!) I didn't expect a tell-all tabloid style, but neither did I expect an almost Victorian reticence. The author clearly had done a great deal of research and took advantage of her own and her mother's recollections, but was in great need of a good editor.

I think the first reviewer is being a little unfair towards this book. Yes, it skips around chronologically, but the aim of the book is to give the reader a taste of life in the diplomatic service from its beginnings to the current day, not be a biography of particular wives. On the first, the book succeeds very well. We hear about the glittering parties and receptions as well as the downright appalling conditions some families lived in (well into the 20th century, by the way). The wives are often in just as much danger as their husbands, and they are usually unpaid! Katie Hickman does a laudable job of giving these (mostly) admirable women their due.