Found this copy at a thrift store as a replacement for my original copy that appears to be lost in transit.

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Book Description:

Sophie Fevvers - the toast of Europe's capitals, courted by the Prince of Wales, painted by Toulouse-Lautrec - is an aerialiste extraordinaire, star of Colonel Kearney's circus. She is also part woman, part swan. Jack Walser, an American journalist, is on a quest to discover Fevvers's true identity: Is she part swan or all fake? Dazzled by his love for Fevvers, and desperate for the scoop of a lifetime, Walser joins the circus on its tour. The journey takes him - and the reader - on an intoxicating trip through turn-of-the-century London, St. Petersburg, and Siberia - a tour so magical that only Angela Carter could have created it.

This is also No. 255 on the 1001 books you must read before you die list.

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My prior review:

This novel was quite a ride! The book is divided into three sections. The first discusses the life of "Fevvers", a woman who is purported to have been born from an egg and has wings to prove it! In her young years, she is raised in a whore house and often posed as "Winged Victory" in the foyer. She moves on to become a circus aerialist and performer. This is being documented by a young reporter, Jack Walser, who has also fallen for Fevvers. The circus moves on to Petersburg in Russia and then to the Siberian wilderness where a great misfortune occurs. Carter engages in what is called "mystical realism" in the novel and you never know what is real.

From 1001 Books:
Angela Carter's dazzling aerialist, the tough and beguiling Fevvers, a winged-woman who defies gravity and sexual ideology, takes center stage of a novel that explores the eccentric limits of gender and geography. With the narrative's three-part excursion from London to St. Petersburg, finally reaching the vast expanses of Siberia, we journey with reporter Jack Walser, assigned to shadow the fortunes of Fevver's carnivalesque circus community. In his position as commentator, he is at once convivial and satirical. The novel is filled with burlesque ebullience, a carnival riot of voices, dialects, and stories, through which Carter explores the reality of the perpetual masquerade with shrewd discretion. . .

Overall a bizarre but enjoyable ride that I would recommend.

Sending to HI77 as a replacement for a copy that was lost in the mail. Hope this one arrives okay!

The feathers drift down

from life and its overly
aggressive pillow fight.