DREAM ANGEL -- A Circus Novella

The Irish can only love once!

Sean Kelley had a dream. He wanted to own a traveling circus, the finest in the world. He wanted to work for P.T. Barnum’s Museum in New York City, America. Someday, when Sean had learned all he could about showmanship, he wanted to establish The Sean Kelley Circus.
And he wanted Angelique for his circus.
In truth, he wanted Angelique for his wife.

Dream Angel opens in 1850 Paris. Attending the Nouveau Cirque, Sean sees Angelique for the first time and, in less than an instant, he knows the beautiful rope walker is the love of his life. Due to a wretched misunderstanding, Angelique travels to Connecticut, America, to live with her Aunt Bernadine. Sean emigrates to NYC. Employed by P.T. Barnum, Sean recruits singer Jenny Lind (“The Swedish Nightingale”). Sean is reunited with Angelique, but he learns that her aunt has promised her to a wealthy plantation owner. Heartbroken, he assembles a traveling circus.

Angelique’s cruel aunt is murdered and the dastardly deed is blamed on 7 cats, named for the days of the week. But the police soon realize that a person stabbed Bernadine—before she was clawed by the cats—and when Angelique is the number one suspect, she poses as Jenny Lind’s personal tour servant and trails Sean across the USA.

Dream Angel is the prequel novella (short book) to Mary Ellen Dennis’s 1875 circus novel, The Greatest Love on Earth, starring Angelique’s equestrian daughter, Calliope.

Praise for THE GREATEST LOVE ON EARTH (Sourcebooks, August 2011).
“Dennis brings the backdrop of a small traveling circus to life… with its saga overtones, many will find the story satisfying.” Romantic Times.
“The best quality of this book is the exotic background; the environment and setting are different from any other story set in the real world. The author describes an elaborate 19th century circus, making the scene easy for the reader to picture.” Fresh Fiction Reviews
“WOW! This is my first encounter with a book that features the Circus world as a setting and I have to say that I was both impressed and intrigued… When it arrived in the post, I had the intentions of reading through the first couple of chapters, then setting it aside until the time came to read it. That never happened, I was hooked and had to find out more… For me, this was a different type of book to read. I do have say that I truly enjoyed it. It was a very unique read that held me enchanted. My great-grandfather used to tell me that the world needs to be filled with things both “Aisteach agus iontach”, which is Irish for weird and wonderful, and I have to say that THE GREATEST LOVE ON EARTH is definitely aisteach agus iontach.” Royalreviews