How do you make an elephant disappear? In this episode of History Through Fiction: The Podcast, host Colin Mustful sits down with Tim Schooley, author of The Circus of the Vanishing Elephant, to explore what happens when a circus illusion becomes real—and when a beloved elephant, a fractured family, and a young clown’s search for belonging are all pulled into the same mystery. Set in 1974, Schooley’s novel follows the King Minos Circus after Henrietta, its star elephant, vanishes during a parade. Suspicion falls on Randi, the circus owner’s estranged daughter, and Ainge, a young clown haunted by a painful family history. The conversation explores family, chosen family, loyalty, animal freedom, and belonging, while also opening a window onto the practical realities of a traveling circus: its performers, crews, trains, arenas, ticket sales, and the pressure of keeping a small business alive during recession and rising fuel costs. Schooley shares how his own experience as a Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey clown gave the novel its lived-in sense of spectacle and backstage labor. He also discusses why he chose 1974—a year marked by Watergate, the aftermath of the Vietnam War, political unrest, recession, and long lines at gas stations—and how newspapers, period details, and on-the-ground visits to Portland and Seattle helped him bring that world to life. Tim Schooley began his career as a circus clown before becoming an appellate lawyer, teaching at UC Davis Law School, and serving as managing attorney of the California Court of Appeal in Sacramento. He is the author of The Wool Translator, is active in Sacramento’s literary community, and helped found the Sacramento Book Festival. History Through Fiction is a home for historical novels, the research and craft behind them, and the readers and writers who keep stories in conversation with the past. Discover more books, workshops, events, and community at https://www.historythroughfiction.com.
