the guards against her Olga Alexandrovna – a prisoner of the panopticon and the first to instigate contact with one of the guards. She is also the mother of little Ivan and finds Walser after the train wreck The Shaman – the spiritual leader of the village who takes Walser under his wing when he suffers from amnesia The Maestro – The master of a music school in Transbaikalia that has no students. He eventually provides shelter for what is left of the circus after they escape from the convict camp Literary significance and reception Though it was one of the later books of her career, Nights at the Circus was the first to bring Angela Carter widespread acclaim, winning that year's James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. Carter's penultimate novel was met with mixed reviews, some uncomfortable with the underlying politically driven content, while others praised it for its playfulness and originality. Many critics viewed Fevvers as a winged version of the New Woman, able to escape the trappings of a patriarchal nineteenth century and move on into the twentieth century of feminist liberation. However, some feminists were disappointed with the novel, criticizing it for upholding a post-feminist stance. Since Angela Carter's death in 1992, both the novel and her reputation have reached even greater levels of popularity. Since then, the novel has made its way onto many academic syllabi and was adapted for the stage by Tom Morris and Emma Rice in 2006. Nights at the Circus inspired British musician Bishi's first album, which has the same title. On November 5, 2019, the BBC News listed Nights at the Circus on its list of the 100 most influential novels. Awards and nominations 1984 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction 2012 Best of the James Tait Black, winner References External links Brian Finney: Tall Tales and Brief Lives: Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus Jeff VanderMeer on Angela Carter's novels Literary Encyclopedia Literary Encyclopedia, Michael Wood review in London Review of Books 4 October 1984 1984 British novels 1984 fantasy novels Novels by Angela Carter Feminist science fiction novels Feminist fiction Circus books Picaresque novels British magic realism novels Postmodern novels Fiction set in 1899 Novels set in London Novels set in Russia Chatto & Windus books