Sunny Circus

The novel by Gustave Kahn "Sunny Circus" (1899) is a lost gem of French symbolism. Golden-haired Lorelei from Heinrich Heine's poem is tired of sitting on the cliff, against which boats of charmed sailors crash, and sets out to conquer... cities in the guise of a star of a wandering circus. She travels through the cities of Europe accompanied by a retinue of knights in armor, Saracens on Arabian steeds, beautiful Italians, and lively Andalusians, lions, and tigers. And now she is called the sun princess! In a small town, she meets a melancholic Bohemian count, whom the family council wants to deprive of his inheritance in favor of his younger brother, a lively officer of the dragoon regiment. The sun princess awakens Franz from a long sleep; he leaves his native castle and embarks on a journey with the wandering circus.
The novel tightly weaves motifs of medieval legends and symbolism poetry, while the images of the beautiful lady and the decadent femme fatale merge into one in the love song of the troubadour living in solitude. The chaos of the circus performance unfolding on the pages of the book anticipates the literature of the absurd.