''Toby Tyler; or, Ten Weeks with a Circus'' is a

children's novel Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

by "James Otis", the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of James Otis Kaler.

Summary

''Toby Tyler'' tells the story of a ten-year-old orphan who runs away from a

foster home Foster care is a system in which a underage, minor has been placed into a ward (law), ward, group home (Residential Child Care Community, residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, ref ...

to join the

traveling circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobatics, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hooping, hoopers, tightrope walkers, juggling, jugglers, magic (illusi ...

only to discover his new employer is a cruel taskmaster. The difference between the romance of the circus from the outside and the reality as seen from the inside is depicted. Toby's friend, Mr. Stubbs the chimpanzee, reinforces the consequences of what happens when one follows one's natural instincts rather than one's intellect and conscience, a central theme of the novel.

Publication history

''Toby Tyler'' was initially serialized in ''

Harper's Young People ''Harper's Young People'' was an American children's magazine between 1879 and 1899. The first issue appeared in the fall of 1879. It was published by Harper & Brothers. It was Harper's fourth magazine to be established, after ''Harper's Magazi ...

'' in 1877, then published as a book in

1881 Events January * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The Chilean army ...

. It became something of a classic among American boys and girls who dreamed of running away to join the circus and remained popular for generations. It was James Otis Kaler's first book and also his best known and most successful. The original book contains 30 pen and ink drawings by W. A. Rogers (1854-1931). A sequel, ''Mr. Stubb's Brother'', was published in 1883. In 1923 it was made into a silent film by

Eddie Cline Edward Francis Cline (November 4, 1891 – May 22, 1961) was an American screenwriter, actor, writer and director best known for his work with comedians W.C. Fields and Buster Keaton. He was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin and died in Hollywood, Cal ...

entitled '' Circus Days'' as a vehicle for child star

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Coogan's role in Charlie Chaplin's film ''The Kid (1921 film), The Kid'' (1921) made him one o ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

also honored it with a film version, ''

Toby Tyler ''Toby Tyler or 10 Weeks with a Circus'', also known simply as ''Toby Tyler'', is a 1960 American drama film directed by Charles Barton and starring Kevin Corcoran, Henry Calvin, Gene Sheldon, and Richard Eastham. It was produced by Walt Disne ...

'', starring

Kevin Corcoran Kevin Anthony "Moochie" Corcoran (June 10, 1949 – October 6, 2015) was an American child actor. He appeared in numerous Disney projects between 1957 and 1963, leading him to be honored as a Disney Legend in 2006. Early life Born in 194 ...

in 1960.

Analysis

''Toby Tyler'' is a "bad boy" novel, meant to teach a lesson about what happens to boys who do bad things; other examples include George W. Peck's ''

Peck's Bad Boy Henry "Hennery" Peck, popularly known as Peck's Bad Boy, is a fictional character created by George Wilbur Peck (1840–1916). First appearing in the 1883 novel ''Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa'', the Bad Boy has appeared in numerous print, stage, an ...

'' (1883),

Thomas Bailey Aldrich Thomas Bailey Aldrich ( ; November 11, 1836 – March 19, 1907) was an American writer, poet, critic, and editor. He is notable for his long editorship of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', during which he published writers including Charles W. Chesnutt ...

's ''

The Story of a Bad Boy ''The Story of a Bad Boy'' (1870) is a semi-autobiographical novel by American writer Thomas Bailey Aldrich, fictionalizing his experiences as a boy in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The book is considered the first in the "bad boy" genre of literat ...

'' (1870), and

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

's ''

Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbur ...

'' (1876). As with

's ''

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, th ...

'' (1884), also about a conscience-stricken escaped and wandering orphan boy (written following the success of ''Toby Tyler''), most readers don't remember ''Toby Tyler'' for its wholesome message, but as a romantic story of running away to the circus and adventures on the road. The book was influential with some famous "bad boys". A young

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg w ...

thought ''Toby Tyler'' was one of his favorite books (even better than ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'').

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...

credits it as influencing his decision to run off with the circus.

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major Postmodern literature, postmodern author who influen ...

wrote of it in his journals.

References

External links

''Toby Tyler''
available at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

(scanned books original editions illustrated color) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toby Tyler or, Ten Weeks with a Circus Children's books set in circuses American children's novels 1881 American novels Novels first published in serial form Works originally published in Harper's Young People Novels about orphans 1880s children's books