Abstract
Cirque du Freak, The Saga of Darren Shan Book 1, was published in the United Kingdom in January 2000. It was billed as first in a projected series of over 24 separate installments; part five, Trials of Death came out in the UK in October 2001. The series is now published in fifteen countries worldwide; Book One made the U.S. bestseller list in April 2001. This article considers the marketing strategies that underpin the success of the series.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Burbeck, Rodney, “Story of a serial killer splits children's judges,” Publishing News, 15 July 1994, p. 2.
Burnett, Frances Hodgson, The Secret Garden. London and New York: Penguin Twentieth Century Classics, 1999.
Cullingford, Cedric, Children's Literature and Its Effects: The Formative Years. London: Cassell, 1998.
Horn, Caroline, “Guide to vampires: They can't be shut back in the coffin,” The Bookseller, 12 November 1999, at www.Darrenshan.com.
Jones, Nicolette, “Who killed the categories,” The Bookseller, 15 October 1999, p. 24.
Knowles, M., and Malmkjaer, K., Language and Control in Children's Literature McCracken, Ellen, Decoding Women's Magazines. London: Macmillan, 1993.
McCracken, Scott, Pulp: Reading Popular Fiction. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1998.
Page, Benedicte, “Keeping pace with the kids,” The Bookseller, 26 November 1999, p. 34.
Pike, Christopher, The Last Vampire. London: Hodder Books, 1994.
Shan, Darren, Cirque du Freak: The Saga of Darren Shan Book 1. London: Collins, 2000.
Shan, Darren, The Vampire's Assistant. London: Collins, 2000.
Swindells, Robert, Stone Cold. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1994.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rivett, M. Cirque du Freak . Children's Literature in Education 33, 97–106 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015227716438
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015227716438