In 1937, Derrick Hardy went to work on the Desmond farm, hoping only to keep a little bread on the table and a few dollars in his pocket. What he found instead was a family of monstrous tendencies and a penchant for violence. Now, Derrick is on the run from a nation-wide manhunt. He is suspected of kidnapping four of the Desmond children and there is no safe place for him to hide. From a 2008 novella by Grady Richards, split up by chapter.

In a world where jugglers entertain on the street, a boy loses his parents in a factory fire. Taken from the Lower East Side to New England, Harry is abandoned at The Elizabeth Home for Destitute Children. In Theda Bara’s Tent follows the spirited boy’s quest for love and prosperity. He finds comfort at the movies and is befriended by the young theater owner, Louie, who will one day become a Hollywood legend. The orphanage closing is the beginning of Harry’s adventures in a wider world. He encounters screen stars, Tin Pan Alley song pluggers, bootleggers, dare-devil cameramen, movie moguls, and a young gossip columnist who steals his heart. Rich in historical context, with a cast of characters real and imagined from the movies’ early days, this page-turner follows Harry Sirkus as he makes a mark in the flourishing film industry and goes on to become a famous news broadcaster. Harry’s personality is so captivating and vivid readers will be hard-pressed to remember that the author made him up.