Other editions of book Tom Thumb: The Remarkable True Story of a Man in Miniature

When Charles S. Stratton was born in 1838, he seemed perfect in every way. But then he stopped growing. At age four, though a happy and mischievous child, he was just over two feet tall and weighed 15 pounds - the exact size he had been as a seven-month-old baby. It was then that P. T. Barnum persuaded Charley’s family to allow him to exhibit their son in his museum and tour him around the world as a curiosity. Tom Thumb, as Barnum dubbed him, was a natural performer. He became enormously popular and wealthy, more so than any other performer before him, in large part due to the marketing genius of Barnum. In this spirited biography - the first on its subject - George Sullivan recounts the fascinating adventures of the real Tom Thumb, and also raises challenging questions about what constitutes exploitation - both in the 19th century and today.

When Charles S. Stratton was born in 1838, he was a large baby, perfect in every way. But then he stopped growing. At age four, though a happy and mischievous child, he was just over two feet tall and weighed only fifteen pounds—the exact same size he had been as a seven-month-old baby. It was then that the notorious showman P.T. Barnum dubbed him Tom Thumb and put him on display, touring him around the world as a curiosity. A natural performer, Charley became enormously popular and wealthy, more so than any other performer before him. In this spirited biography—the first on its subject—George Sullivan recounts the fascinating adventures of Tom Thumb, and raises challenging questions about what constitutes exploitation—both in the 19th century and today.

When Charles S. Stratton was born in 1838, he seemed perfect in every way. But then he stopped growing. At age four, though a happy and mischievous child, he was just over two feet tall and weighed fifteen pounds-the exact size he had been as a seven-month-old baby. It was then that P. T. Barnum persuaded Charley's family to allow him to exhibit their son in his museum and tour him around the world as a curiosity. Tom Thumb, as Barnum dubbed him, was a natural performer. He became enormously popular and wealthy, more so than any other performer before him, in large part due to the marketing genius of Barnum. In this spirited biography-the first on its subject-George Sullivan recounts the fascinating adventures of the real Tom Thumb, and also raises challenging questions about what constitutes exploitation-both in the nineteenth century and today.

When Charles S. Stratton was born in 1838, he was a large baby, perfect in every way. But then he stopped growing. At age four, though a happy and mischievous child, he was just over two feet tall and weighed only fifteen pounds—the exact same size he had been as a seven-month-old baby. It was then that the notorious showman P.T. Barnum dubbed him Tom Thumb and put him on display, touring him around the world as a curiosity. A natural performer, Charley became enormously popular and wealthy, more so than any other performer before him. In this spirited biography—the first on its subject—George Sullivan recounts the fascinating adventures of Tom Thumb, and raises challenging questions about what constitutes exploitation—both in the 19th century and today.

When Charles S. Stratton was born in 1838, he seemed perfect in every way. But then he stopped growing. At age four, though a happy and mischievous child, he was just over two feet tall and weighed fifteen pounds-the exact size he had been as a seven-month-old baby. It was then that P. T. Barnum persuaded Charley's family to allow him to exhibit their son in his museum and tour him around the world as a curiosity. Tom Thumb, as Barnum dubbed him, was a natural performer. He became enormously popular and wealthy, more so than any other performer before him, in large part due to the marketing genius of Barnum. In this spirited biography-the first on its subject-George Sullivan recounts the fascinating adventures of the real Tom Thumb, and also raises challenging questions about what constitutes exploitation-both in the nineteenth century and today.