At the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, a man races through the crowd, carrying a hatbox. Inside it is his son—a premature baby whose only hope for survival may be Dr. Leo Hoffman, whose “Infantorium” holds tiny, frail patients in primitive incubators, drawing crowds of gawkers along with the elephants and the fire walkers and the fan dancer in the next tent…Thus begins award-winning author Carrie Brown’s “fascinating, lyrically written tale” (Kirkus Reviews), an epic story about misfits and makeshift families, fragile lives and unpredictable loves—and the busy, dizzying carnival that houses them all.

“The Hatbox Baby succeeds as a revealing historical novel, but above all as poignant, penetrating character study…mesmerizing reading.”—Orlando Sentinel

“The Hatbox Baby has a lot in common with E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, because in both cases, historical details prove captivating. Brown has woven a fine story around the facts she’s chosen…This story appeals openly to our better instincts, without preaching.”—Boston Globe

“Poignant and well-crafted…The Hatbox Baby fairly glitters with descriptive jewels.”—Chicago Tribune

“Quietly plotted, richly imagined and rendered with remarkable grace.”—Atlanta Journal Constitution

“The tale draws one in completely.”—Boston Herald

“[An] uncommon, contemplative novel…eloquent, evocative writing.”—Orlando Sentinel

“Entrancing…beguiling…Brown’s dramatic and multifaceted tale doesn’t simply rest on the intrigue of a moment in American medical history when premature infants were displayed as ‘freaks.’ While she navigates readers through the complex intersections of medicine, social responsibility and free enterprise, her lyrical, touching story succeeds on the strength of her affection for the characters she accords dignity and a yearning for love.”—Publishers Weekly

“Another unexpected little jewel from Brown…This is a moving story about complex, interesting characters who love deeply, and it is wonderful. Most highly recommended.”—Library Journal (starred)

“She vividly recreates the ‘vast, perplexing, hallucinatory landscape’ of the fair…well-researched.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A bittersweet, compassionate story.”—Dallas Morning News

“Brown tells her story with great delicacy, giving an otherworldly, luminous air to a tawdry setting and great dignity to her characters.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A meditation on why we live and who we love and what we hope for…Brown conveys wonderfully the size, scope and noise of the fair…her details are remarkable.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Carrie Brown is a writer of uncommon gifts: lovely, lyrical language and startling originality.”—Lee Smith

“This is a novelist who understands that the forest is in the leaf.”—The Christian Science Monitor

“This book [is] one to read and remember.”—Roanoke Times

“Powerful.”—Winston-Salem Journal

“In her first two novels [Lamb in Love and Rose’s Garden], Carrie Brown proved herself to be a writer of subtlety and poetry. She finds within her characters levels of strength, a purity of spirit, that makes her books warming without being cloying—a difficult balance to strike. But she finds that balance again in The Hatbox Baby…Brown’s novel captures a unique moment in history, a turning point in medicine, [and] the emotions of what that time might have been like.”—Charlotte Observer

“An interesting read.”—Booklist

“To read this book is to be enchanted by a languid, glittering stream of words that conjure the intertwined mystery and tragedy of life. It’s hard to believe that Brown…wasn’t alive at the time of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, for she writes so convincingly of that time and place, as well as of the characters who people it….stunning prose…[a] gem.”—Gadfly

“Brown has meticulously re-created the world of the fair. The heat and the lights and the pressing crowds are palpable.”—Houston Chronicle

“Affecting…even the secondary characters are fully realized, as Brown’s skilled writing brings to life the three principal players in this unique story.”—Book

“A richly imagined story, celebrating love’s transforming power and calling into question the notion of what is ‘normal.’”—Portland Observer

“Beguiling.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Her writing, called lyrical so often it sounds like a cliché, has the misty quality of a dream, with unknown events at the hazy edges, characters who are very real and yet removed by a time-frosted looking glass. Brown uses ordinary words in an extraordinary way. The people are remarkable and their situations often transcendent, but it is the way she tells it that is distinctive. The telling is lyrical—so much so that you can hear the music in the background…With a delicate, masterful hand, Brown has created a thing of beauty and wonder.”—Salisbury (NC) Post

“Suffused with a warm and sympathetic intelligence—yet one that never slops over into sentimentality. Her characters are vivid, believable and engaging, but never maudlin.”—Chicago Tribune

“Fans of Caleb Carr will see in this story by Carrie Brown a similar talent for creating a historic scene that has more than its share of the bizarre.”—Amarillo Sunday News-Globe

“Her rich characterizations and descriptions bring readers back in time while the truly rendered emotions are universal.”—The Dallas Morning Star

“Once you start this book you find yourself absolutely fascinated with the world it presents…I heartily recommend it for some unusual and fascinating reading.”—The Pilot (Southern Pines, NC)

“A luminous, exceptional book.”—Greensboro News & Record

“Brown’s sensuous voice lets the reader feel the heat of a Chicago summer and know the fear of the young father lost in the confusion and crowds of the World’s Fair…A fascinating and meaningful look into the world of alternate family systems and the power of love.”—Boston Herald