Turin, September 10 1912
Dear Julius,
The Italian lion tamer is not who I thought he was. I saw a clumsy young man, devastated by insecurity. He seemed more afraid of the lions than most of the audience was. He tried to work through his act but halfway through got so frightened by the beasts that he left the Ring. This is when the director appeared to push the losing lion tamer back onstage. All in all it was an interesting eve. I went to see the Artist afterwards and engaged in lively conversation through a flower card of mine.
Our contact took me on a winding path, and it wasn’t until there was no turning back that I saw the side of his wagon. Everything grows more complex as my initial goal is now both within reach and suddenly condemnable. I took on a job on the circus grounds until I have worked out what I need to do. I will keep you informed.
Your daughter
Julia Korenaar
Giuseppe turns out not to be the lion tamer. Can you work out who takes on this role instead?
Take a look at the Flower Card mentioned in the letter. What could the ‘winding path’ be that Julia talks about?
Julia mentions the importance of having seen the side of the lion tamer’s wagon. What information has she gleaned from the wagon? Take a look at different documents to find what was on the wagon.
The lion tamer is Arthur, as shown on the side of the wagon. On the side of the wagon you can only see the top half of Arthur’s logo; the underside can be seen on the letter “May 11 1913”. Combining the top and bottom half of the logo reveals that Arthur’s last name is Cagliari. He is Giuseppe’s son!
