Love, Wrath, Death, Lions: A Coney Island Love Story: The Dark and Tumultuous Lives of Frank & Susannah Bostock

• History

From a small caravan menagerie traveling through the UK in 1887, to the founding of Coney Island Dreamland Tower in 1904 and becoming the Lion King of America, this talk will explore the fascinating and shadowy history of the famous circus couple, Frank and Susannah Bostock. Frank and Susannah came to New York City in 1898 to become one of the founding families of Coney Island. Scouring through archives, press clippings, Frank’s autobiography and various contemporary accounts, a picture develops of a dark and twisted romance that spanned the globe with police arrests, mistresses, dark secrets, lion maulings, jewelry theft, and a missing finger.