Charles Blondin

You may wonder who Charles Blondin is. The story we are reading in class right now, Mirette on the High Wire, is a great example of HISTORICAL FICTION. It contains characters, places and events that are based on real people, places or events from the past, but the story itself did not happen. The character Belinni is based on a real person, CHARLES BLONDIN. If you would like to read more about "The Great Blondin" click on this link: http://www.simpenguin.com/genealogy/blondin/charlesblondinbio.html

Key Words for Mirette on the High Wire

Mime: an actor who performs in gestures and action rather than words.
This actor is a mime.


Vagabond: wandering from place to place, person who travels from place to place and has no fixed home or job

Retired: no longer working at one's business or career.

Trance: Hypnotic state or daze

Flail: to Move about wildly, to thrash

Wavering: Swaying, becoming unsteady

Winch: a machine for lifting or pulling, in which a rope is wound around a drum that is turned by a crank.