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Marco Alisdair
Known to many of the other characters in the novel as the mysterious man in the gray suit, Mr. A.H. is a magician, as well as Hector Bowen’s greatest rival. He and Hector have been competing by proxy for decades—if not centuries—to establish which one of them can train the best magician. When Mr. A.H. meets young Celia Bowen, he agrees to a new competition and selects a young boy from an orphanage to be his apprentice. He is an excellent teacher, but he isolates his young student, only letting him out into the world to attend magic shows; when his apprentice turns 19, Mr. A.H. gives him his own apartment in London and sets him free to the world; he has never learned his apprentice’s name, so the young man calls himself Marco Alisdair. Mr. A.H. is also one of the original organizers of Le Cirque des Rêves, where the competition will take place. The other organizers do not know what to make of him, and as the circus members develop a sense of family and community, he makes no significant connections to the people around him, clearly preferring both distance and control. He appears aloof and mysterious, but really Mr. A.H. is isolated from those around him by his magic, and especially by the fact that he is not entirely mortal and has lived for centuries beyond the normal human lifespan. His rivalry with Hector Bowen and the strained relationship he had with his student Marco are the closest things Mr. A.H. has to emotional connections in his life.
Alexander / Mr. A.H. Quotes in The Night Circus
The The Night Circus quotes below are all either spoken by Alexander / Mr. A.H. or refer to Alexander / Mr. A.H.. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1: Primordium Quotes
“You would wager your own child?”
“She won’t lose.”
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“You will be coming to study with me […].”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Do you wish to remain here?”
“No.”
“Very well.”
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“What am I bound to?”
“An obligation you already had, and a person you will not meet for some time.”
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Part 2: Illumination Quotes
“I’m not certain I understand the rules.”
“You don’t need to understand the rules. You need to follow them. As I said, your work has been sufficient.”
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Part 3: Intersections Quotes
“Thirteen years with barely a word and now you wish to speak with me?”
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“She will win. Do not try to avoid the fact that she is a stronger player than yours and has always been.”
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Part 4: Incendiary Quotes
“Our instructors do not understand how it is. To be bound to someone in such a way. They are too old, too out of touch with their emotions. They no longer remember what it is to live and breathe within the world. They think it simple to pit any two people against each other. It is never simple. The other person becomes how you define your life, how you define yourself.”
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Part 5: Divination Quotes
“You think being imprisoned marvelous?”
“It’s a matter of perspective. They have each other. They are confined within a space that is remarkable, one that can, and will, grow and change around them.”
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“You’d be better off letting the whole endeavor fade away into myth and oblivion. All empires fall eventually. It is the way of things. Perhaps it is time to let this one go.”
“I’m afraid I’m unwilling to do that.”
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Alexander / Mr. A.H. Character Timeline in The Night Circus
The timeline below shows where the character Alexander / Mr. A.H. appears in The Night Circus. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1: Primordium
...Hector and Celia meet with a mysterious man in a gray suit, whom Hector calls Alexander, although that is not his real name. First, the man criticizes Hector for passing off...
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...that he knows of a theatrical producer named Chandresh Lefevre who could organize something appropriate. Alexander is uncomfortable with a public setting, but he finally relents, and the men also decide...
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Alexander, whose name is really Mr. A.H., goes to a London orphanage to choose a child...
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The boy lives in isolation with Mr. A.H . and studies from books and lectures, sometimes leaving the house to visit museums and...
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Isobel hides in the study while Marco answers the door. Mr. A.H . does not enter, but stands in the doorway to inform Marco that he will...
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...of everything” and will be indispensable for their keen eye for detail. There is also Mr. A.H ., whose role in the circus is not specified. Once the guests are ready, Chandresh...
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...proposals of marriage. Celia notes sarcastically that she is already married, touching the ring that Mr. A.H . placed on her finger. She receives one card that only states, “Your move.” Confused,...
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Part 2: Illumination
Marco’s only opportunity to see Mr. A.H ., his guardian and teacher, is at the Midnight Dinners at Chandresh’s house, and the...
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...Mr. Barris gave her and goes to the Midland Grand Hotel. When she asks for Mr. A.H . at the reception desk, there is no record of anyone by that name staying...
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Mr. A.H . walks Tara to the station, suggesting that she find something to take her mind...
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Part 3: Intersections
...age, except Widget and Poppet. After the speech there is dancing in the ballroom, and Mr. A.H . stays along the sidelines, except when he meets Herr Thiessen and speaks with him...
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...slip past, not noticing them. Marco touches her cheek and kisses her neck when suddenly, Mr. A.H . interrupts them, asking Celia if he can speak with Marco. Celia slips away without...
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Marco moves their conversation into the game room, where he asks what Mr. A.H . suddenly wants, after thirteen years of silence. His teacher informs him that he doesn’t...
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Marco throws a billiard ball at Mr. A.H ., who steps out of the way as the ball smashes into a stained glass...
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...has never lied, he simply has chosen not to say certain things. Lainie asks if Mr. A.H . knows, and Mr. Barris responds that there is little he doesn’t know about. He...
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...that Hector still pesters her a lot, and Marco notes that he has hardly seen Mr. A.H . in years, but he is still the closest thing to family that Marco has....
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...of Marco’s right hand, and he reveals the scar on his finger from the ring Mr. A.H . placed there when Marco was fourteen, with an inscription he doesn’t remember. Celia tells...
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Marco asks Celia if Mr. A.H . gave the ring and scar to her, and she says yes, when she was...
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...more than an hour before she is approached by the man in the grey suit, Mr. A.H . She speaks to him briefly, he nods, and she curtseys and leaves.
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Isobel thinks about how Marco told Mr. A.H . that everything he has done in the circus was for Celia, and how Isobel...
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...circus this evening, donning a mask and paying full admission, slipping into the crowd unnoticed. Mr. A.H . is also in attendance for the first time ever, and he does not wear...
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Mr. A.H . seems to be enjoying himself at the circus. He visits the fortune-teller, who attempts...
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...his silver knife from his pocket and throws it through the air, aiming straight at Mr. A.H ., who moves at the last second, almost imperceptibly. The knife lodges itself in the...
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Mr. A.H . lowers Thiessen to the ground, whispering in his ear the whole time and then...
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London, 1901: As Mr. A.H . walks out of the crowd and towards the gates of the circus, he is...
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Mr. A.H . notes incredulously that perhaps Hector hasn’t noticed that Marco and Celia are in love,...
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...again, because she will win, because “she is a stronger player” than Marco is. But Mr. A.H . amplifies the sounds coming from near Thiessen, so that Hector can hear Celia sobbing...
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He doesn’t know why Mr. A.H . was at the circus, but Celia tells Marco that she invited him because she...
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...him that she doesn’t care what her father thinks anymore. Marco offers to speak with Mr. A.H ., to see if he can provide a verdict, or maybe consider the death of...
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Part 4: Incendiary
...tells her that she should stop imagining that she will play “whore to that nobody Alexander [Mr. A.H.] plucked out of a London gutter” after the competition is over. Celia ignores...
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...because he doesn’t understand it. Hector calls it messy work, overly complicated like all of Mr. A.H .’s magic. Celia responds that anyone can do it, if they study enough, which contradicts...
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He mentions Chandresh, and Celia realizes that it was Hector who told him that Mr. A.H . would be at the circus the night Thiessen died. He sent Chandresh there. Hector...
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...she should not let her emotions take away her power. She replies that he and Mr. A.H . are both cowards, fighting by proxy because they fear challenging each other directly, afraid...
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...uses ink to inscribe an A on the window of his flat, and waits for Mr. A.H . When he arrives, he stands in the hallway expectantly. Marco tells him that Celia...
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...that they both had the same teacher, which confuses him. She notes her surprise that Mr. A.H . used such an open venue for this competition, that he always preferred seclusion, and...
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Part 5: Divination
Widget is in Paris with Mr. A.H ., who is talking about the nature of stories. He sadly notes that stories have...
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Mr. A.H . tells Widget that, once upon a time, he and his student had a difference...
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Widget explains to Mr. A.H . that Marco and Celia are not dead, and they are inside of the circus....
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Mr. A.H . comments that perhaps he chose too well, that they were too well matched, and...
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Widget asks Mr. A.H . if magic is enough to live for, and he responds that what most people...
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Widget accuses Mr. A.H . of trying to distract him, and he asks if the game is finished. Mr....
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