My stumper is a children's book, British, circa 1990s. An orphaned boy and his butler escape his evil uncles Caligula and Nero and Aunt Agrippina. Includes joining the circus and visiting a mattress factory. Illustrated throughout.
Stump the Bookseller
New format, same book stumper solving.
Sounds a bit like By the Great Horn Spoon, by Sid Fleischman.
It’s close, but no cigar. Thank you for the suggestion.