Magic Books
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On this page are books
about magic and magicians.
Click on the link to
look at books
to teach you magic. |
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Fiction - Books
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I
have read and enjoyed all these books. I hope
you will like them too. Just be aware, though,
if you are a lay person and don’t want to
know how magic is done, that some of these books
do give away some quite big secrets. If you like
the sound of one of these books but are worried
about finding out too much information, please
feel free to e-mail
me and I’ll let you know if that particular
book is safe!
I’ve just
read… |
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The Illusionist
by Stephen Frances
Yet another novel
called The Illusionist, this time a slight but
enjoyable tale about a magician who puts his talents
to practical use to solve the mystery of who is
trying to murder an archeology professor.
This book was also
lent to me by Marc
Oberon and I'm grateful because I would never
have stumbled across either of the Illusionists
without him - they're both hard to find. (The
other is the one by Anita Mason, see below.)
Click here
to buy this now through fantasticfiction.co.uk.
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Carter Beats the
Devil
by Glen David Gold A
fictionalised biography of the early twentieth-century
American magician Charles Carter. Very popular,
great fun.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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The Magician's Assistant
by Ann Patchett After
the death of a magician, the assistant who loved
him finds out who he really was. A quiet, beautiful,
involving book.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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The Spirit Cabinet
by Paul Quarrington Both
funny and sad, this book depicts the lives of
a disparate set of bizarre magicians in Las Vegas.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon. |
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The Master and Margarita
by Mikhail Bulgakov The
devil comes to Moscow and puts on a magic show.
A funny, thought-provoking, fantastic book. Don’t
be put off because it’s Russian literature:
it’s extremely entertaining! This is one
of my favourite books ever.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon. |
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The Vanished Man
by Jeffery Deaver A
detective story, set in New York, about a conjuror-turned-criminal.
The usual sort of thing, in a way, but I was carried
along and had to know what happened.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon. |
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Affinity
by Sarah Waters Towards
the end of the nineteenth century, a lonely woman
becomes a prison visitor at Millbank in London.
Although Sarah Waters has a bit of a reputation,
this book is subtle, discreet and gripping. You’ll
have to read it to find the magic but it underpins
the whole story. Rather dark but definitely recommended.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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The Houdini Girl
by Martyn Bedford A
magician falls in love with an Irish girl, who
moves in with him for a year but then mysteriously
disappears. He follows the trail from Oxford to
Amsterdam and finally uncovers the sad truth of
what happened to her. Compelling, if somewhat
disturbing.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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The Magician's Wife
by Brian Moore Henri
Lambert is a famous magician, called upon to make
a key contribution to the French colonisation
of Algeria. Vivid descriptions of life in 1850s
France and Algeria, as well as of a hair-raising
magic show.
Based on the true
story of Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (see
Paris
Magic).
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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The Illusionist
by Anita Mason This
fascinating book was lent to me by Marc
Oberon. It's based on the true - or, anyway,
documented - story of Simon Magus, a magician
living a decade or so after the death and resurrection
of Jesus. Magic, theology, sex and violence all
collide in this unusual novel.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon. |
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The Illusionist
by Jennifer Johnston Magic
is peripheral to the story but illusion underpins
it. Stella marries a conjuror (no, illusionist)
and wonders how much of what she sees she can
believe. Not sure if men would enjoy this book
but I found it excellent.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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The Magician's Tale
by David Hunt The
magician is pivotal to the story, though he remains
mostly in the background. I’m surprised
this book isn’t a lot more popular because
it completely involved me. It’s a mystery
story, told (absolutely convincingly, in my opinion)
from the point of view of a woman. Original, evocative,
really juicy.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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The Prestige
by Christopher Priest Two
Victorian illusionists develop a bitter feud.
This is actually a science-fiction book but the
line between sci-fi and magic is often blurred.
Quite nasty in places but definitely entertaining.
Made into a film
(see magic films),
which is slightly different and, in my opinion,
better.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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Tales of the Impossible
by David Copperfield (Author and Editor)
A collection of
short stories about magic, from master magician
David Copperfield and other writers. Rather hit-and-miss
but includes some good ones.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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The War Magician
by David Fisher
This book was recommended
to me by Joshua Jay,
while I was driving him to Birmingham for a lecture
and we were discussing books and films about magic
and magicians. It's about the part played by the
great magician Jasper Maskelyne during the Second
World War and contains some interesting ideas.
I have to say, I don't think it's very well written
and the fact that the author is American is painfully
obvious in the dialogue. However, there are some
good bits of story and I'd love to believe it's
all true.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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The Bullet Trick
by Louise Welsh Set
in Glasgow, London and Berlin, this is a story
about a Scottish magician who is struggling to
make a living and gets mixed up in a murder mystery.
Not the greatest book out there but it has some
memorable scenes and is certainly worth reading.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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52 Ways to Magic America
by James Flint An
interesting book for new magicians, as we follow
Marty Quick on his quest for fame and fortune
as a British illusionist. The characters are well
drawn, though none of them (to me) likeable. Somewhat
stifling as a story but fun for the shows, competitions
and the magician’s journey.
Click here
to buy this now from Amazon.
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