The most recommended magic books (illusion)

Like Spirit Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena, this 1897 book exposes the various ways that Spiritualist mediums manifest ghosts. Henry Ridgely Evans was a magician and historian who took on the Spiritualist movement, much like Harry Houdini would in the decades that followed. Filled with wondrous stories, secrets, and illustrations, this book is a must for any fan of Spiritualism and/or magic.

Perry's female first-person narrator feels authentically womanly—albeit a Seneca kick-ass woman versus my ordinary amateur detective. He pulls this off effortlessly.

Perry is also a master of elongated suspense. You have to keep reading. You can’t stop. One surprising thing leads to another, and only Jane’s bag of tricks enables her to protect the woman she is trying to hide from nasty criminals. On the run with her charge for most of the book, the plot builds to a very satisfying conclusion.

William Ellsworth Robinson, who became better known as the magician Chung Ling Soo, devised tricks for Alexander Herrmann and other great magicians in the late 19th century. While he was developing stage magic, Spiritualists were performing what they branded as real magic—actually communicating with the dead in various ways. One of those ways was through a slate. Ask a question and with the slate positioned beneath a table, spirits would scribble a message in chalk. In this book, Robinson explains how these ghostly miracles and others could be achieved purely through the ingenuity of the living. The numerous illustrations make this book as wondrous to look through as is it to read.

This is another important resource from my teenage years.

Henry Hay was the closest thing I had to a mentor. He had very good advice, a sense of humor, an encouraging attitude, patience, and an understanding of how to relate to an audience.

This is where I learned the basic repertoire of magic effects that were the features of my magic shows for many years. Some tricks may seem outdated, but the advice is golden.   

The Witches of Vegas is a bewitching read that is hard to put down. Mainly, the narrative is divided between two high school-aged teens, Isis and Zack. Isis is a young witch kept in relative social isolation for her safety and the safety of others. The magic system in this world stems from emotion, and a young witch unable to control their feelings might magically lash out by accident. Zack is an apprentice magician, practicing card tricks and sleight of hand under his Uncle Herb's tutelage.

The Witches of Vegas is an enjoyable and quick read with a unique premise. I found Rosendorf's insight into how street performers pull off their tricks of particular interest.

This novel's central character is a fictionalization, not of another character, but of an author, Thomas Mann. Tóibín presents the known outer details of Mann’s life well—his work, his fame, and the cultural and social upheavals of 20th-century Germany—but I find the intimate inner life of the great writer most fascinating.

Drawing on Mann’s published works as well as his posthumously published diaries, Tóibín can enter Mann’s mind and heart as he interacts with his wife, his brother, his children, particularly Klaus (nicknamed Essi), his sexuality, and above all, with his forbidden love for the young Tadzio, the love interest of Mann’s novel Death in Venice.   

I found that Tóibín’s work has the quiet gravitas and beautiful prose of Henry James. 

The Magic of Grandfather Time is a beautiful short storybook.

Rose English has a superb talent for making the reader believe they are connected somehow to the story. You instantly fall in love with her characters and their pain is your pain. I love that this story is set on Christmas Eve—I could really feel the heat from the dimming fire, the bitterness of the snow and the sound of the Grandfather clock chiming away. I now want my own Grandfather clock!

A book that packs just enough emotion within, and certainly a story you will want to read again and again.

Multiple ingenious impossible crimes feature into the first Jessica Blackwood thriller by magician Andrew Mayne. A killer calling himself the Warlock claims to be using supernatural powers to perform deadly miracles, and only former stage magician Jessica Blackwood, now an FBI agent, can see through his tricks. Because magicians create misdirection for a living, they’re perfect characters to unravel seemingly impossible crimes. As a bonus, Jessica Blackwood is a terrific character you’ll root for. 

This is a bizarre and obscure one-hit wonder that definitely needs to be rediscovered.

The style is crisp and witty, with nicely barbed dialogue. The puzzle is utterly bizarre – just the way I like them. And while the book itself doesn’t feature magical themes per se, it’s actually written by a magician.

I admire You’ll Die Laughing for its sheer originality; having read many murder mysteries, I can honestly say I’ve never read one that repeats the trick at the heart of this decidedly idiosyncratic novel. 

Barbara Hambly brings us rousing adventures that unexpectedly go into dark places. I love how she sets up the premise of hapless females begging for help, and then shows us they aren't so helpless after all.  

The viewpoint character is a mercenary captain, coerced by poison into training a band of misfit females who are determined to save their families from an evil wizard. Unbeknownst even to him, Sunwolf is developing magic of his own. It's great fun to watch the partnership grow out of an adversarial relationship between the scrappy women and the mercenary who finds himself suddenly vulnerable.