Synopses & Reviews
In a biography woven from equal parts enchantment and mystery, Jim Steinmeyer unveils the secrets behind the most enigmatic performer in the history of stage magic, Chung Ling Soo, the "Marvelous Chinese Conjurer" a magician whose daring made his contemporary Houdini seem like the boy next door. Soo's infamous and suspicious onstage death in 1918 mystified his fellow magicians: he was shot during a performance of "Defying the Bullets," in which he attempted to catch marked bullets on a porcelain plate. When Soo died, his deceptions began to unravel. It was discovered that he was not Chinese but a fifty-eight-year-old American named William Ellsworth Robinson, a former magicians' assistant and the husband of Olive Robinson. But even William Robinson was not who he appeared to be, for he had kept a second family with a mistress in a fashionable home near London.
Here is a look at the rough-and-tumble world of turn-of-the-century entertainments, the West's discovery of Oriental culture, and Soo's strange descent into secrecy as he rose to stardom written by the foremost chronicler of magic's history and culture. Due to the scandals surrounding Robinson's death, this is the first time his full story has ever been told.
Photographs are included.
Review
"In conjuring up, if one may so phrase it, the early vaudeville era, [Steinmeyer] displays an expert's grasp of the mechanics behind the magic tricks of the day and a keen appreciation of the technologies that allowed stage artists to play new variations on classic illusions." William Grimes, The New York Times
Review
"One of Steinmeyer's own neat tricks is explaining Robinson's illusions in a way that doesn't deflate the reader's pleasure....In [his] capable hands, Robinson becomes a walking, talking illusion and a reminder: never trust appearances when in the presence of a magician." Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Steinmeyer has designed illusions for all of today's leading magicians (including Ricky Jay, for his Broadway show On the Stem, Doug Henning, David Cooperfield, and Siegfried and Roy), Las Vegas reviews and television specials. He is the writer and producer of A&E's four-hour history of magic, The Story of Magic, and author of many books and articles on the history of magic and theatrical effects.