Detailing the life of Jazz Age magician Robert "The Great" Rouncival, "The Magician's Study is an extended tour of the deceased conjurer's study and the wondrous possessions therein. Through these objects--a dilapidated circus poster, blood-stained notes from a brother in the Great War, a desk stolen from Chekhov's estate in Yalta--the audacious personality of the young magician is revealed. Cantankerous, acerbic, self-centered, and an inebriate womanizer, Robert nevertheless captures the imagination as he blazes a blackly comedic path from Bowery flophouse to stardom upon the great stages of the world. Casually loosing his extraordinary illusions, Rouncival becomes a surly and often unwitting savior to those around him. In turn, stage assistant Sherpa the Silent and jazz baby heiress Margaret Tillinghast attempt to protect Robert from his own worst excesses. These three form the triad that leads first to fame, then later to a disastrous love triangle as Robert falls for the nihilistic allure of black magic. How they reconcile themselves to the burdens of love, illusion, identity, and Fate is as miraculous as any of Rouncival's stage routines. Equal parts comedy, tragedy, and enchantment, "The Magician's Study is a personal odyssey through a distinct period of American myth.

""The Magician's Study" is a sparkling tour de force. Seamon leads us through the odd memorabilia belonging to Robert The Great' Rouncival and along the way gives us his marvelously bizarre and convoluted biography. . . . If anything is more astounding than Rouncival's trickery, it's the endless inventiveness of the author."-Eugene Mirabelli