The Secret History of Magic
The True Story of the Deceptive Art
Penguin Publishing Group · Print & ebook · July 17, 2018
Pull back the curtain on the real history of magic – and discover why magic really matters If you read a standard history of magic, you learn that it begins in ancient Egypt, with the resurrection of a goose in front of the Pharaoh.
We earn from qualifying purchases.
- Who it’s for
- A lively history of magic follows the secrets, deceptions, and people behind the impossible.
- Themes
- History of magic, Deception and exposure, Wonder in a technological age
- Genres
- Social History, Magick & Ritual, Performing Arts
Nearest books
Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved.
Secret History of the World, theMark Booth, Jonathan Black64% match
The Forger's SpellEdward Dolnick61% match
The Memory PalaceNate DiMeo60% match
The Night CircusErin Morgenstern56% match
The Magicians Trilogy Boxed SetLev Grossman56% match
For younger readers: Houdini's Library, Escape!, School of Magic
Start with three books, and this one can be the first.
Members get a new edition every morning: a route out from their books to essays, research and talks, with the reason for each.
Start with this bookAbout this book
Pull back the curtain on the real history of magic – and discover why magic really matters If you read a standard history of magic, you learn that it begins in ancient Egypt, with the resurrection of a goose in front of the Pharaoh. You discover how magicians were tortured and killed during the age of witchcraft. You are told how conjuring tricks were used to quell rebellious colonial natives. The history of magic is full of such stories, which turn out not to be true.
Continue reading
Behind the smoke and mirrors, however, lies the real story of magic. It is a history of people from humble roots, who made and lost fortunes, and who deceived kings and queens. In order to survive, they concealed many secrets, yet they revealed some and they stole others. They engaged in deception, exposure, and betrayal, in a quest to make the impossible happen. They managed to survive in a world in which a series of technological wonders appeared, which previous generations would have considered magical. Even today, when we now take the most sophisticated technology for granted, we can still be astonished by tricks that were performed hundreds of years ago. The Secret History of Magic reveals how this was done. It is about why magic matters in a world that no longer seems to have a place for it, but which desperately needs a sense of wonder.
Wonder Behind the Trick
A lively history of magic follows the secrets, deceptions, and people behind the impossible.
Come here for
- The real stories behind familiar—and often untrue—tales of magic
- A look at how conjuring endured alongside technological change
Expect
- Deception, exposure, and betrayal threaded through magic’s history
- A thoughtful case for why wonder still matters
Where it sits
| Social History | 24% |
|---|---|
| Magick & Ritual | 18% |
| Performing Arts | 16% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Lives in Entertainment
- Performing Arts
- Stagecraft
- Authors
- Peter Lamont, Jim Steinmeyer
- Publisher
- Penguin Publishing Group
- Published
- July 17, 2018
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- History of magic · Deception and exposure · Wonder in a technological age
- Reading lane
- Lives in Entertainment