Amy Axelrod's Blog
December 30, 2015
October 7, 2015
May 21, 2015
The Bullet Catch on Cynsations
Many thanks to @CynLeitichSmith for featuring us on her blog!
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Guest Post: Amy & David Axelrod on The History of Magic & The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure
See facebook page, excerpt & educator guide.
By Amy Axelrod & David Axelrod
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
When we began, we knew that we wanted to write a novel about a down-and-out magician during World War I.
We knew the setting would be New York City and that this washed-up magician, who we named Barzini, would be involved with a roster of famous illusionists of the time. And finally we knew we would have a young protagonist, named Leo, whose life would serendipitously change from being a petty criminal to a stage magician.
Both of us had interest in the history of stage magic and its legendary personalities. The early 1900s was an exciting and innovative period in the history of magic. But it was also a time of intense competition, jealousies and theft.
When trying to come up with a plot for the book, we kept circling around one magician in particular: Chung Ling Soo.
He was an American named William Ellsworth Robinson who masqueraded as a Chinese conjurer and became a world-wide sensation. His signature illusion was the bullet catch, which would ultimately kill him during a performance. Chung Ling Soo became Barzini’s nemesis, and Leo became entangled in their rivalry.
Writing an historical novel is like being on a treasure hunt. One clue leads to another and another.
We read and cross-referenced many Internet sources, biographies on Houdini and books on illusion written by magicians of the golden era.
Chung Ling Soo (Ransom Center, U.T., Austin)
One particular gem was a book written by Harry Houdini in 1906. The Right Way to Do Wrong: An Exposé of Successful Criminals, was intended to be a handbook educating the public on the ways of criminals. Instead, it read as a primer on how to commit crime, and was taken out of print. This book proved helpful when creating Leo, a pickpocket, and his gang of thieves.
We also researched the magicians’ collection and Houdini’s private scrapbooks at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin.
Other books used in researching The Bullet Catch (Holiday House, 2015):
Jay, Ricky. Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women. New York: Warner Books, 1986.
Jay’s Journal of Anomalies. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2001.
Celebrations of Curious Characters. San Francisco: McSweeney’s Books 2011.
Steinmeyer, Jim. The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, aka Chung Ling Soo, the Marvelous Chinese Conjurer. Boston: de Capo Press, 2006.
Cynsational Notes
Follow Amy @amy_axelrod & David @chunglingwho at Twitter
Amy Axelrod has written many picture books, including The Pigs Will Be Pigs Math Series (Simon & Schuster), and the middle-grade novel Your Friend in Fashion, Abby Shapiro (Holiday House).
David Axelrod works in publishing and has written numerous YA novels under pseudonyms.
Read more about their research and collaboration at Amy's blog at Goodreads.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Guest Post: Amy & David Axelrod on The History of Magic & The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure
See facebook page, excerpt & educator guide.
By Amy Axelrod & David Axelrod
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
When we began, we knew that we wanted to write a novel about a down-and-out magician during World War I.
We knew the setting would be New York City and that this washed-up magician, who we named Barzini, would be involved with a roster of famous illusionists of the time. And finally we knew we would have a young protagonist, named Leo, whose life would serendipitously change from being a petty criminal to a stage magician.
Both of us had interest in the history of stage magic and its legendary personalities. The early 1900s was an exciting and innovative period in the history of magic. But it was also a time of intense competition, jealousies and theft.
When trying to come up with a plot for the book, we kept circling around one magician in particular: Chung Ling Soo.
He was an American named William Ellsworth Robinson who masqueraded as a Chinese conjurer and became a world-wide sensation. His signature illusion was the bullet catch, which would ultimately kill him during a performance. Chung Ling Soo became Barzini’s nemesis, and Leo became entangled in their rivalry.
Writing an historical novel is like being on a treasure hunt. One clue leads to another and another.
We read and cross-referenced many Internet sources, biographies on Houdini and books on illusion written by magicians of the golden era.
Chung Ling Soo (Ransom Center, U.T., Austin)
One particular gem was a book written by Harry Houdini in 1906. The Right Way to Do Wrong: An Exposé of Successful Criminals, was intended to be a handbook educating the public on the ways of criminals. Instead, it read as a primer on how to commit crime, and was taken out of print. This book proved helpful when creating Leo, a pickpocket, and his gang of thieves.
We also researched the magicians’ collection and Houdini’s private scrapbooks at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin.
Other books used in researching The Bullet Catch (Holiday House, 2015):
Jay, Ricky. Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women. New York: Warner Books, 1986.
Jay’s Journal of Anomalies. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2001.
Celebrations of Curious Characters. San Francisco: McSweeney’s Books 2011.
Steinmeyer, Jim. The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, aka Chung Ling Soo, the Marvelous Chinese Conjurer. Boston: de Capo Press, 2006.
Cynsational Notes
Follow Amy @amy_axelrod & David @chunglingwho at Twitter
Amy Axelrod has written many picture books, including The Pigs Will Be Pigs Math Series (Simon & Schuster), and the middle-grade novel Your Friend in Fashion, Abby Shapiro (Holiday House).
David Axelrod works in publishing and has written numerous YA novels under pseudonyms.
Read more about their research and collaboration at Amy's blog at Goodreads.
May 19, 2015
PW REVIEW
The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure
Amy Axelrod, Author, David Axelrod, Author
DETAILS
In a historical mystery set in New York City in 1917, this mother-son writing team explores the question of what is and isn't real. After Leo, a 13-year-old petty thief, picks the pocket of washed-up illusionist Franco Barzini, the man sees potential in Leo's sleight of hand. Barzini takes him on as his assistant, and the two set out to perfect the bullet catch, a daring act that involves a faux fatal shooting. But both performers' pasts catch up with them: Leo's former street gang seeks revenge for the money he stole to start a new life, and Barzini's nemesis upstages him with a variation on the bullet catch (and mysteriously dies performing it). Historical characters give the story additional spark: Harry Houdini leaks the secret of Barzini's trick to his rival, and Arthur Conan Doyle hosts a séance in which Barzini and Leo humorously flaunt their powers of persuasion. Beyond the entertaining smoke and mirrors, the novel offers substantive food for thought regarding loyalty, trust, forgiveness, and redemption. Ages 10–14. (May)
MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Amy Axelrod, Author, David Axelrod, Author
DETAILS
In a historical mystery set in New York City in 1917, this mother-son writing team explores the question of what is and isn't real. After Leo, a 13-year-old petty thief, picks the pocket of washed-up illusionist Franco Barzini, the man sees potential in Leo's sleight of hand. Barzini takes him on as his assistant, and the two set out to perfect the bullet catch, a daring act that involves a faux fatal shooting. But both performers' pasts catch up with them: Leo's former street gang seeks revenge for the money he stole to start a new life, and Barzini's nemesis upstages him with a variation on the bullet catch (and mysteriously dies performing it). Historical characters give the story additional spark: Harry Houdini leaks the secret of Barzini's trick to his rival, and Arthur Conan Doyle hosts a séance in which Barzini and Leo humorously flaunt their powers of persuasion. Beyond the entertaining smoke and mirrors, the novel offers substantive food for thought regarding loyalty, trust, forgiveness, and redemption. Ages 10–14. (May)
MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
May 11, 2015
The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure
A Junior Library Guild Selection
"The mother-and-son coauthors have written
a cleverly plotted historical mystery that takes the reader inside the world of professional magic." BOOKLIST
"The Axelrods take readers to World War I-era New York City for a tale of magic, mystery and crime.The mother-and-son writing team brings the setting to life, including such luminaries of the time as Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as minor characters for verisimilitude. The inside knowledge of magic adds an exotic touch. An absorbing mystery enhanced by its intriguing backdrop. KIRKUS REVIEWS
"The mother-and-son coauthors have written
a cleverly plotted historical mystery that takes the reader inside the world of professional magic." BOOKLIST
"The Axelrods take readers to World War I-era New York City for a tale of magic, mystery and crime.The mother-and-son writing team brings the setting to life, including such luminaries of the time as Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as minor characters for verisimilitude. The inside knowledge of magic adds an exotic touch. An absorbing mystery enhanced by its intriguing backdrop. KIRKUS REVIEWS
April 29, 2015
JLG's Booktalks to Go by Deborah B. Ford
A Spoonful of Sugar: History Lessons from Riveting Novels │ JLG’s Booktalks to Go
By Deborah B. Ford on April 28, 2015 Leave a Comment
History doesn’t have to be boring. Today’s historical fiction is an expert blend of fact and storytelling. Without even realizing it, our readers learn a bit about their past, which often drives them to other resources to learn more. What do you know of Chung Ling Soo, who invented the magic trick of catching a bullet with his teeth? Have you ever heard of the U.S. maritime disaster that took more lives than the Titanic? How about Operation Pied Piper (no, no rats are involved). The following selections by the editors at Junior Library Guild will enlighten readers while whetting their appetites for bygone events.
bullet catchAXELROD, Amy and David Axelrod. The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure. 320p. Holiday. 2015. ISBN 9780823428588. JLG Category: MM: Mystery Middle (Grades 5-8). LiveBinder Resources.
1918: Leo finds himself an escaped thief on the streets, when his life unexpectedly takes a turn for the respectable. He becomes a magician’s assistant, learning magic from the inside. Barzini, his mentor, realizes Leo has a gift that will be useful for the magician’s daring comeback trick—the bullet catch. The trouble is that the apprentice will have to shoot the gun.
Loaded with facts about Chung Ling Soo, the magician who invented the infamous trick, readers are also treated to Harry Houdini as an additional character. An excerpt and an educator’s guide are included in the publisher’s materials. Follow Amy and David on Twitter.
By Deborah B. Ford on April 28, 2015 Leave a Comment
History doesn’t have to be boring. Today’s historical fiction is an expert blend of fact and storytelling. Without even realizing it, our readers learn a bit about their past, which often drives them to other resources to learn more. What do you know of Chung Ling Soo, who invented the magic trick of catching a bullet with his teeth? Have you ever heard of the U.S. maritime disaster that took more lives than the Titanic? How about Operation Pied Piper (no, no rats are involved). The following selections by the editors at Junior Library Guild will enlighten readers while whetting their appetites for bygone events.
bullet catchAXELROD, Amy and David Axelrod. The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure. 320p. Holiday. 2015. ISBN 9780823428588. JLG Category: MM: Mystery Middle (Grades 5-8). LiveBinder Resources.
1918: Leo finds himself an escaped thief on the streets, when his life unexpectedly takes a turn for the respectable. He becomes a magician’s assistant, learning magic from the inside. Barzini, his mentor, realizes Leo has a gift that will be useful for the magician’s daring comeback trick—the bullet catch. The trouble is that the apprentice will have to shoot the gun.
Loaded with facts about Chung Ling Soo, the magician who invented the infamous trick, readers are also treated to Harry Houdini as an additional character. An excerpt and an educator’s guide are included in the publisher’s materials. Follow Amy and David on Twitter.
March 2, 2015
The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure
Blog Posting #3.....David writes about his love of magic
I have always had terrible eyesight. My baby pictures invariably show a chubby face with curly red hair (now gone) and Coke-bottle glasses (still have) staring off ponderously toward something no doubt very blurry. Perhaps as a side-effect of my poor vision, I am slow to react to things. (My wife takes advantage of this with delight and no mercy. She is constantly sneaking up on me but claims she was there the whole time. I know the truth.) And, I think, maybe as a side-effect of that side-effect, I became an early admirer of magic. Most people are always one step behind the magician. I was a 100-meter dash in the dust. But that changed when I was about ten.
That was when Penn & Teller came to our regional theater. My parents got tickets for the family. Aside from being just about the most exciting thing to come through Kingston, NY since the British burned it down in the Revolutionary War, the show was phenomenal. It was funny and exciting and I loved every second of it. And best of all, the grand finale was a slow-eyed kid’s dream. They broke one of the biggest rules in magic. They showed the audience how their trick was done. Granted, it was one of the oldest ones in the book – some variation of the zigzag lady. In Act 1, Teller’s live body parts waved and smiled from black boxes located at opposite sides of the stage as Penn calmly ranged back and forth. Act 2 was the nearly same trick, now performed with frantic music and Penn’s excited narration. Except this time, Teller’s body could be seen scrambling through Lucite passageways. A-ha! Now I was up to speed. Best of all, at the end of the show they waited in the lobby and signed my Playbill by smacking it with their bloody hands.
I was hooked then. I remember having similar experiences at other live shows and televised specials. This was the early 90s – you could hardly turn on the TV without seeing David Copperfield make something enormous disappear, or Siegfried & Roy parading their animals. I checked out all the books about Houdini I could find from the library. I taped his TV biography and watched it on loop. I devised my own daring escapes from laundry baskets – an improvement, I thought, on his Metamorphosis Box – and wrapped long-sleeved t-shirts around myself and pretended to escape from a straightjacket. Sadly, my magic skills remained mostly imagined.
As I grew up my interest in magic waned, but never completely went away. I had such a thrill revisiting those key moments of my childhood while writing “The Bullet Catch”. Re-learning all the facts about old magicians and their illusions was like finding a favorite old toy. At first you remember it as an object. (Oh yeah! That thing…) Then you hit some button – incredible that the batteries still work – and it buzzes to life. There are a few illusions described in “The Bullet Catch”, and I had a lot of fun drawing out the schematics and clumsily practicing my legerdemain. Before I knew it, I was remembering whole afternoons that I didn’t know were lost playing with magic, which had suddenly become important to me again.
And that’s how I feel about magic now. One of the best nights of my life came in October 2013. We had finished the first draft of the book earlier that day. To celebrate, me and my wife walked over to the west side piers in Manhattan. David Blaine was in the middle of his “Electrified” performance. While I wouldn’t call the feat magic exactly, I couldn’t help but feel a little like our character in “The Bullet Catch”, Leo, as he watched Houdini dangle upside down in Times Square ninety-six years earlier.
I have always had terrible eyesight. My baby pictures invariably show a chubby face with curly red hair (now gone) and Coke-bottle glasses (still have) staring off ponderously toward something no doubt very blurry. Perhaps as a side-effect of my poor vision, I am slow to react to things. (My wife takes advantage of this with delight and no mercy. She is constantly sneaking up on me but claims she was there the whole time. I know the truth.) And, I think, maybe as a side-effect of that side-effect, I became an early admirer of magic. Most people are always one step behind the magician. I was a 100-meter dash in the dust. But that changed when I was about ten.
That was when Penn & Teller came to our regional theater. My parents got tickets for the family. Aside from being just about the most exciting thing to come through Kingston, NY since the British burned it down in the Revolutionary War, the show was phenomenal. It was funny and exciting and I loved every second of it. And best of all, the grand finale was a slow-eyed kid’s dream. They broke one of the biggest rules in magic. They showed the audience how their trick was done. Granted, it was one of the oldest ones in the book – some variation of the zigzag lady. In Act 1, Teller’s live body parts waved and smiled from black boxes located at opposite sides of the stage as Penn calmly ranged back and forth. Act 2 was the nearly same trick, now performed with frantic music and Penn’s excited narration. Except this time, Teller’s body could be seen scrambling through Lucite passageways. A-ha! Now I was up to speed. Best of all, at the end of the show they waited in the lobby and signed my Playbill by smacking it with their bloody hands.
I was hooked then. I remember having similar experiences at other live shows and televised specials. This was the early 90s – you could hardly turn on the TV without seeing David Copperfield make something enormous disappear, or Siegfried & Roy parading their animals. I checked out all the books about Houdini I could find from the library. I taped his TV biography and watched it on loop. I devised my own daring escapes from laundry baskets – an improvement, I thought, on his Metamorphosis Box – and wrapped long-sleeved t-shirts around myself and pretended to escape from a straightjacket. Sadly, my magic skills remained mostly imagined.
As I grew up my interest in magic waned, but never completely went away. I had such a thrill revisiting those key moments of my childhood while writing “The Bullet Catch”. Re-learning all the facts about old magicians and their illusions was like finding a favorite old toy. At first you remember it as an object. (Oh yeah! That thing…) Then you hit some button – incredible that the batteries still work – and it buzzes to life. There are a few illusions described in “The Bullet Catch”, and I had a lot of fun drawing out the schematics and clumsily practicing my legerdemain. Before I knew it, I was remembering whole afternoons that I didn’t know were lost playing with magic, which had suddenly become important to me again.
And that’s how I feel about magic now. One of the best nights of my life came in October 2013. We had finished the first draft of the book earlier that day. To celebrate, me and my wife walked over to the west side piers in Manhattan. David Blaine was in the middle of his “Electrified” performance. While I wouldn’t call the feat magic exactly, I couldn’t help but feel a little like our character in “The Bullet Catch”, Leo, as he watched Houdini dangle upside down in Times Square ninety-six years earlier.
February 13, 2015
February 9, 2015
January 20, 2015
The Bullet Catch:Murder by Misadventure
Blog Posting #2....... On Research (Amy Axelrod)
I'll begin this entry with a confession. I am an obsessive researcher.
When I was an undergraduate, I took a course on Dostoevsky. One assignment was to write a term paper connecting the events of the author's life with his work. I was off and running, uncovering every possible reference in existence from a card catalogue. My paper was practically the size of the Boston phone directory, upon which the professor wrote, "I look forward to your next opus." I patted myself on the back. "Details, that's what earned me that A+," I thought.
It was the same story in graduate school. While researching my Master's thesis in the stacks of Butler Library on the Columbia campus, I was like a fearless explorer making my way through unchartered territory. No twist or turn would be avoided, no stone left uncovered until I was satisfied that I had exhausted every possible source or reference in existence. Not until then would I sit at my manual Smith Corona typewriter and pound away at the keys. This was my same approach while co-authoring the "The Bullet Catch."
The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure is an historical novel. The action takes place in 1917 NYC. The four main characters who inhabit our story are Leo, an orphan and a thief; Signor Franco Barzini, a washed-up magician who takes Leo on as an apprentice; Harry Houdini, The King of Handcuffs; The Mysterious Chung Ling Soo, a magician more skilled in the art of legerdemain than Houdini or any other famous performer of the time.
I began with Leo. So many questions. What were the conditions like at orphanages during this time? How long did boys stay in an orphanage before they were apprenticed to a trade or kicked out to the street? How did people dress in 1917? It wasn't enough to know that boys wore caps, I had to know what style of cap and from what material was it made. When we sketched out a scene where Leo encounters a newsie hawking a paper, I had to know everything about the kids who slept on the sidewalks awaiting the pre-dawn deliveries of the morning newspaper editions. I needed to see photographs from the archives of the New York Public Library. I imagined these kids shouting out the headlines of rival newspapers from opposing street corners. What was worse was that I needed to get a feel for the vernacular of the times, and would use it in my emails to David as well as in our phone conversations. Surely you can imagine my son's reaction!
Hundreds of internet pages were bookmarked and printed. Train routes, subway lines, restaurant menus, world newspaper articles matching our timeline, archival photographs of the neighborhoods our characters inhabited. My persistence in uncovering layer upon layer paid out when it came to understanding the magicians of this era, in particular, Harry Houdini and Chung Ling Soo. I came across an internet reference for The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin. The Ransom Center is an archive specializing in collections. Two of their holdings were Harry Houdini's scrapbooks and another on the magicians of the era. I hit the jackpot. David's older brother was a graduate student at UT, Austin and my husband and I traveled back and forth to Austin frequently. The Ransom Center would be mine!
I had to register at the security desk, create an account, place my purse and jacket in a locker, remove my laptop and camera bag from their cases for inspection and then watch a video on how to properly handle documents. I signed a release and got to work. I began with the Houdini collection, and although I'd read several biographies on Houdini, and knew that he could be quite nasty, I didn't get the full colorization of his personality until I read his correspondence.
Harry Houdini was a long-time friend of William Ellsworth Robinson, AKA The Mysterious Chung Ling Soo. Robinson began his career in magic as a master designer and engineer of magic apparatus. He worked for the Great Hermann, a magician whose signature illusion was The Bullet Catch, which would also become Soo/Robinson's signature illusion. In spite of his brilliance, William Robinson had a terrible stage presence and was often booed off stage when he began his banter. The reason being that he mumbled, feeling ashamed of his discolored and mottled teeth. But when he left NYC for England, he re-invented himself as a Chinese conjurer who spoke no English. Problem solved. Costumed and disguised with a wig and greasepaint, a super-star was born.
I found many letters between the two men at The Ransom Center. They addressed each other cordially and typically gossiped about other magicians. But an example of Houdini's enormous ego, quick temper and maybe a bit of paranoia thrown in, can be seen in a registered letter (probably a telegram) dated June 15, 1914. Houdini heard rumors swirling around the world of magic that Robinson was going to include a trick in his act for which Houdini claimed sole ownership.
"I certainly trust that through professional etiquette, let alone your promise to me, that this trick will not appear in your repertoire. I am writing this to you so that there'll be no controversy afterwards that I have not spoken and written to you about this affair."
Robinson answers Houdini in a letter dated June 17, 1914, writing that the accusations took him by surprise. Robinson counters by reminding Houdini of a conversation in which he told his friend he would be doing the trick, to which Houdini had no objections.
"But if you think you are going to bully me or intimidate me into not continuing to do it, then you have made a big mistake. I am not jealous of you neither do I fear you."
This exchange between the two magicians resonated with me. The themes of friendship, stealing secrets, jealousy and revenge became cornerstones of our novel.
I will sign off with one more discovery about Harry Houdini. He and his wife, Wilhelmina, share the same wedding anniversary date, June 22nd, as me and my husband, Michael. This is the text of what Houdini wrote to his wife on June 22, 1916:
To Wilhelmina,
Your love bestowed upon me is duly appreciated, though at times I may be apparently thoughtless, my mind is compelled to carry so many things, but my heart only one is you.
Your husband,
Harry Houdini
This was typed on his personal stationery with his likeness in the upper left corner. My take on this declaration of undying love? I think Harry was in a hurry and neglected to proofread. Perhaps he was dashing off to meet one of his purported lovers.
I'll begin this entry with a confession. I am an obsessive researcher.
When I was an undergraduate, I took a course on Dostoevsky. One assignment was to write a term paper connecting the events of the author's life with his work. I was off and running, uncovering every possible reference in existence from a card catalogue. My paper was practically the size of the Boston phone directory, upon which the professor wrote, "I look forward to your next opus." I patted myself on the back. "Details, that's what earned me that A+," I thought.
It was the same story in graduate school. While researching my Master's thesis in the stacks of Butler Library on the Columbia campus, I was like a fearless explorer making my way through unchartered territory. No twist or turn would be avoided, no stone left uncovered until I was satisfied that I had exhausted every possible source or reference in existence. Not until then would I sit at my manual Smith Corona typewriter and pound away at the keys. This was my same approach while co-authoring the "The Bullet Catch."
The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure is an historical novel. The action takes place in 1917 NYC. The four main characters who inhabit our story are Leo, an orphan and a thief; Signor Franco Barzini, a washed-up magician who takes Leo on as an apprentice; Harry Houdini, The King of Handcuffs; The Mysterious Chung Ling Soo, a magician more skilled in the art of legerdemain than Houdini or any other famous performer of the time.
I began with Leo. So many questions. What were the conditions like at orphanages during this time? How long did boys stay in an orphanage before they were apprenticed to a trade or kicked out to the street? How did people dress in 1917? It wasn't enough to know that boys wore caps, I had to know what style of cap and from what material was it made. When we sketched out a scene where Leo encounters a newsie hawking a paper, I had to know everything about the kids who slept on the sidewalks awaiting the pre-dawn deliveries of the morning newspaper editions. I needed to see photographs from the archives of the New York Public Library. I imagined these kids shouting out the headlines of rival newspapers from opposing street corners. What was worse was that I needed to get a feel for the vernacular of the times, and would use it in my emails to David as well as in our phone conversations. Surely you can imagine my son's reaction!
Hundreds of internet pages were bookmarked and printed. Train routes, subway lines, restaurant menus, world newspaper articles matching our timeline, archival photographs of the neighborhoods our characters inhabited. My persistence in uncovering layer upon layer paid out when it came to understanding the magicians of this era, in particular, Harry Houdini and Chung Ling Soo. I came across an internet reference for The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin. The Ransom Center is an archive specializing in collections. Two of their holdings were Harry Houdini's scrapbooks and another on the magicians of the era. I hit the jackpot. David's older brother was a graduate student at UT, Austin and my husband and I traveled back and forth to Austin frequently. The Ransom Center would be mine!
I had to register at the security desk, create an account, place my purse and jacket in a locker, remove my laptop and camera bag from their cases for inspection and then watch a video on how to properly handle documents. I signed a release and got to work. I began with the Houdini collection, and although I'd read several biographies on Houdini, and knew that he could be quite nasty, I didn't get the full colorization of his personality until I read his correspondence.
Harry Houdini was a long-time friend of William Ellsworth Robinson, AKA The Mysterious Chung Ling Soo. Robinson began his career in magic as a master designer and engineer of magic apparatus. He worked for the Great Hermann, a magician whose signature illusion was The Bullet Catch, which would also become Soo/Robinson's signature illusion. In spite of his brilliance, William Robinson had a terrible stage presence and was often booed off stage when he began his banter. The reason being that he mumbled, feeling ashamed of his discolored and mottled teeth. But when he left NYC for England, he re-invented himself as a Chinese conjurer who spoke no English. Problem solved. Costumed and disguised with a wig and greasepaint, a super-star was born.
I found many letters between the two men at The Ransom Center. They addressed each other cordially and typically gossiped about other magicians. But an example of Houdini's enormous ego, quick temper and maybe a bit of paranoia thrown in, can be seen in a registered letter (probably a telegram) dated June 15, 1914. Houdini heard rumors swirling around the world of magic that Robinson was going to include a trick in his act for which Houdini claimed sole ownership.
"I certainly trust that through professional etiquette, let alone your promise to me, that this trick will not appear in your repertoire. I am writing this to you so that there'll be no controversy afterwards that I have not spoken and written to you about this affair."
Robinson answers Houdini in a letter dated June 17, 1914, writing that the accusations took him by surprise. Robinson counters by reminding Houdini of a conversation in which he told his friend he would be doing the trick, to which Houdini had no objections.
"But if you think you are going to bully me or intimidate me into not continuing to do it, then you have made a big mistake. I am not jealous of you neither do I fear you."
This exchange between the two magicians resonated with me. The themes of friendship, stealing secrets, jealousy and revenge became cornerstones of our novel.
I will sign off with one more discovery about Harry Houdini. He and his wife, Wilhelmina, share the same wedding anniversary date, June 22nd, as me and my husband, Michael. This is the text of what Houdini wrote to his wife on June 22, 1916:
To Wilhelmina,
Your love bestowed upon me is duly appreciated, though at times I may be apparently thoughtless, my mind is compelled to carry so many things, but my heart only one is you.
Your husband,
Harry Houdini
This was typed on his personal stationery with his likeness in the upper left corner. My take on this declaration of undying love? I think Harry was in a hurry and neglected to proofread. Perhaps he was dashing off to meet one of his purported lovers.
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