This is a masterpiece of epistolary style writing. ‘ Duelling illusionists’ ongoing battle in the late Victorian era has consequences for future generations. It was great seeing two professionals unwilling to harm their craft still work around all the little niceties to get at one another.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ I can’t believe how far the two of them went to prolong their feud of pranks. I love the epistolary nature of the novel and how the story stretches through time, but my favourite bits were all between the two warring illusionists. Both have something more to hide than the mere workings of a trick. The secret of the magic is simple, and the reader is in on it almost from the start, but to the antagonists the real mystery lies deeper. Working in the gaslight-and-velvet world of Victorian music halls, they prowl edgily in the background of each other’s shadowy life, driven to the extremes by a deadly combination of obsessive secrecy and insatiable curiosity.Īt the heart of the row is an amazing illusion they both perform during their stage acts. Two 19th century stage illusionists, the aristocratic Rupert Angier and the working-class Alfred Borden, engage in a bitter and deadly feud the effects are still being felt by their respective families a hundred years later.
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