The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini by Ruth Brandon

The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini by Ruth Brandon

For many performers, stage life and real life are separate identities. For master illusionist Harry Houdini, the two were inextricably linked. In this widely acclaimed biography, Ruth Brandon shows how Houdini's obsession with his own mortality drove him to create death-defying stunts that not only captivated the public but also subdued his own raging psychological demons.

As Brandon relates Houdini's methods of escape, she asks: What was he trying to escape from? Her exploration of the psychic landscape of one of the most enduringly famous performers of the twentieth century makes for utterly fascinating reading. Brandon reveals much that is new: how Houdini invented a phantom son; why he wrote long daily letters to his wife, Bess, who lived one fl oor below him; his combative relations with mediums and spiritualists, including Arthur Conan Doyle; and the fi rst full description of his fabled death. This defi nitive biography allows readers to peer into Houdini's psyche and understand him more deeply than ever before.

Brandon, Ruth: - Ruth Brandon is an acclaimed novelist and cultural historian. She is the author of Houdini (Random House); The Spiritualists (Knopf), and Ugly Beauty: Helena Rubinstein, L'Orü¾Ž–”¼al, and the Blemished History of Looking Good (Harper). She lives in London.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780812970425
ISBN 10	081297042X
Title	The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini
Author	Ruth Brandon
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2003-10-21
Number of pages	400
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable