The Magician's Wife

The Magician's Wife, published in 1997, was the last novel[1] by the Northern Irish-Canadian writer Brian Moore. Set in 1856, it tells the story of a famous French magician (based on the real-life Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin)[2] who is despatched by Emperor Napoleon III to help France subdue the Arab population in war-torn Algeria.

The Magician's Wife
AuthorBrian Moore
CountryUnited Kingdom
GenreHistorical novel
PublisherKnopf (Canada)
Bloomsbury (UK)
Dutton (US)
Publication date
1997
Media typePrint
Pages215
ISBN978-0-7475-3718-2
OCLC247666817

Reception

Reviewing the book for The New York Times, Thomas Mallon said: "Combining actual and invented figures requires a particular sleight of hand, and in The Magician's Wife Moore accomplishes this mingling without giving any glimpse of a false bottom or secret compartment... The Magician's Wife, combining so many of Moore's longtime preoccupations and themes, proves to be one of his neatest tricks yet."[3] The San Francisco Chronicle described it as a "deft and absorbing novel".[4] John Muncie, reviewing the novel for the Baltimore Sun, said: "Moore writes with propulsive clarity. The reader is immediately entangled."

References
  1. Walsh, John (January 14, 1999). "Obituary: Brian Moore". The Guardian. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  2. Muncie, John (January 11, 1998). "Moore's 'Magician's Wife' – imperial magic". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  3. Mallon, Thomas (February 1, 1998). "Sleight of Hand". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  4. St. Pierre, Brian (January 25, 1998). "Illusions of French Colonialism". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 3, 2012.


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