num_pages: 152
description: Noyes makes history accessible and irresistible . . . Excellent. * A century ago the curious idea that spirits not only survive death but can be contacted on the other side was widespread. Psychic mediums led countless sances claiming to connect the grieving with their lost relations through everything from frenzied trance writing to sticky expulsions of ectoplasm. The craze caught Harry Houdinis attention. Well-known by then as most renowned magician and escape artist he began to investigate these spiritual phenomena. Are ghosts real? Can we communicate with them? Catch them in photographs? Or are all mediums flim-flammers employing tricks and illusions like Houdini himself? Peopled with odd and fascinating characters Houdinis gripping quest will excite readers universal wonderment with life death and the possibility of the Beyond. * School Library Journal  starred review of Ten Days a Madwoman
language: English
title: The Magician and the Spirits
publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers