It’s 1896. As a group of illusionists prepare for a grand spectacle, one young woman, Cecily Marsden, harbours a secret. For she possesses impossible powers – powers she little understands. Meanwhile Eadie Carleton, a pioneering early film-maker, struggles for her talent to be taken seriously, and a talented magician, George Perris, begins to see the […]
The Illusions by Liz Hyder
Bristol, 1896. Used to scraping a living as the young assistant to an ageing con artist, Cecily Marsden’s life is turned upside down when her master suddenly dies. Believing herself to blame, could young Cec somehow have powers she little understands? Meanwhile Eadie Carleton, a pioneering early film-maker, struggles for her talent to be taken […]
Magicians and film-makers, masters of illusions
Liz Hyder is enchanted by the magicians and film-makers of the 1890s, whose extraordinary inventions inspired her new novel, The Illusions, set at a time of great technological and social change. A few years ago, I went to the Wellcome Collection’s Smoke and Mirrors exhibition, which explored the psychology of magic. It was a feast […]