First Sentences:
On Friday, August third, 1923, the morning after President Harding's death, reporters followed the widow, the Vice President, and Charles Carter, the magician.
At first, Carter made the pronouncements he thought necessary. "A fine man, to be sorely missed," and "it throws the country into a great crisis from which we shall all pull through together, showing the strong stuff of which we Americans are made." When pressed, he confirmed some details of his performance the night before, which had been the President's last public appearance, but as per his proviso that details of his third act never be revealed, he made no comment on the show's bizarre finale. Because the coroner's office could not explain exactly how the President had died, and rumors were already starting, the men from Hearst wanted quite desperately to confirm what happened in the finale, when Carter beat the Devil.
Description:
When I was thinking about what book should be the first on presented in this blog, Carter Beats the Devil kept coming back to me as the embodiment of what I hold true: that a great read is exposed in the first sentence or two, and doesn't complacently expect a reader's patience to keep reading until things hopefully heat up. In contrast, a great read immediately grabs your mind with mental pictures, interesting characters, and surprising word usage that compels you to keep reading. It is the author's job to keep you reading, to make you move from one sentence, one page, one chapter to the next. And author Gold does this from page one to the end in Carter Beats the Devil.
Gold starts Carter with an opening sentence/paragraph containing all the elements I need to keep me going and promise a compelling read. Interesting characters? Check (a president and magician). Quality writing? Check (even got me to look up "proviso" ["A clause in a document making a qualification, condition, or restriction. according to thefreedictionary.com]. And what exactly is done when you "beat the Devil")? Intriguing situation? Check ("President's last public appearance" possibly connected with a magic act's "bizarre finale" and the quiet statement that the "coroner's office could not explain exactly how the President had died"). I am definitely intrigued to read more.
And who doesn't like magic? Mysterious death scenarios? Love stories? Intrigue? Carter Beats the Devil has them all, presented in a fast-paced style that will wrap you up like a blanket on a cold night. After Carter, (the lead character is based on the real life historical magician, Charles Carter), gives his last grandiose performance with President Warren G. Harding in the audience, the President returns home and dies mysteriously. The magician, under immediate suspicion, eludes pursuers and disappears. Did he or didn't he? And if he did, how exactly could he have killed a president so ingeniously that history would not mention Garfield's death as a murder?
After this opening scene of magic performance, death, pursuit, and escape, the book jumps back to the beginnings of Carter's life, his introduction to magic via the book, The Practical Manual of Legerdemain by Prof. Ottawa Keyes, (and yes, I looked it up on Amazon and WorldCat, but couldn't find it). I love exploring new information, definitions, and pathways introduced in a great read such as this one.
It's delightful to read of Carter's early performances and the people of his life: family, friends like Houdini, and lifelong rivals like Mysterioso. We watch Carter's drive to master old tricks, peering over his shoulder during his early years performing on the road, developing his craft, and eventually creating new illusions until he becomes a figure of international fame, as well as a hated rival and eventual fugitive of the law.
Of course, there is a love interest who emerges for Carter as well as the inevitable final confrontation between him and the embittered Mysterioso, but it is a testament to Gold's skills to make a fascinating read of these familiar conventions.
This book enveloped me. I loved seeing in my mind Carter's performances, wondering at his illusions, and getting to know the variety of people in his life, ranging from Carter's love to the dogged Secret Service agent always in the wings, seeking to uncover the magician's role in the death of a president.
It's a long book, over 480 pages, but if you are like me, you accept and even relish the time necessary to unfold a great story with interesting characters and actions. So curl up on a weekend and let yourself fall into this novel and explore the lives of unique people and events of life magic, mystery, and love at the turn of the century. You won't regret it.
Happy reading.
Steinmeyer, Jim. The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, aka Chung Ling Soo, the Marvelous Chinese Conjurer
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