Glorious Deception- Jim Steinmeyer

J. Steinmeyer
In a biography woven from equal parts enchantment and mystery, Jim Steinmeyer unveils the secrets behind the most enigmatic performer in the history of stage magic, Chung Ling Soo — the “Marvelous Chinese Conjurer.” This legendary magician's daring feats made even Houdini seem like the boy next door. Soo’s infamous and suspicious onstage death in 1918 mystified fellow magicians: he was shot during a performance of “Defying the Bullets,” attempting to catch marked bullets on a porcelain plate. After Soo's death, his carefully crafted stage magic illusions began to unravel. It was revealed that he was not Chinese but a 58-year-old American named William Ellsworth Robinson, a former magician’s assistant and husband to Olive Robinson. Yet Robinson himself was a man of secrets, maintaining a second family with a mistress in a stylish London home. This biography offers a captivating glimpse into the rough-and-tumble world of turn-of-the-century entertainment, the West’s fascination with Oriental culture, and Soo’s strange descent into secrecy as he rose to stardom. Authored by the foremost chronicler of magic history and culture, this is the first time the full story behind Robinson’s scandalous death has been revealed. Photographs are included.