2/13/2023 0 Comments Bess houdini![]() “But she never thought, in the rush of life while Harry was alive, what she would do without him, if she didn’t have children or grandchildren. Victoria Kelly’s style is wonderfully descriptive, telling about the illusionist through his wife’s perspective that simultaneously chronicles her journey of healing. The story flashes back and forth in time, which can be a minor stumbling block for the reader, as it is not in any obvious order of events, but the writer has important background details to tell at its conclusion, the novel flows effortlessly. In the end, a fascinating plot twist is revealed. It is his surprise epilogue after Bess’ death that rounds out the story line. Young photographer Charles Radley, whom Bess encounters in her clues from Harry, adds the critical element of mystery to the novel. The author even mentions an incident in which Harry and Bess entertain Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his wife, who claims to be a medium in touch with the spirits. Weiss, are all crucial to the story line. Characters such as her sister Stella, Harry’s blind sister, Gladys, and his dear mother, Mrs. Without giving away the main plot, this is just a minor part of the mind-blowing, larger-than-life secret Bess uncovers in her quest to reconnect with Harry from beyond the grave.įascinated with the idea of communicating between two worlds, widowed Bess visualizes messages that only her beloved husband could have left in an attempt to speak to her from the hereafter. But he couldn’t get the words out,” Bess admitted to her sister-in-law, Gladys. Before he died, he tried to tell me something. “He was always so paranoid, especially after that night we were burgled. Hidden, where no one else could find it,” the reader wonders if Harry did indeed leave Bess a hidden fortune. With intriguing, realistic dialogue, such as “Money of some sort. Along the way, as Harry’s art form becomes more developed, the reader learns some of the intricacies behind a few of his best illusions. ![]() Bess never forgot Harry’s promise to her that he would find a way to communicate from beyond the grave. From the couple’s early struggles for success at Coney Island to the glittering palaces of Europe, where the pair became an overnight smash, and back again to America, the novel brings to life a love story that supersedes even death. The writer combines thorough research with energetic imagination to give her audience a fascinating tale about relationships against the setting of the Roaring ’20s. Those who thought they knew Houdini, his magic and his obsession with the hereafter, are privy to the ups and downs of this couple throughout his meteoric rise to fame. It was also a time in this country when people were exploring what happens after death, and séances with the dearly departed were celebrated. ![]() Theirs is a passionate marriage set against the backdrop of a new era in American history. It is the story of two people, Ehrich Weiss, better known as Harry Houdini, as told through his loving, faithful wife Bess Houdini. Houdini, is that glimpse behind the famous magician’s curtain. A poet herself, she quotes Irish poet William Butler Yeats in this novel’s frontispiece: “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”Įveryone knows about escape artist extraordinaire Harry Houdini, but behind every great man is an even better woman, or so the adage goes. in creative writing from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and went on to earn her MFA in creative writing in 2009 from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Victoria Kelly was born in New Jersey and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University.
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