The Magician's Study: A Guided Tour of the Life, Times, and Memorabilia of Robert "The Great" Rouncival [Paperback]

Tobias Seamon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000

“The Magician’s Study is a sparkling tour de force. Seamon leads us through the odd memorabilia belonging to Robert ‘The Great’ Rouncival and along the way gives us his marvelously bizarre and convoluted biography. . . . If anything is more astounding than Rouncival’s trickery, it’s the endless inventiveness of the author.”—Eugene Mirabelli

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Passing itself off as the spiel of an articulate tour guide, Seamon's ingenious first novel takes the reader on a guided perambulation through the study of fictional Jazz Age magician Robert "The Great" Rouncival. With the presentation of each piece of memorabilia, another episode from the late magician's life is revealed, from his youth in upstate New York to running away to join a ragtag carnival to his rise as an eccentric, often devilishly macabre illusionist in Manhattan's licentious Bowery during the Roaring Twenties. Sharing in Rouncival's fortunes and frequent setbacks is Sherpa, a reformed Cuban pirate and, like his master, an inveterate ladies' man. Together the two craft stunning illusions, romance a famous heiress, achieve worldwide fame, and rub elbows with the likes of Dutch Schultz, Frida Kahlo, and the most notorious magician of all, Houdini. Seamon's stylistic inventiveness and skill with memorable characterizations are nothing short of breathtaking. Rouncival and his colorful entourage herald the arrival of a major new talent. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Turtle Point Press (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885586981
• ISBN-13: 978-1885586988
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,355,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tobias Seamon is author of the novel The Magician's Study (Turtle Point Press), the fiction collection The Emperor's Toy Chest (PS Publishing UK) and a chapbook of poetry Loosetrife Along the River Styx (Foothills Publishing.) A novella The Fair Grounds is forthcoming in 2011 from PS Publishing as well. He also wrote and directed the short film Amerikan Partizan which premiered at the 2007 Edwood Filmfest. Nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize, other work has appeared such places as Cutbank, McSweeney's, Mississippi Review, Pedestal, Rhysling Anthology, Santa Clara Review, Smartish Pace, and Things Magazine. A contributing writer with the online magazine The Morning News, he lives in Albany, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!, September 21, 2004

By 

Dr. Susan K. Nelson (Tacoma, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Magician's Study: A Guided Tour of the Life, Times, and Memorabilia of Robert "The Great" Rouncival (Paperback)

Tobias Seamon crafts this work into layers of illusions, and he does so with formidable skill. His knowledge and use of history--the events, people, and places--make it increasingly difficult to maintain the belief that Robert is a fictitious character. Somewhere along the way, Robert becomes human and, then, somewhere else along the way, he becomes truly magical. Seamon is a writer of tremendous depth and perception and he takes us on an odyssey that is magical, mythical, and ultimately human. In the end, he reminds us of the magic that can lie behind the pain, the mishaps, and the failings of human flesh, and his novel has my highest recommendation! Interested readers should also purchase Seamon's poetry!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stupendous, September 17, 2004

By 

D. Mahoney (Troy, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Magician's Study: A Guided Tour of the Life, Times, and Memorabilia of Robert "The Great" Rouncival (Paperback)

A strange, terrific read. Reminiscent of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay with its focus on boisterous old New York, dazzling showmanship, and the showman's own personal demons (which often conjure newer, more menacing demons). There's a memorable encounter with Houdini, stage magic that becomes harder and harder to dismiss as mere illusion, a couple of knock-down, drag-out love stories, and so much vivid detail I'd almost have sworn the story wasn't fiction. Robert the Great's apparently tragic tale ends up feeling quietly exhilarating, a kind of lifelong survival story about an angry young man who ultimately turns his whole life into a crazy, thrilling act. Great great great.