Thursday, November 22, 2018

Houdini's ten favorite books

The below is from the The Courier Journal, May 9, 1923. Would have been nice to have seen The Memories of Robert-Houdin on this list, or any magic book for that matter. But I do love that he includes "Sherlock Holmes".


11 comments:

  1. Surprised Golden Bough by Frazer and Myths and Myth Makers by Fiske was not on this list
    Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz
    The Houdini Tour, Museum and Magic Show-Scranton PA
    The Only Building in the World Dedicated to Houdini

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  2. Or a book by Robert G. Ingersoll

    Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz
    The Houdini Tour, Museum and Magic Show-Scranton PA
    The Only Building in the World Dedicated to Houdini

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  3. I like that he mentions the Count of Monte Christo. Its central event, of course, being a jail break and water escape. I wonder if it inspired his own water jumps.

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  4. Kasson points out that when Houdini read The Count of Monte Cristo for the first time, in 1920, while making movies, he wrote excitedly in his diary, “This part was made for me.” Source is from Kellock p 272.
    Silverman mentions that when Houdini formed the Houdini Picture Corporation and was planning on making four feature films a year, he considered making a film version of The Count Of Monte Cristo.

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  5. I'm surprised Trowbridge' 1910 bio of Cagliostro didn't make the list. HH was a Cagliostro fan.

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  6. 'Shakespeare' and 'Sherlock Holmes' are each 'a' book?!

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  7. "Shakespeare" is certainly a broad category, but Harry could've been captivated by the supernatural and magical elements in some of Shakespeare's plays, such as the witches in "Macbeth" or Prospero in "The Tempest" (Houdini would've been more than happy to conjure up a storm if the situation called for it!) I wonder if any of Houdini's copies of "Monte Cristo" or other titles listed here survive in the collections owned by David Copperfield or other collectors.

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  8. Glad to see The Bible tops the list! Cool!

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    Replies
    1. It shouldn't be a major surprise - around half the works listed are collected works of fiction.

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  9. Harry's copy of Monte Cristo might be in the Library of Congress. Sixty Years in Wall Street by Henry Clews? I wonder what that's about.

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