Wednesday, October 28, 2026

LINK: Houdini's First Diary Reveals a Lost World of Turn-of-the-Century Magic

Here's a pleasant October surprise. National Geographic has an article today by Nina Strochlic about Houdini's first diary and our book, Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897-1899. It's excellent! Unfortunately, it is paywalled. But if you are a subscriber to Nat Geo, click the image below to have a read.

The little red book, which contains Harry Houdini's recently deciphered notes, charts his rise as a performer and the key role of his wife, Bess, in turning his act from dime-store vaudeville into international stardom.

As good as this article is, it never actually says this is a book that people can buy. However, you can indeed buy Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897-1899 from Mike Caveney's Magic Words. Get the book and learn how Houdini got his big break before the next chapter arrives.


Psst. There might be a way to read this if you are a member of my Patreon. Just saying...
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 29, 2026 at 1:39 PM

    I love how this article makes the significance of the diary so viscerally clear….a sort of touchstone, beacon tipping into Houdini’s whole career. It makes me extra thankful that Escaping Obscurity came into being and regular folks like me can have it on their bookshelf and look through it whenever we want. A true treasure.
    —Colleen

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    Replies
    1. John CoxOctober 29, 2026 at 3:26 PM

      Thank you so much, Colleen. I'm glad this article also documents your important contributions. You were one of the keys that unlocked the diary!

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  2. AnonymousOctober 29, 2026 at 8:05 PM

    <3 Well, I can’t possible like that analogy more. I am happy to take my place amongst this incredible grouping of keys.
    —Colleen

    ReplyDelete