The Witch of Lime Street: Séance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World

 

The Witch of Lime Street: Séance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World by David Jaher 448 pages

The title of this book is what immediately captured by attention---anything with Houdini and séances can’t be bad. The top of the inside dust jacket stirred my imagination: History comes alive in this textured account of the rivalry between Harry Houdini and the so-called Witch of Lime street…” Not to mention the dust jacket glows in the dark which is really cool.

Before I even started reading, I was disappointed. Having been initially classified as fiction, I was bummed to learn that this was nonfiction. But I was intrigued, so I didn’t let a little thing like that stop me. I was ready to be whisked away to the 1920s: back to jazz, spiritualism, Prohibition, and the fascination with the occult.

I want to say upfront that this book is well-written. It’s not hard to follow and is not merely fact stacked upon fact, as many historical books are. It pulled me in, but I kept reading and reading, waiting for Houdini and Margery to go head-to-head.  It took more than half the book to get there.

The book’s first half was about the rise in spiritualism in the United States and the role Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame) played. 

Fascinating background that a reader not well schooled in its complex history needs to know. Houdini was more like a bit player; he showed up near the end, and the biggest scene he played was his own death. I have to admit, that I felt cheated. And too, the book does not present conclusive evidence as to whether Margery was a fake or truly had a gift to communicate with her brother, who happened to be on the other side.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.