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So ... I started writing a blog entry for my beloved Skylight Music theatre this last season because so many of our shows had literary starts (Oliver! ... Juliet & Romeo ... Frankenstein ... To Catch a Thief)

We have a special event this summer with a local magician who is booking the theatre space for six weeks to do a weekly show.

I need some books that feature magicians. NOT just magic, but actual magicians.

Off the top of my head, I already have The Magician's Assistant and The Night Circus but I guess I'm too tired to think and I'm not coming up with any more titles.

Would sure appreciate your helpful suggestions.

Christopher Priest - The Prestige is the first and most famous title that comes to mind. I think it is important to decide if magic wielders in a fantasy setting, such as Gandalf or Polgara, qualify or if you are strictly referring to stage performers

Susanna Clarke - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a great choice for competing magicians in a Victorian setting

Angela Carter - The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman is one of my personal favorites, but it might be too weird for some tastes.

Ursula K le Guin - The Earthsea Trilogy - A Wizard of Earth Sea, the Tombs of Atuan, the Farthest Shore should appeal even to readers who don't usually read speculative fiction

Madeline Miller - Circe is excellent if you want a woman perspective on magic

H G Parry - The Magician’s Daughter is a new title that I discovered now as I tried to find a list of magician books on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Peter S Beagle - The Last Unicorn is a classic that offer Schmendrick, a bumbling apprentice magician

Patricia C Wrede - Mairelon the Magician

Galen Beckett - The Magicians and Mrs. Quent

Glen David Gold - Carter Beats the Devil

The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

What about the The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett.

I recently saw a title called The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo that I'm sure you read.

A lot of books refer to Wizards rather than magicians, usually where the magic is real rather than tricks or sleight of hand. Do you want to include those because if so, there is HP of course and others.

Two from my magicians shelf:

The Amulet of Samarkand
The Beautiful Ones

How about The Prestige by Christopher Priest - I’m pretty sure this is about stage magicians, which I think is what you want.

I second /third the recommendation for The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett. A lot of it takes place after the magician dies, but it still gives a view of what the career is like.

The Magicians - this might be about fantasy magic.

Another is:
Carter Beats the Devil

and one of the siblings in:
The Immortalists

Also:
The Magician

I'm glad to see Carter Beats the Devil mentioned here. ( more than once, I think) I've always thought that book didn't get the attention that it deserved.

Jgrace wrote: "I'm glad to see Carter Beats the Devil mentioned here. ( more than once, I think) I've always thought that book didn't get the attention that it deserved."

It looks interesting! I found it in my library and placed a hold on it.

I'm really looking more for Illusionists / sleight-of-hand / stage magicians. Not so much wizards, witches, practioners of the "dark arts."

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I MAY include Circe, though .... few women appear in these books.

This might be a little tangential, but Steve Martin started his performing career as a magician at Disneyland, and then later on the Smothers Brothers show.

He describes a lot of that early experience in Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life.

Sue's post triggered some ideas ...

some non-fiction about specific magicians - Siegfried & Roy, Houdini, even about the famous club for magicians - The Magic Castle in Hollywood -. The gift shop might list books...

I'm pretty sure Houdini features in Ragtime - though it's been so long since I read it, I can't be sure how much. I know he's appeared as a secondary character in other books I've read over the years - not that I can remember which ones. A simple google search might lead you to some, or not.

Penn & Teller have published a number of books -- some are illusionist ploys, but I also think they have actually written actual fiction or non-fiction.

Ooh ... great suggestion, Sue!

If we're talking about non-fiction, I feel I must drop the name of one of my heroes: James Randi.
He started out as a stage magician, wrote a biographical history of stage magicians: Conjuring: Being a Definitive Account of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidi and several others before switching to debunking fake paranormal practitioners. Other interesting titles from his list are:
The Supernatural A-Z
Houdini, His Life and Art
Flim-Flam: The Truth about Unicorns, Parapsychology and Other Delusions by James Randi (19-Oct-1988) Paperback
The Faith Healers