Love Harry Houdini? Here are 5 books about magic and magicians for you

Harry Houdini was an American magician noted for his sensational escape acts. He first attracted notice in the United States and then on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets underwater, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. Furthermore, in 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. Today, on his 148th birth anniversary, here are five books about magic and magicians for fans of Houdini.

In 1904, future best-selling writer Edna Ferber, then a 19-year-old fledgling reporter in Appleton, Wisconsin, teams up with famed escape artist Harry Houdini to solve the baffling murder of a beautiful young girl who has mysteriously disappeared from a locked room at the local high school.

Pic credit: Blackstone Pub

Personal investigator Molly Murphy is thrilled to have a ticket to see the illusionists that are all the rage. Indeed, Harry Houdini himself has returned from Europe for a brief run on Broadway. But Houdini can’t even take the stage when, to the crowd’s shock, the opening act saws into his assistant – for real. The stunned performer accuses Houdini of tampering with his equipment. With everyone on edge, Houdini’s wife hires Molly as an investigator and bodyguard.

Pic credit: Macmillan

In this, Silverman draws on fresh information to produce a fascinating and rich account of Houdini's life. Silverman tells the story of Houdini's origins as Ehrich Weiss, one of four sons of Rabbi Mayer Weiss, an emigre from Hungary to America; his theatrical debut in dime museums and burlesque shows during the 1890s; and his rapid rise to stardom that culminated in 25 years of worldwide fame.

Pic credit: Perennial

Author Arthur Conan Doyle and famous illusionist Harry Houdini first met in 1920, during the magician's tour of England. Using previously unpublished material on the murky relationship between Houdini and Conan Doyle, this tale tells the fascinating story of the relationship between two of the most loved figures of the 20th century and their pursuit of magic and lost loved ones.

Pic credit: St. Martin's Griffin

In this groundbreaking biography, renowned magic expert William Kalush and bestselling writer Larry Sloman team up to find the man (Houdini) behind the myth. Drawing from millions of pages of research, they describe in vivid detail the passions that drove Houdini to perform ever-more-dangerous feats, his secret life as a spy, and a pernicious plot to subvert his legacy.

Pic credit: Atria Books