Empire of Enchantment: The Story of Indian Magic (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780190914394)

India's association with magicians goes back thousands of years. Conjurors and illusionists dazzled the courts of Hindu maharajas and Mughal emperors. As British dominion spread over the subcontinent, such wonder-workers became synonymous with India. Western magicians appropriated Indian attire, tricks and stage names; switching their turbans for top hats, Indian jugglers fought back and earned their grudging respect.
This book tells the extraordinary story of how Indian magic descended from the realm of the gods to become part of daily ritual and popular entertainment across the globe. Recounting tales of levitating Brahmins, resurrections, prophesying monkeys and "the most famous trick never performed," Empire of Enchantment vividly charts Indian magic's epic journey from street to the stage.

This heavily illustrated book tells the extraordinary, untold story of how Indian magic descended from the realm of the gods to become part of daily ritual and popular entertainment across the globe. Drawing on ancient religious texts, early travelers' accounts, colonial records, modern visual sources, and magicians' own testimony, Empire of Enchantment is a vibrant narrative of India's magical traditions, from Vedic times to the present day.

Author: John Zubrzycki
ISBN-10: 0190914394
ISBN-13: 9780190914394
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Language: English
Published: 10/01/2018
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 8.70h x 5.90w x 1.50d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 11/05/2018