What I love about these insights into a person’s past is that the talents and passions we’re born with are often harnessed at a very tender age. We have a great amount of documentation about Harry Houdini’s life story, and we have the luxury to go back and see the telltale signs in youth of the fantastic entertainer he would later become. But our story begins in this book—not in the early days of a showman’s buildup to fame, but in the winter of his life, when deep questions of spiritualism and faith dominated much of his time and attention.
The Illusionist’s Apprentice held an exciting new challenge for me as an author. It allowed me to stretch and try a new flavor of mystery writing, much like stringing a rope between two trees in Houdini’s backyard. And the development of Wren’s fictional story gave me the opportunity to do what I love best—to research and incorporate historical fact into a story—but also to paint a visual world that evokes the magic of another time, another place . . . The Jazz Age (and Boston in particular) is one such place I’ve dreamed of painting with words for quite some time.
Wren Lockhart is fiercely independent and bold—in many ways, like Mr. Houdini himself—but she also has a softness to her I very much wanted to uncover throughout the story. It intrigues me that a character could live a public life as someone completely different from who they were behind closed doors, but that their talent could manage to effectively bridge both of those worlds.
While Jenny “Wren” Lockhart is a purely fictional character, there are two aspects to her character that are rooted in historical fact. In this book, Wren’s professional relationship with Harry Houdini was inspired by real-life entertainer Dorothy Young, who at seventeen years old was hired as a stage assistant to the famous illusionist and toured with him for years. Houdini’s quote that to come back from the dead was “humanly impossible” were words actually spoken to Dorothy. Many of the acts in Wren’s stage show are a culmination of illusions from the stage, in books, and even from modern-day movies in tricks that derived from Houdini’s initial popularization.
Second, with history that is personal to our family, the story behind Jenny’s nickname is also true. In this book, Olivia Charles gave her daughter the nickname Jenny Wren. I learned after I began writing the story that Jenny Wren is the name of a beloved character from Charles Dickens’s Our Mutual Friend (1865), and interestingly enough, the character also suffered abuse from a father who battled alcoholism. The same name was passed down from my great-grandfather, James “Shorty” Thompson, a coal miner from Newcastle, England, who tamed a wild wren into a pet, teaching her to sit on his shoulder and eat from his hand. He named her Jenny Wren—which became my own sister’s childhood nickname. The thought that a young girl could be both caged and still wild at heart gave me the idea for a character whose life mimicked this idea in fantastic ways.
Giving her this name fit on so many levels.
Readers will also recognize several character references in this novel that are true to history, first and foremost Harry Houdini himself. In this book, we imagine what an encounter might have been like with the world-famous talent had it occurred offstage, on a sunny London street in Piccadilly. As such legend surrounds the showman side of his persona, it was incredible to imagine what Houdini’s wit and personality might have been like in real life.
Other historical names have been wrapped into the story, including Bess Houdini (Harry’s beloved wife); Boston’s forty-fourth mayor, Malcolm E. Nichols (1926–1930), and his second wife, Carrie Williams Nichols; known spiritualists George Valentine, Ann O’Delia Diss Debar, Joaquín Argamasilla, and Mina “Margery” Crandon (also known as “The Witch of Lime Street”), the latter whom Harry Houdini most famously debunked in 1924. (Horace Stapleton, too, is a fictional character, though his public-debunking experience would have been similar.) Also alluded to in this story is famed writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Houdini’s longtime friend who had a falling out with the entertainer over their differing views of spiritualism in the late 1920s. Harry Houdini died on October 31, 1926, the two men never to reconcile. (Readers with an interest in Doyle’s writing may also recognize several antagonists’ names in this novel as those of Sherlock Holmes’s adversaries from several of his books.)
As a wise editor once told me, historical fiction has to know when to bend the line between fact and storytelling. We’ve pulled in a real book to fit the timeline of this story: The Welsh Fairy Book by W. Jenkyn Thomas, originally published in 1907. It was illustrated by William “Willy” Pogany, a celebrated Hungarian illustrator readers may also recognize as a character from one of my previous novels, The Ringmaster’s Wife. While we’ve woven historical fact to flavor a 1920s vaudeville world, we’ve also gone down a fictional road to tell Wren and Elliot’s story, and I love that we’ve had the opportunity to cross into both worlds in this book.
Thank you, dear readers, for walking this story road with us.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The heartbeat of this story began in the midst of a summer brainstorming retreat with—surprise, surprise—a few suspense writers.
Imagine two historical authors (Sarah E. Ladd and myself) finding ourselves immersed in the world of suspense with talented authors: Colleen Coble (a Houdini-like mentor in this author’s life), Ronie Kendig, Lynette Eason, Michelle Lim, Robin Carroll, and Carrie Stuart Parks (who also reached out to her crime lab network to find answers to my 1920s toxicology questions), all gathered in a living room to brainstorm books, with coffee and chocolate in steady supply. As it was my first official foray into mystery writing, this gathering of authors ushered me into their world in the first five minutes by adding a cemetery, a corpse, and at least one death within the very first chapter of the book.
I laugh at the memory of how wide-eyed Sarah and I must have looked, two historical authors in the midst of such suspense awesomeness. Not only did the plot for The Illusionist’s Apprentice come alive in that living room, but the rest of Wren’s character began to take form before my eyes. Thank you, suspense ladies. The experience turned me into a firm believer in two things: brainstorming sessions and fellowship with friends.
Every book has a layer of story itself in how it came to be. This book was developed with my wonderful publishing team at HarperCollins Christian Publishing: Daisy Hutton, Becky Monds, Jodi Hughes, Amanda Bostic, Paul Fisher, Stephen Tindal, and our vintage-loving Kristen “Goldie” Golden. You are absolutely the best work family a writerly gal could ask for. I love every day that has you in it. To dear editors (and beloved friends) Becky Monds, Julee Schwarzburg, and Jodi Hughes: I’m so blessed to have been able to take another book journey with you. From “Once upon a time” to those magical words “The End,” you keep me sane, help me learn, and make the story-building process a greater joy than I could have ever imagined. Thank you! (And to Julee, I send a hug for your patience and kind teacher’s heart. You’ve made me a believer in the power of good editing!) To Rachelle Gardner, my wildly supportive agent: I owe you much for those dig-deep phone conversations to encourage me along this road. You go above and beyond the call of duty, and I couldn’t be more blessed than to get to call you a friend.
To Katie Ganshert, Cara Putman, Beth K. Vogt, Sarah E. Ladd, Melissa Tagg, Courtney Walsh, Katherine Reay, Casey Herringshaw, and Jeane Wynn: The last year has been a blessing because of your fellowship. Thank you for the prayers, for the calls, for sharing the love when life gets “real.” The time spent researching and writing this book helped me learn the meaning of true sisters-in-Jesus love.
A very special thanks must go to my friends Gary and Lanette Almon, owners of Kölkin Coffee Shop. The Almon family welcomed me in, sharing smiles and support, and worked very hard to keep me alive with coffee during the thick of the manuscript-writing process—even giving me my own preferred table right beneath the kayaks on the wall. As far as hidden coffee-shop corners go, this find is a piece of heaven. Thanks for everything, guys! And also to Livie, the superstar barista who readers will recognize as a familiar na
me (Olivia) in this book. Buying this writer a coffee on a certain Thursday meant more than you could ever know. Thanks for becoming a part of our story by naming this character!
To my support system of mentors and friends: Maggie Walker, Sharon Tavera, Colleen Coble, Allen Arnold, Mary Weber, Kerry Newland, Kelli Deary, and the students and staff at Christian Academy of Louisville’s Rock Creek campus. You have all become part of this story, and I thank you for your fellowship along the way.
To my family: You put up with my quirky writer ways, overlook the messy house when Mom’s up against a project deadline, and love me no matter what. I’m blessed by my four amazing guys: Brady, Carson Dallas, Colt, and best friend, Jeremy. I also send my most sincere gratitude to my mom, Lindy, for showing me how to be brave during valley-walking. Thanks for being my first reader and best friend. I am so proud of you. And to my sis, Jenny: The magic of memory-making that only sisters could share is at the absolute heart of this book. We love you, Jenny Wren!
And were he here, I’d want to thank Harry Houdini for providing the backbone to this story. He left such a legacy behind—of mystery and grand illusions and of excellence in creative craft—that made him the greatest in his field. I enjoyed reading his writings, diving in to biographies about his life, and especially researching the deep spiritual questions he asked about life and the conquering of death that permeated popular culture in the 1920s. I’ll always be grateful to Harry and to our fictional Wren Lockhart for showing me it’s okay to ask questions and to dream along the way.
There’s only One who claims victory over the grave—and lucky us that Horace Stapleton wasn’t him!
With joy,
FURTHER READING
Houdini, Harry. A Magician Among the Spirits, Fredonia Books (NL), 2002.
Houdini, Harry. The Right Way to Do Wrong: A Unique Selection of Writings by History’s Greatest Escape Artist (Neversink), Melville House, 2012.
Jaher, David. The Witch of Lime Street: Séance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World, Crown, 2015.
Kalush, William, and Sloman, Larry. The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero, Atria, 2006.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.Though she lives in a world of mystery and illusion, Wren’s faith continues to push her story forward, even when confronted by the seemingly ironclad facts of Horace Stapleton’s case. It isn’t until she crosses paths with Elliot and his fact-based logic that she realizes how deeply held her convictions are. How would Wren’s story have ended differently if she’d only relied on what she could see—and prove—with her eyes? Was her faith a major factor in her pursuit of the truth behind Stapleton’s illusions?
2.Though the world sees Wren Lockhart as an illusionist on a stage, Jenny Charles is the real woman who lives behind the scenes. How are the personas of these two women different, and how does Elliot manage to see the authenticity behind both? In what ways do Wren and Elliot finally unmask who they truly are?
3.Harry Houdini lived a life of adventure from the stage. In this story, however, we imagine him as a wise mentor offstage, helping to shape Wren into the skilled entertainer she would one day become. As Houdini began to ask deeper questions about faith and spirituality in his final years, how did the debunking of false mediums affect Wren’s view of their shared vaudeville world? Though the story opens months after Houdini’s death, how was he ever-present in Wren’s journey?
4.The atmosphere of Boston in the late 1920s was flavored by the sights, sounds, and settings of vaudeville, from the experiences of many secondary characters: Connor, Amberley, Irina, Josiah, Al, Olivia, and Franklin. Which characters were living a life of illusion themselves, and why?
5.Wren and Charlotte experienced tragedy in their young lives at the hands of their father. Though she was able to overcome the pain of her past, how did Wren eventually learn to trust again? Did Olivia’s sacrifice for her daughters impact Wren’s ability to reopen her heart to others?
6.In the years following World War I and the aftermath of the Spanish flu outbreak, many families were left grieving from unfathomable loss. A running theme in the story is the hinging of faith in the One who did conquer the grave. How does Wren’s deeply rooted faith affect her ability to see past the claims of false spiritualists in order to help Harry Houdini debunk them? Does her faith impact Elliot’s ability to heal from loss in his own life?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo by Whitney Neal Photography
Kristy Cambron fancies life as a vintage-inspired storyteller. Her novels have been named to Library Journal Reviews’ list of Best Books of 2014 and 2015 and have received nominations for RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards Best Inspirational Book of 2014 and 2015. She holds a degree in Art History from Indiana University and has fifteen years of training and communications experience for a Fortune 100 corporation. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three football-loving sons.
Visit her website: www.kristycambron.com
Twitter: @KCambronAuthor
Facebook: Kristy-Cambron
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