The Magician's Wife
A Novel
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4.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The restless wife of an illusionist becomes embroiled in a North African holy war in this “tour de force” of historical fiction (The New York Times).
Early in her marriage to renowned prestidigitator Henri Lambert, Emmeline had exulted in his fame, the foreign tours, and the command performances of his “Magical Evenings.” Now, Henri’s given it all up to pursue a quiet life in their remote country manor, but restless, devoted Emmeline longs to see her husband return to his former glory.
It all changes again when, in service to their country, Henri and Emmeline are invited to spend seven days at Compiègne as guests of Napoléon III. The emperor wants Henri to work his magic on a charismatic Algerian marabout who’s influencing his followers to overthrow the French in a holy war. For Henri, convincing a man of where his allegiance should lie will be the performance of a lifetime. But for Emmeline, ushered from the lavish royal courts to the barren Sahara, it will prove to be an illuminating journey that will challenge her views on God and faith, open her eyes to her husband’s weaknesses, and expose the treachery of her own country.
“Flashing his own sleight of hand, [Moore] transforms a historical fact into a story both true to its time and relevant to the present day.” —The New York Times
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Few contemporary writers are both as versatile and as unfailingly provocative as Moore, whose forte is exposing the wellsprings of character and the motivations of behavior in particular moral and political environments. Here, he moves from his preoccupation with recent European history (The Statement, etc.) to a historical novel set in 1850s France and Algeria. Emmeline Lambert is the wife of Henri Lambert, the most celebrated magician in France. Emperor Napoleon III, concerned about a possible uprising in Algiers, asks Lambert to put on a performance there that will convince the Arab sheikhs of the superiority of European magic to the powers of a charismatic marabout, Bou-Aziz, who is urging his followers to oust the French in a holy war. Beautiful but unsophisticated Emmeline, neglected by her ambitious husband, is manipulated by handsome, mysterious Colonel Deniau, chief of the Bureau Arabe, whose seductive behavior may be a ploy to ensure her cooperation with his schemes. When a crisis ensues, Emmeline experiences an epiphany that opens her eyes to her husband's failings and her nation's perfidy. Her actions at this point are more dramatic than credible, however, momentarily betraying Moore's usual finesse. But Moore is masterful in depicting how the decadent pomp and ceremony of Napoleon's court is echoed even in French provincial outposts, and how the simplicity of remote Arab villages and the vast Sahara desert reinforce Emmeline's cultural dislocation. The heart of the novel, however, lies in Emmeline's recognition of the Arabs' faith in God, a stark contrast to the formal piety, trickery and duplicity of the French. It is for this moral vision that one reads Moore, with admiration. Literary Guild selection.
