Hocus Pocus - by Brinda Charry (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A young magician travels across the world seeking fame and fortune all the while hiding a secret, in a novel based on the renowned, real-life Indian stage magicians performing in the United States in the 1800s.

Samuel Thomas, a man of uncertain parentage, is a young magician convinced that he is destined for greatness in a far-off land. Seeking honor and acclaim, he journeys across the globe--from India to London to the fog-shrouded streets of Boston in 1816, the infamous Year Without a Summer. In this season of unrelenting cold, Samuel arrives in a city alive with ambition, contradiction, and tension.

Enter Walter Mepham: in some ways a world away from Samuel, hailing from the upper echelons of Boston society, but also nursing a problem of his own. Proprietor of the New Boston Museum which is on the brink of bankruptcy, Walter is desperate to find ways to keep it open--and Samuel is the ideal fit for the first live addition to the collection.

While the perfect solution to each other's problems, the relationship between the two men quickly becomes complicated as Walter grows more and more fascinated, and even obsessed, with the young foreigner. As Samuel becomes subsumed within the museum and dependent on Walter, he must reckon with just how much he's willing to give up to achieve success. Richly detailed and vividly conjured, Hocus Pocus is a story about art, ambition, and desire, and captures the crackling energy and wonder of a bygone era through the eyes of a young performer.

Review Quotes

"A magical feat of imagination. Atmospheric, wise, often funny, filled with exhilarating twists and turns. Brinda Charry conjures a fascinating tale of love and obsession, ambition and betrayal that spans three continents and brings 1816 Boston to life. Like any good magician, Charry saves some of the most satisfying surprises for the end, proving that 'The best audience is the one that is made to wait just long enough.' I loved it." --Ash Davidson, author of Damnation Spring

"A story of magic and identity, obsession and desire, Hocus Pocus is masterfully crafted--a cool, shining blade of a novel. Charry writes with such nuanced grace and insight, and this is a stunning untold tale of 19th century America that maps the complex choices a young man will face for the integrity of creative freedom and his faith in the revelatory power of art." --Dawn Tripp, author of Jackie

"Hocus Pocus is a richly detailed story of early America, giving us a glimpse of a forgotten history. Charry continues to impress with her extensive understanding of the past." --Alice Winn, author of In Memoriam

"Hocus Pocus is a marvel--a novel about spectacle that is itself spectacular. Charry writes about ambition and desire with such electric intimacy, pulling you into an era that hums with creative fervor and restless longing, that you don't realize you've been holding your breath until the final page. A brilliantly illuminated novel--to borrow a phrase from the book itself. I absolutely adored it." --TaraShea Nesbit, author of Beheld

"Magicians rely on misdirection to pull off their illusions, but Brinda Charry's got plenty of tricks up her own sleeve. In her second novel, Hocus Pocus, Charry blends her deep knowledge of literature with meticulous historical research to conjure 1816 Boston, where a young magician from India, by way of London, is causing quite the stir at the New Boston Museum. Unsure who he is and forced to hide the parts of himself he knows the best, Samuel Thomas must navigate a new world where no one's intentions are ever what they seem. As Samuel's fate gets tied up, inextricably, with that of the museum and its mercurial director, one thing becomes clear: a book this good is the real magic trick." --Rachel Beanland, author of This House Is on Fire

"Hocus Pocus is a rare and beautifully controlled novel of magic, intrigue, and obsession. Brinda Charry weaves a tapestry of curiosities, and has created a cast of characters as vivid and mind-bending as the best illusions. Delightful and dangerous. A feat of marvelous showmanship!" --Richard Mirabella, author of Brother & Sister Enter the Forest

About the Author

Brinda Charry came to the United States from India as a graduate student in 1999 and has been living here since. The East Indian, her first work of fiction published in the United States was awarded the Association of American Historians Prize (formerly the James Fenimore Cooper Prize) for Historical Fiction, and was shortlisted and longlisted for several other awards and recognitions. She is also a specialist in English literature and has published a number of books and articles in that field. She currently lives in Keene, New Hampshire, with her husband and dogs.