Final Seance

Name: Final Seance
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The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle

By: Massimo Polidoro

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Hardcover | 30 August 2001 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
264 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
24.13 x 16.51 x 1.91

Hardcover

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This is the story of the unusual friendship between the renowned illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini and the celebrated mystery writer and creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Both men were fascinated by the occult practice of Spiritualism, Houdini as an ardent skeptic and Conan Doyle as a true believer who was convinced that the dead could and did communicate with the living. While there are many biographies of both men, this is the first book to detail the years of their friendship and their battles over the veracity of Spiritualism.
During their five-year friendship, Houdini and Conan Doyle exchanged views about Spiritualism; conducted investigations of notable mediums of their day, such as Mina "Margery" Crandon; and even enjoyed vacationing together at Atlantic City.
Based on original correspondence, photographs, and his own research, Polidoro reconstructs the relationship between the believer and the skeptic, which weathered mediums, seances, public debunkings, and hurt feelings. He also discusses in detail the final seance that ended the friendship between the two strong-willed men.

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Mind, Body, Spirit Psychic Powers & Psychic Phenomena Reference, Information & Interdisciplinary Subjects Interdisciplinary Studies General Studies Arts & Entertainment Dance & Other Performing Arts Other Performing Arts Conjuring & Magic Biographies & True Stories Biographies

Historical, Political and Military Biographies

Acknowledgments	p. 11
Houidini and Conan Doyle: Two Amazing Personalities	p. 13
The Intrepid American	p. 13
The Knight of the Spirits	p. 18
Conan Doyle Describes Houdini	p. 21
Houdini Describes Conan Doyle	p. 22
"Houdini and Doyle: I Knew Them Well"	p. 23
Both Right and Both Wrong?	p. 25
A Mutual Interest	p. 27
The Davenports	p. 27
Discussions in Spiritualism	p. 31
Visiting Mediums	p. 37
The Eva C. Investigation	p. 39
The Goligher Circle	p. 45
The Fairy Photographs	p. 48
Discussing Famous Mediums	p. 50
Houdini Returns Home	p. 53
Conan Doyle in Australia	p. 54
Sir Arthur Shows Common Sense	p. 56
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods	p. 57
Friends in America	p. 61
A Tumultuous Welcome	p. 62
Spirit Photography	p. 63
The Case of the Crewe Circle	p. 64
"Telepathy" According to the Zancigs	p. 67
The Doyles Visit Houdini	p. 70
The Spirit Molds	p. 71
Ada Besinnet	p. 74
An Impossible Demonstration	p. 76
The Society of American Magicians' Banquet	p. 78
The Rift	p. 83
Fun in Atlantic City	p. 83
The Fateful Seance	p. 87
A Surprise Good-bye	p. 93
A Small Controversy	p. 95
Writing to a Friend	p. 98
Sparring with a Friend in Private	p. 100
The Scientific American Committee	p. 105
Malcolm Bird and Sir Arthur	p. 108
Conan Doyle Starts His Second Tour	p. 111
Houdini and Conan Doyle in Denver	p. 112
"Doyle Defies Houdini"	p. 114
On the History of Spiritualism	p. 115
Alexander Martin's Spirit Photographs	p. 118
Valiantine Accepts the Challenge	p. 119
The Friendship Is Strained	p. 121
Mediums and Trust	p. 123
Fraudulent Mediums for the Scientific American	p. 126
Nino Pecoraro: The Energetic Italian	p. 127
Conan Doyle Comments	p. 128
Margery the Medium	p. 133
Life at Lime Street	p. 133
Mina the Medium	p. 134
The Scientific American Investigates	p. 135
The Wizard and the Witch	p. 138
The Second Seance	p. 141
Houdini's Wrong Step	p. 143
The Ruler Incident	p. 145
The Last Seance	p. 148
Different Opinions	p. 149
Margery's Suspicious-Looking Ectoplasm	p. 154
The Symphony Hall Expose	p. 156
The Last Quarrel	p. 157
A New Award and a New Committee	p. 159
A Magician Among the Spirits	p. 163
Houdini's Lecture Tour	p. 163
A Magician Among the Spirits	p. 165
Conan Doyle's Books on Spiritualism	p. 169
Argamasilla: The Man with the X-ray Eyes	p. 171
Houdini's Psychic "Miracles"	p. 172
Anna Eva Fay: The Mentalist Who Baffled Crookes!	p. 175
The Anti-Spiritualist Crusade	p. 177
Medium Hunting	p. 179
"Sherlock Houdini"	p. 181
Margery: The Second Harvard Investigation	p. 183
The Crusade in Chicago	p. 185
Houdini in Washington	p. 188
Reese Unmasked	p. 190
The Buried Fakir	p. 191
Houdini's Last Miracle: Submerged Under Water	p. 192
Margery Fails Again	p. 198
J. B. Rhine's Investigation	p. 202
Tragedy!	p. 203
Good-bye, Houdini	p. 205
The Final Years	p. 207
Bess and Sir Arthur's Correspondence	p. 207
Conan Doyle's Later Spiritualistic Exploits	p. 216
Pecoraro Tries Again	p. 217
Arthur Ford's Message	p. 218
"The Message Is a Hoax!"	p. 221
Houdini's "Psychic Powers" ... According to Conan Doyle	p. 223
Conan Doyle's Final Days	p. 226
The Margery Case: Houdini Vindicated	p. 229
The End of Margery	p. 231
The Final Seance	p. 234
Conclusion	p. 237
Bibliography	p. 245
Index	p. 253
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Final Seance

The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle

At a Glance

Hardcover

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How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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