By Emma Carroll (author)
"Magic, mystery, loyalty and courage abound in a spellbinding race to save Houdini’s legacy."
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July 2024 Book of the Month
Another wonderful historical tale from Emma Carroll. Set in 1926 and based on the larger-than-life story of Harry Houdini and his mysterious sudden death in 1926. Imbued with the spirit of the Vaudeville age, when audiences on seaside promenades and in theatres sat completely captivated by escape artists, magicians, clairvoyants and musicians, this is a compelling story.
The wonderfully named Gloria Copperfield (Glory) and best friend Dennis, who is Houdini’s greatest fan, grab the opportunity to see him perform in their quiet seaside town of Sidford by the Sea, but soon they are propelled into a greater adventure than they could ever have imagined.
They find themselves assisting the great man when it becomes clear that someone is trying to steal his priceless secrets from the mysterious trunk No.8 and they end up on transatlantic trip of a lifetime accompanied by Denis’s Gran and Glory’s big sister Ettie.
Can they help Bess Houdini preserve her husband’s legacy? What family secrets will they discover on the way? Touching on some issues still very relevant to our times, like the racism Denis’s family encounters or a same-sex relationship that is kept quiet for fear of it not being accepted and with vividly described settings, empathetic characters and an intriguing mystery, this is another absolute winner.
Magic shows and mysteries abound in this showstopping new standalone from a bestselling author who has sold close to a million copies of these middle-grade adventures!
Read the full description
The English seaside, 1920s. A world famous escape artist. A suitcase full of secrets. And a death-defying stunt.
When Harry Houdini comes to visit the seaside town of Sidford-on-Sea, Glory and her friend Dennis are first in-line to see him. He is there to perform a daring trick: he will jump off the town pier in chains, pitching himself into the water below. But when Glory outsmarts the infamous Houdini, she is suddenly sucked into his world, and finds herself tasked with looking after his precious trunk - the one that contains all his secrets.
With Houdini in danger, Glory and Dennis are thrown deep into an adventure that takes them all the way to Coney Island in America, and the dark underbelly of its amusement parks.
Once told by the poet Ted Hughes her writing was 'dangerous', it took Emma Carroll twenty years of teaching English and a life-changing cancer diagnosis to feel brave enough to give her dream of being an author a try. Nowadays, she's a bestselling writer, and has been nominated for and the winner of numerous national, regional and schools awards - including the Books Are My Bag Readers' Award, Branford Boase, CILIP Carnegie Medal, Young Quills, Teach Primary and the Waterstones Book Prize.
Emma's home is in the Somerset hills with her husband and two terriers. She still can't believe her luck that she gets to write dangerous books for a living.
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Magic shows and mysteries abound in this showstopping new standalone from a bestselling author who has sold close to a million copies of these middle-grade adventures! The English seaside, 1920s.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Houdini Inheritance and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-12 years old
The Houdini Inheritance features in the following genres: Books of the Month, Recommendations, Crime & Mystery, Adventure Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Historical Fiction, Star Books, Featured Books for 11+ readers
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Houdini Inheritance was written by Emma Carroll and published by Faber & Faber
The Houdini Inheritance has 296 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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