sites.prh.com Open in urlscan Pro
2600:9000:2512:fc00:10:6ab2:f640:93a1  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

POST https://cart.penguinrandomhouse.com/prhcart/prhcart.php?ref=PRHE159AAB82E

<form action="https://cart.penguinrandomhouse.com/prhcart/prhcart.php?ref=PRHE159AAB82E" method="post" target="splash_tab" class="tw-inline-flex tw-w-full tw-justify-center"><button data-v-b1015186="" type="submit"
    class="tw-leading-tight font-avenir font-weight-500 font-size-23px tw-border-solid tw-border-2 tw-w-full tw-py-2 tw-min-h-12" data-test="module-add-to-cart"
    style="--theme-button-background-hover: #f7f7f7; --theme-button-background: #333333; --theme-button-border-color: #333333; --theme-button-color: #f7f7f7; --theme-button-hover-text-color: #333333;"><span data-v-b1015186=""
      class="!tw-no-underline">Add to Cart</span> </button> <input type="hidden" name="itemISBN" value="9780307451071"> <input type="hidden" name="itemQuantity" value="1"> <input type="hidden" name="siteName" value="prh"> <input type="hidden"
    name="referringSite" value="splash"> <input type="hidden" name="siteReturnURL" value="https://sites.prh.com/david-jaher"> <input type="hidden" name="itemReturnURL"
    value="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/86290/the-witch-of-lime-street-by-david-jaher/9780307451071"></form>

Text Content

Cookies and Similar Technologies

We, our affiliates, and providers working on our behalf, use cookies to analyze
our websites, provide social sharing features, deliver content, and communicate
with you to provide support. We also use cookies to deliver personalized ads and
disclose information about your use of our site with our advertising providers
for this purpose. View our Privacy Policy to learn more and manage your privacy
choices.

Acknowledge
×
Skip to main content

David Jaher Menu


AVAILABLE NOW


THE WITCH OF LIME STREET


An Editor's pick for Best History on Amazon

An NPR Best Book of 2015

History comes alive in this textured account of the rivalry between Harry
Houdini and the so-called Witch of Lime Street, whose iconic lives intersected
at a time when science was on the verge of embracing the paranormal.

The 1920s are famous as the golden age of jazz and glamour, but it was also an
era of fevered yearning for communion with the spirit world, after the loss of
tens of millions in the First World War and the Spanish-flu epidemic. A
desperate search for reunion with dead loved ones precipitated a tidal wave of
self-proclaimed psychics—and, as reputable media sought stories on occult
phenomena, mediums became celebrities.

Against this backdrop, in 1924, the pretty wife of a distinguished Boston
surgeon came to embody the raging national debate over Spiritualism, a movement
devoted to communication with the dead. Reporters dubbed her the blonde Witch of
Lime Street, but she was known to her followers simply as Margery. Her most
vocal advocate was none other than Sherlock Holmes' creator Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, who believed so thoroughly in Margery's powers that he urged her to enter
a controversial contest, sponsored by Scientific American and offering a large
cash prize to the first medium declared authentic by its impressive five-man
investigative committee.  Admired for both her exceptional charm and her
dazzling effects, Margery was the best hope for the psychic practice to be
empirically verified.  Her supernatural gifts beguiled four of the judges. There
was only one left to convince...the acclaimed escape artist, Harry Houdini.

David Jaher's extraordinary debut culminates in the showdown between Houdini, a
relentless unmasker of charlatans, and Margery, the nation's most credible
spirit medium. The Witch of Lime Street, the first book to capture their
electric public rivalry and the competition that brought them into each other’s
orbit, returns us to an oft-mythologized era to deepen our understanding of its
history, all while igniting our imagination and engaging with the timeless
question: Is there life after death?

PURCHASE AT YOUR FAVORITE RETAILER

Add to Cart
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books A Million
Bookshop.org
Target
Hudson Booksellers


PRAISE FOR DAVID JAHER’S THE WITCH OF LIME STREET


“Occasionally, you run across a book so good it feels like a secret — and spend
months recommending it to anyone who will listen. That's The Witch of Lime
Street.”
—Genevieve Valentine, NPR's Best Books of 2015

“David Jaher’s stunning and brilliantly written account of the battle between
the Great Houdini and the blond Witch of Lime Street illuminates a lost period
in American history...One of Jaher’s great achievements is to build real
suspense in a tale whose conclusion is foreordained…captivating and
unforgettable.” 
—Cass Sunstein, The New York Review of Books

“David Jaher's utterly spellbinding The Witch of Lime Street…painstakingly sets
its scene, which spans more than a decade and involves so many interrelated
figures that you almost expect a list of dramatis personae…Jaher writes with a
novelist's panache about the intricacies of the egos in play (Houdini's and
Doyle's more than most, though several contest judges give them a run for their
money). With the result something of a foregone conclusion — you'll notice
"psychical research" is not currently a household industry — it's all the more
impressive that Jaher builds the sense of mystery effortlessly, without seeming
as though he's actually withholding any of the key information about the society
medium who would rock Scientific American. He chronicles Mrs. Crandon's social
circle with a mixture of poetic sympathy and journalistic distance. (And he
backstories her husband Dr. Crandon with a beat of the what-the-hell candor that
makes this book such a page-turner.)…But like any good magician, Jaher has other
tricks up his sleeve. As the plot thickens, we begin to see macabre glimpses of
things falling apart: examples of Houdini's short temper, power struggles
between journalism and academia, hints of Mina's personal and family demons. It
was a raucous age, and The Witch of Lime Street makes sure its spooky showdown
happens smack in the middle of the action. It's a delightful history, a
captivating mystery, and thanks to Jaher's stylish flourishes, even the big
reveals maintain an air of high-wire theatricality — like any good magician, The
Witch of Lime Street knew what we wanted all along.”
—NPR

“Riveting reading...flamboyant, enigmatic, and complex characters. [Jaher] is
also a diligent researcher, and his storytelling skills are impressive.”
—Wall Street Journal


Photo: © Laura Rose

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVID JAHER received a BA from Brandeis University and an MFA in film production
from New York University.  At NYU, he was the recipient of the WTC Johnson
Fellowship for directing.  The Witch of Lime Street is his first book. 
Currently he is a screenwriter (WGA) and is completing Cry Havoc!—his second
work of American history for Crown/Random House.






CONTACT

For Film/TV inquiries, please contact Will Watkins:  will.watkins@caa.com

For Literary inquiries, please contact Tina Bennett: info@bennettliterary.com

For Media inquiries related to the book, please contact Dyana Messina:
dmessina@penguinrandomhouse.com

Privacy Policy Terms of Use
Affiliate Program Disclosure
© Copyright 2024 Penguin Random House
Back to top