Indian Conjuring

Branson, L. H. (Lionel Hugh), 1879-1946Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 81K words
Chapters: 9

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Indian Conjuring by L. H. BransonAuthor: Branson, L. H. (Lionel Hugh), 1879-1946,Language: English, Class: GV: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation: Recreation, Leisure, Release Date: Nov 28, 2008

Editor's review

Indian Conjuring is a short book by the British magician and writer L. H. Branson introducing traditional Indian illusion and conjuring, part of the GV (entertainment and leisure) category in the Project Gutenberg free e-book series. Its value lies not in offering a systematic magic tutorial but in recording, from a first-hand perspective, the types of illusion, props, and performance methods found in early twentieth-century Indian street and folk performances. It has primary-source value for readers studying South Asian folk performance, magic history, and East-West conjuring exchange during the colonial period. The observations bear the mark of their era, the prose is in a typical British documentary style, and the book is short—suitable for casual reading as an introduction to the topic of "Indian magic." It is best read as historical material and a travelogue of observations rather than a strict technical manual; the cultural statements it contains should be viewed critically. As a public-domain e-book, it is easy to obtain and search at any time, and is suitable for comparative reading alongside other works on magic history or South Asian folklore studies.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in magic history and illusion performance who want to learn about traditional Indian conjuring types
Readers studying South Asian folklore, street performance, and colonial-era cultural records
Those who enjoy reading public-domain English documentary pamphlets and doing themed extended reading
Writers who need English primary material on magic history or folk performance

Not a good fit for

Practical readers hoping to systematically learn magic techniques and prop-making
Rigorous academic readers who prefer modern research reviews and scholarly annotations
General readers accustomed to reading in Chinese and unfamiliar with English documentary prose

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and chapter subheadings first to grasp the categories of illusion covered, then read chapters of interest closely.
Take notes when reading specific performance descriptions, comparing them with known Western magic routines to observe similarities and differences.
Treat it as historical material rather than a tutorial, keep a critical distance from its cultural judgments, and consult modern research where necessary.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a tutorial on how to perform magic?

No. It is closer to a travelogue and folklore record, introducing the types and methods of traditional Indian illusion and street performance rather than teaching techniques step by step. Those who want to learn magic techniques should choose specialized technical books.

Can I read this book if my English is not good?

The book is a public-domain English work in a documentary narrative style; the vocabulary is not especially difficult, but it contains period expressions and place-name terminology. Readers who have difficulty with English can use a dictionary or a bilingual edition, or start with related Chinese research works.

Is this book suitable for academic citation?

It can be cited as early first-hand observational material, but note the author's perspective and the limitations of his era; it should not be treated as a neutral, objective conclusion. It is best used in comparison with contemporary folklore and magic-history research, with its public-domain e-book source noted.

Why does Project Gutenberg appear in the book's description?

Because the book is distributed free by Project Gutenberg, and the description text follows the platform's statement introducing its e-book project background. This content is not part of the book itself; reading should focus on the content of Indian Conjuring.

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About the author

Branson, L. H. (Lionel Hugh), 1879-1946 Author · 1879–1946

L. H. Branson (Lionel Hugh Branson, 1879–1946) is the author of Indian Conjuring. Public information about this author is limited, and his nationality, education, and professional career are not clearly recorded. What can be confirmed is that he was born in 1879 and died in 1946, and that only one of his works is held in our collection. Judging from the title and subject of Indian Conjuring, Branson's writing interest lay in the traditional magic and folk performance arts of South Asia; books of this kind usually consist of observational records and also describe performance techniques and local customs. The book offered English-language readers an early window into Indian street magic and retains some reference value among English works on similar subjects. Given the limited sources, the overall character of his writing style and his later influence remain to be further examined.