Jasper Maskelyne: War Magician?

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Jasper Maskelyne, famed early Twentieth Century magician and illusionist, is often referred to as the 'War Magician'. 

This nickname originates, mostly, from David Fisher's 1983 book, aptly titled, The War Magician: The man who conjured victory in the desert. Fisher tells the story of Maskelyne's background as a stage magician and his exploits during World War Two, when he joined the British Army intent on using magic to defeat Hitler.

Unfortunately, the book - while an interesting read - is highly fictionalised, despite the author's assertion that "everything Jasper Maskelyne is credited with doing he actually accomplished". 

Had he attempted a factual account of Maskelyne's contribution to the war effort, Fisher wouldn't have been helped by his source material. 

Much of Fisher's story is based on Maskelyne's book Magic - Top Secret (1949) (ghost written by F. S. Stuart), which itself exaggerated the facts, claimed accomplishments which others were responsible for, or used other creative means to tell a good story.

Most articles and coverage of Maskelyne's life tend to repeat the 'War Magician' myth. A rare example of  a balanced assessment, is this BBC Reel short film (6:49 mins):


Jasper Maskelyne did make a contribution to World War Two, even if it is often exaggerated. I'll explore this topic in future blogs...


Comments

  1. Areeba Shaikh (H)13 June 2021 at 15:49

    Wedding magician London I think this is an informative post and it is very useful and knowledgeable. therefore, I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WarMagician8 August 2021 at 22:20

      Many thanks for your kind comment Areeba. If you are interested in Jasper Maskelyne, look out for some posts about him on this blog in 2022.

      Delete

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