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Carter Beats the Devil

glen david gold

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Charles Carter—a.k.a. Carter the Great—is a young master performer whose skill as an illusionist exceeds even that of the great Houdini. But nothing in his career has prepared Carter for the greatest stunt of all, which stars none other than President Warren G. Harding and which could end up costing Carter the reputation he has worked so hard to create. Filled with historical references that evoke the excesses and exuberance of Roaring Twenties, pre-Depression America, Carter Beats the Devil is a complex and illuminating story of one man's journey through a magical—and sometimes dangerous—world, where illusion is everything.

483 pages, Paperback

First published September 5,2001
Literary awards
guardian first book award, 

This edition

Format
483 pages, Paperback
Published
September 18, 2002 by Hyperion
ISBN
9780786886326
ASIN
0786886323
Language
English
Characters More characters

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About the author

Profile Image for glen david gold

glen david gold

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Glen David Gold is the author of Carter Beats the Devil (Hyperion, 2001), a historical novel about Charles Carter, a real-life San Francisco stage magician who performs for President Warren Harding on the evening of Harding's mysterious death. It has been translated into 14 languages.

His next novel, Sunnyside (Knopf, 2009), is a dark romp concerning Charlie Chaplin's rise to fame during World War I and its parallels with America's embrace of its part on the world stage.

His most recent book is a memoir, I Will Be Complete (Knopf, 2018). About it, Darin Strauss (Half a Life, Chang and Eng) writes, "“I Will Be Complete is the best memoir I've read in years. It's likely the best memoir published in years."

Gold's short stories have appeared in a number of issues of McSweeney's. He has also published fiction, essays, memoir and reviews in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Playboy, Wired and Zyzzyva.

Gold wrote a single 1997 episode of the cartoon show Hey Arnold. He has also ventured into comic books, including The Spirit, featuring artwork by Eduardo Risso, and The Escapist, with artwork by Gene Colan. He has written extensively about comics creator Jack Kirby, most notably for the Masters of American Comics and Comic Book Apocalypse museum show catalogues.

More recently, Gold co-wrote episodes of the stage show The Thrilling Adventure Hour and the podcast Welcome to Night Vale. He lives in Los Angeles not with but adjacent to his girlfriend, in a duplex, the logistics of which are addressed in a 2018 Modern Love column for The New York Times.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
31(31%)
4 stars
37(37%)
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
kneecrawler
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Historical figures entwined in a fictional plot that builds to a suspenseful conclusion. Stage magic - one of my favorite subjects = plays a big role and there are liberal doses of humor. All in all a good and satisfying read.
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wetkancut
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Bear with me one this one: a story about a 1920s magician who is suspected of assassinating President Harding after the president attended one of his shows. Much of the book is apparently based on the real-life magician Carter the Great, but the embroidering on character and detail is fascinating. The story is told from the point of view of a few different characters: Carter, the secret service agent tailing him, etc. Somehow the author weaves together the development of television, turn of the century magic tricks and gimmicks, a real-life corrupt president, and a blind girl into a coherent, fascinating story... No big morals or life truths to take out of this one, unless you count the old standby of live every moment like it counts -- eh, I don't. I was just thoroughly entertained from page one til page the last. Totally recommend it.
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Cyokie
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This year I have read two works of fiction that feature Warren Gamaliel Harding. Entirely unintentional, I assure you. The first was Hollywood by Gore Vidal, and the second Carter Beats the Devil. Loosely based on the life of world class magician Charles Carter, Carter Beats the Devil offers a rich and fully-realized vision of bygone San Francisco. The bulk of the novel (and at 496 pages, it is bulky) takes place in the late teens and early 1920's. There's a murder mystery, corporate espionage, romance, tragedy, and comedy, all revolving around a likable cast of characters. Imaginative and entertaining--one of those books that is radiant with the author's generosity of spirit. A great, cozy winter read.
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Fujimaru-kun
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Read this years ago and still get happy feelings whenever I see it mentioned. Such a fun book!
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AP817
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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"я просто хотів показати, що деякі фокуси дуже хитрі. аж занадто хитрі. мені, виконавцеві, прикро, коли я щось роблю, а ніхто цього не помічає".
мабуть, у письменницькій роботі теж таке є. коли ти вибудовуєш текст, створюючи фантастичні фігури, а читач потім відмовляється їх бачити, повторюючи несмішний жарт про сині штори. на щастя, письменники не так часто бачать безпосередні читацькі реакції (або їхню відсутність), як фокусники.
але то так, асоціації. книжка ж – захопливий роман про ілюзіоніста, сам наповнений фокусами й ілюзіями. у цій магічній атмосфері і збіги обставин, і передбачувані сюжетні ходи, і жанрові кліше виглядають природно й правильно: адже нам показують магію, в якій усе може скінчитися несподівано, але неодмінно добре.
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Usui_007
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Unbelievably tedious 658 page slog. The worst book I've read in YEARS.
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Rafer45
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I fought this book for years. When it came out I was so excited I could barely contain myself. After reading the first pages I stopped because I was afraid that the promise of those pages could not be sustained. That the sheer excitement of those pages would lead to an ultimate disappointment. But fear not dear readers, I returned to the book at the recommendation of a friend and ran through it to the climax in just a few hours. Such was the intensity of my reading that I couldn't put it down. It was like reading, Harry Potter, for the first time. The pages turned themselves. It was such a wonderful ride I read it again immediately. This time I savored the plotting, the characterization, the mood, the history, and dare I say the magic of this book.
Please read, Carter beats The Devil, you will thank me.
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spirachuu
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This took a while to finish. There is a lot of setup. Good mini stories to be sue, but not a strong thread which I seem to need more right now. But it all paid off in the end. Glad I stuck with it.
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