The Witch of Lime Street [Seance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World] - David Jaher Audiobook

Written by David Jaher
Read by Simon Vance
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps

A history of the rivalry between Harry Houdini and the so called Witch of Lime Street, whose iconic lives intersect 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.

In 1924, the wife of a distinguished Boston surgeon came to embody the raging national debate over Spiritualism, a movement devoted to communication with the dead. Known to her followers simply as Margery, reporters dubbed her the blonde “Witch of Lime Street”.

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, offering a large cash prize to the first medium declared authentic by its five man investigative committee.

Admired for her charm and dazzling effects, Margery was the best hope for the psychic practice to be verified. Her supernatural gifts beguiled four of the judges. There was only one left to convince… the acclaimed escape artist, Harry Houdini, a relentless unmasker of charlatans.

David Jaher’s debut culminates in the showdown between Houdini, and Margery, the nation’s most credible spirit medium, “The Witch of Lime Street”, all while engaging with the timeless question: Is there life after death?

Unabridged
Narrated By: Simon Vance
Duration: 14:08:55
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64kbps