Glen David Gold's Carter Beats the Devil

Glen David Gold’s Chaplin novel Sunnyside finally came out last year to some acclaim, but then seemed to mysteriously disappear and was disappointingly absent from all the end of year ‘best of’ lists. It had been an eight-year wait for his follow up to 2001’s Carter Beats the Devil, a sensation in its day and a title that has endured in the popular consciousness, perhaps because of the oft-rumoured movie or TV versions that have not eventuated. Its classic status has now been pretty much confirmed and it doesn’t take much to see why. Despite the 564-page count, Carter Beats the Devil is a breath of fresh air to read, somehow retaining a breezy, relaxed tone despite being dense and complicated. It’s also tremendously exciting, a feat of magic the erudite and charming Gold manages to sustain in performing over so many pages.

Charles Carter was a real-life magician who was at the height of his powers in the early part of the Twentieth Century. How much of Gold’s novel is factual I have no idea, but if even a fraction of it is, Carter’s extraordinary life certainly deserves immortalisation. Houdini is the name most associated with magic from that period but it is curious to think that international stars like Carter or actress Sarah Bernhardt, who were once widely known across the globe, are now strangely forgotten. Perhaps the same fate will befall David Blaine and Julia Roberts eighty years from now. We can only hope.

Covering a period of Carter’s life between 1888 & 1923, the novel begins at the end, with the master magician suspected of being complicit in the death of President Harding, whom he uses in the final thrilling act of his show. Despite being apparently devoured by a lion, to the great alarum of the Secret Service, Harding is in fact unharmed and able to walk grinning from the theatre. He dies later that night and suspicion falls on Carter. What grave matter had they discussed during their moments alone? What secret had the President made Carter privy to? During the investigation that follows Carter uses his skills to amusingly misdirect awkward Secret Service agent Griffin and so a riddle is posed that lies unanswered until we have discovered what forces brought Charles Carter to this strange point in his life.

Gold then jumps back to Carter’s youth and relaxes into an expertly woven tale detailing Carter’s initiation into the world of magic, his gradual rise to fame and determination to live up to the name Houdini finally gives him – Carter the Great. Personal tragedy, high romance, safe cracking, elephants and pirates all make an appearance in Gold’s epic narrative that never strays from feeling personal. Carter is a powerhouse of a central character – witty, sad, hopeless with money and an awesome stage performer. Gold’s glee in committing him to the page is constantly evident, and his enthusiasm for the subject matter is infectious. There’s even a guest appearance near the end by his and partner Alice Sebold’s dogs.

Carter Beats the Devil is available in a lot of those remainder bookstores now, at a bargain basement price. If you see it around, grab it immediately. It’s high entertainment indeed, no surprise perhaps to anyone who has met the author. He drinks vodka martinis and is about as affable a gent as it’s possible to be, a veritable James Bond of the literary scene. Here’s hoping he doesn’t make us wait another eight years for the next book and that we are spared a poor movie version of this one.