The Illusionist is a novel by Irish author Jennifer Johnston

Jennifer Johnston

Jennifer Johnston is an Irish novelist, winner of the Whitbread Book Award for The Old Jest in 1979, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1977...

 published in 1995 and considered one of her best works. It gained positive reviews in the Irish Times, Times Literary Supplement and the New Statesman

New Statesman

New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....

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Premise

The story consists of two interlinked narratives. In the first, set in Dublin, 58 year-old Stella Glover meets with her daughter Robin after the funeral of her estranged husband Martyn, and seeks reconciliation with her. The other narrative consists of flashbacks to her past life in London; her first meeting with Martyn who describes himself as an 'illusionist', their marriage, the birth of Robin, and Stella's growing frustration with Martyn about whom she knows nothing. He refuses to tell her anything about his family, his past or the nature of his career, he provides her with every luxury but insists she gives him privacy. Eventually Martyn's behaviour becomes increasingly difficult and Stella is eventually forced to leave him and her daughter behind and return to her parents in Dublin. But to Robin, Martyn continues to be the perfect father and she cannot forgive Stella for leaving him...

External links

• Magic Tricks: Harriet Paterson reads a jagged tale of marital deceit review from The Independent
  The Independent
  The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...