The Illusionist
Written by Anita Mason
- Shortlisted
- The Booker Prize 1983
- Published by Hamish Hamilton
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Set in the first years of the Christian Church, Anita Mason’s novel tells the story of Simon Magus, mentioned in Acts of the Apostles as a magician
Simon Magus: idolater, sorcerer, seducer, necromancer, outcast and illusionist. The man who could conjure wild lions, writhing serpents, dazzling birds, pleasure gardens and shining palaces out of thin desert air. The man with the powers of a god, bound in a hungry body driven by lust and pride. Was he the Deliverer? Or had the Deliverer already died, broken on a cross at Calvary, misunderstood and forgotten by all except a sect of unlettered peasants?
Anita Mason
Anita Mason was born in Bristol, England. She is the author of eight novels, as well as a number of short stories
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