Hocus Pocus by Brinda Charry

 Hocus Pocus is based on the renowned, real-life Indian stage magicians performing in the United States in the 1800s.

Two men meat at a time when Samuel Thomas dreams of greatness in a far-off land, and Walter Mepham tries to revitalize the New Boston Museum which is on the brink of bankruptcy. They develop a relationship which is the driving force of this novel. Samuel is a man who strongly knows what he wants and he values his freedom but compromises in some aspect to work for Walter. And that also brings the aspect of how much one can bend to stay true to oneself.  

In the backstory, we learn about Kumar Samee who grew up in an orphanage in Madras, India, where the magicians of the city were among the most skilled in the world. At the age of ten, he was taken from his grandparents and put into orphanage under a pretext of a better future. He was of light skin and the British officers of the East India Company saw it more fit for him to be at orphanage where he was named Samuel Thomas.

Walter Mepham is a man of a very peculiar taste, collecting things that are rare and curious. Things that seem almost as idolatry as stated by his father-in-law. George Tablot, among Boston’s wealthiest, doesn’t approve of the museum and his son-in-law. Walter’s love for his curiosities is much greater than for his wife. Sarah recognizes it and it pains her even more when Walter sends her on the missions to ask her father for money for his failing museum.

Ezra Harvey, assistant at museum, suggests bringing lecturers and performances to the museum in order to revitalize it. Walter is very peculiar in his choices but is willing to implement Ezra’s ideas to see what comes of them, but he wants the performer to be of the highest order.

Samuel, who is freshly arrived in the US from London, takes his first steps at a tavern in Boston. At twenty-five, he already considers himself to be an excellent magician and he catches the attention of Walter. 

The story is richly detailed, vividly imagined and narrated with outstanding prose. At times the prose takes time to explore a subject among such themes as art, ambition and desire. Interestingly capturing the time when magic shows are all the rage across the world.

Released in August 2026 

Source: Scribner; Simon & Schuster