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    The Prestige by Christopher Priest Summary

    The Prestige
    Christopher Priest
    Mystery
    Thriller
    Psychology
    Fiction
    Overview
    Key Takeaways
    Author
    FAQs

    Overview of The Prestige

    Two Victorian magicians battle in this mind-bending tale that inspired Christopher Nolan's award-winning film. Winner of the World Fantasy Award, "The Prestige" reveals how far obsession drives men who live by deception. What deadly secret lies behind the perfect illusion?

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    Key Takeaways

    1

    Shadows and Doubles: The Deadly Game Begins

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    In Victorian London, two magicians are locked in a rivalry that will consume their lives-and the lives of generations to come. Alfred Borden and Rupert Angier begin as ambitious young performers, each determined to create the most spectacular illusions the world has ever seen. Their initial professional jealousy transforms into something far darker when a theater accident results in the death of Angier's wife. Was it truly an accident, or Borden's deliberate sabotage? The seed of hatred planted that night grows into an obsession that will destroy them both. What makes their feud so compelling is how each man perceives himself as the victim and the other as the villain. Through their dueling diaries, we witness two entirely different versions of the same events. Borden describes Angier as a fraud exploiting grieving families through fake seances, while Angier portrays Borden as a malicious saboteur whose actions grow increasingly dangerous. The truth, like any great magic trick, lies somewhere in the carefully constructed misdirection. "The lie is contained in these words, even in the very first of them," Borden warns in his diary-a confession that sets the tone for a narrative where deception becomes inseparable from reality.

    2

    The Anatomy of Wonder: Magic's Three-Part Structure

    3

    The Faustian Bargain: When Science Meets Magic

    4

    The Secret Lives of Alfred Borden

    5

    The Ghost in the Machine: Fractured Existence

    6

    The Vault of Prestiges: Horror Beneath Caldlow House

    7

    The Price of Obsession: Generations of Destruction