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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →John Zubrzycki’s Jadoowallahs, Jugglers and Jinns: A Magical History of India makes a sweeping case for magic as part of India’s religious, social and cultural history—not merely a catalogue of stage tricks. But its breadth does not make it a final account: reviews praise its range while one prominent critic questions whose records and standards shape the story.
What story does Zubrzycki’s book tell?
The book follows Indian magic from the Harappan period into the present, according to Scroll’s review. Its scope spans ideas such as maya and Indrajaala, religious and mythic accounts, itinerant performers and their communities, colonial descriptions, exchanges with Western magicians, and the enduring story of the Indian rope trick. These are elements of the book as described by reviewers, rather than independent confirmation of every historical episode.
That breadth makes the subject cultural history as much as performance history. As Zubrzycki put it in a quotation reported by Scroll, “To tell the story of Indian magic is to hold a mirror to India’s religious traditions, its society and culture.” The National’s review also situates the book within a longer history of Western accounts and imagined representations of India as a land of magic.
Why is “definitive” still an open question?
A definitive history would need more than a long timeline and a wide range of subjects. It would also need to make clear whose evidence is preserved, whose interpretations are examined, and how Indian practitioners’ influence is assessed at home as well as abroad.
Reviews differ on how well this book meets that challenge. Scroll calls it meticulous and engaging, praising its connections among religion, society, culture and politics. The National offers a generally appreciative account of its historical reach. Publishers Weekly recognizes the range but calls the history underwhelming, arguing that Zubrzycki relies almost exclusively on British sources and does not sufficiently interrogate their biases. The review also says the book measures success through acceptance by British and American magicians, devoting more attention to P.C. Sorcar’s conflicts with Euro-American magicians than to his impact in India.
That is a reviewer’s critique, not an uncontested judgment on the book or a settled verdict on the field. It does, however, expose a useful distinction: a history can cover many centuries and subjects while still leaving questions about the diversity of its sources and the perspective from which it evaluates its subjects.
Rank #2
- Brand: Wonder House Books
- Language: english
Can one narrative encompass every kind of Indian magic?
The material described in the reviews crosses several kinds of evidence and experience: religious and ritual ideas, popular performance, colonial-era accounts, communities of itinerant performers, and modern entertainment on international stages. A single narrative can connect these strands, but connection is not the same as completeness. Ritual practice, popular storytelling and documented stage performance do not necessarily leave the same kinds of records, and a colonial description is not a neutral substitute for the voices of the people it describes.
The question is therefore not simply whether a book is broad, but whether its sources and framing let readers see those different strands on their own terms. The reviewed material does not establish that any one account has resolved that problem for all periods and traditions.
What does the book’s reception establish?
The reviews support a measured conclusion. Zubrzycki has produced a substantial, story-rich account that readers can use to encounter Indian magic as a subject intertwined with wider cultural and political history. At the same time, the critical questions raised by Publishers Weekly—and the author’s own interview view that Indian magic history “hasn’t been fully explored”—leave room for further accounts and perspectives. The interview records Zubrzycki’s view; it should not be mistaken for scholarly consensus.
So, can there be a definitive history of magic in India? Perhaps, but “definitive” is not a label these reviews settle. This book is better understood as an ambitious history that opens the subject up while leaving a live debate about sources, emphasis and whose account becomes authoritative.
Rank #4
Which edition is the book called?
Edition titles vary. In India, the book was published as Jadoowallahs, Jugglers and Jinns: A Magical History of India. Related UK and US editions use Empire of Enchantment: The Story of Indian Magic; Publishers Weekly identifies the US edition as ISBN 978-0-19-091439-4. Use the title matching the edition when searching for or citing the book.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Scroll.in, Vipin Krishna, “Can there be a definitive history of magic in India? This book tells the mesmerising story,” 29 July 2018
- The National, Kapil Komireddi, “Book review: John Zubrzycki looks at the history of Indian magic,” 25 June 2018
- Publishers Weekly, “Empire of Enchantment: The Story of Indian Magic,” 5 November 2018
- The Indian Express, “‘Indian magic history hasn’t been fully explored’,” 2019
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