CM Magazine: Daughter of the Great Zandini.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VIII Number 14 . . . . March 15, 2002

Daughter of the Great Zandini.

Cary Fagan. Illustrated by Cybele Young.
Toronto, ON: Tundra Books, 2001.
57 pp., cloth, $18.99.
ISBN 0-88776-534-3.

Subject Headings:
Magic-Juvenile fiction.
Magicians-Juvenile fiction.
Fathers and daughters-Juvenile fiction.
Paris (France)-Juvenile fiction.

Grades 4-6 / Ages 9-11.

Review by Gillian Richardson.

** /4

excerpt:

The day before the opening of the show arrived. The theater front was festooned with the new poster that showed the Great Zandini commanding his son to rise out of a giant egg. I was in the poster too, but only in the background, peeking out of a wicker basket and wearing a turban on my head. It seemed to me that the artist had done almost too good a job. Rather than pleased, Theodore looked as dismayed on the poster as he did in real life.

But I couldn't help being tremendously excited. A crowd of admirers, as well as journalists from the Paris newspapers, gathered outside the theater and chanted for Father to make an appearance. Carriages stopped, blocking the street. Finally we came out and Father stood on a trunk to address them.

"Dear friends," he called. "Tomorrow is a very special day. Not only is it the start of a new show, but it is also the beginning of my son's glorious career on the stage. He will conquer Paris, not by the sword but by magic!"

The setting is Paris, the "city of entertainment" in the late 1800s. Magical shows are enthusiastically received. But the Gazette's "conjuring reporter," A.S. Bessette, casts doubt on the ability of the aging Great Zandini to perform. The world's greatest magician decides to mount a new show, spotlighting his son as his successor. Unfortunately, Theodore has no interest in magic. His younger sister, Fanny, does, but her talent goes unrecognized by their father. Disguised as a boy, she tries out magic tricks in the streets to hype the show. Her plan backfires when the reporter suggests a challenge - the mysterious "newcomer" versus the Great Zandini, pitting Fanny against her father. Not only is her talent revealed, but so is a surprise from the family's past.

Told from the point of view of a determined female protagonist, Fanny, the well-paced plot has plenty of conflict. The discord that opens the story - the family at odds with Bessette - embroils the characters in mystery and suspense which is maintained until the end when the real identity of the reporter (a long-lost uncle with no love for magic) comes to light. There is also conflict with in the family: Theodore's dreams do not match the desires of his father for his future; Fanny's sense of filial obedience struggles with her love of the art of magic. Fanny's character is shaped by events; her frustration over Zandini's unwillingness to contradict the customs of the time and acknowledge her abilities forces her to take matters into her own hands to prove her point. Any doubt as to the credibility of her disguise when facing her own father in a duel of magic is erased if the reader keeps in mind this is a story of illusions that "make the impossible seem possible. Fanny's reward will satisfy readers who believe one must be true to oneself.

This book is well-suited as a read-aloud. The author has chosen a style of language befitting the era, somewhat formal in diction, but one which evokes appropriate emotions. Apart from the more sober issues, there are humorous scenes which give readers a taste of the magic that made the fictional Zandini great, all the while preserving the illusions.

Recommended.

Gillian Richardson is a former teacher-librarian and a published writer of children's fiction and nonfiction, living in BC.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

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