Masters of Illusion(1994)by Mary Anne Tirone Smith

 1001 Novels: A Library of America

Masters of Illusion: 

A Novel of the Connecticut Circus Fire (1994)

by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith

Hartford, Connecticut

Connecticut: 7/9

    My fear before I started the 1001 Novels: A Library of America is that reading 1001 Novels about America would prove tedious.  Simply compare the non-1001 Novels books from the past six months.  1001 Novels books are domestic tragedies about sad working class and middle class families.  Non 1001 Novels books span the globe and take in an incredible range of histories and life experiences.  Masters of Illusion: A Novel of the Connecticut Circus Fire is the first "tough get" on the 1001 Novels list.  The Los Angeles Public Library only has a single copy, which means you can't check it out.  I ended up buying a used copy on Amazon for five bucks.   The book that arrived was both a library discard and a large-print edition- a double loser.  Library discards are the bottom of the barrel of the used book world- their average value is zero cents plus whatever scarcity value the title has- thus me paying five books for my library discard, large print edition.

   In terms of the ability to describe the place- Masters of Illusion is a 10/10 if the place is the Connecticut Circus Fire- which was a real event that took place in Hartford, Connecticut in 1944, the proximate cause being an ill-advised decision to "water proof" the circus tent with a mixture which included paraffin and gasoline.  Over one hundred and fifty people died, over seven hundred were injured.  Since it happened during World War II, most of the victims were women and children. 

  The protagonist is Margie Potter, the youngest survivor of the disaster.  As an 18 year old high school graduate, Potter marries a handsome fireman, Charles O'Neill, who, as luck would have it, absolutely obsessed with solving the mystery of who started the fire.  Margie is swept away by a mixture of passion and a curious lack of ambition- part of her back story is her desire to forego college so she can "get married, have a bunch of babies and stay home and read."  

  I suppose it wasn't an unusual attitude for a working-class woman in Hartford Connecticut to have in the late 1950's early 1960's  Margie and Charlie have a daughter, Martha, and as Martha grows up she begins to question her father's obsession, which forces Martha to re examine her entire life with Charlie.   Masters of Illusion is 100% out of print- the hardcover sells for 80 bucks.  Of course, eBooks have changed the very idea of being "in print," but Masters of Illusion is the first out-of-print title in the 1001 Novels list thus far- over 50 books in!