Victorian Stage Magic, Adventure and the Mutilated Body

The period of ‘high imperialism’ in the late nineteenth century converges with what was known as the ‘Golden Age’ of stage magic. I examine how imperial adventure narratives of the late century and stage magicians both deploy illusions to showcase Western technological and racial superiority. Performances in empire and on the stage revel in bodily mutilation. Read in conjunction these two stages (magic and fiction) perform the fantasy of progress but engage in extreme brutality. The late century’s civilizing agenda is revealed as an illusion and the link between technology and progress is severed, much like the severed heads of Victorian stage magic.