Conjuring Maud

By Philip Danze

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0967185130
• ISBN13: 9780967185132
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Greycore Pr
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.8" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

strong historical tale

David Unger looks back to his youth in Africa when his dad dallied with Cecil Rhodes. He knows that the pivotal moment in his life was when he, a sixteen year old cadet; met the renowned explorer Maud King. David voluntarily became Maud's personal "mailman" just to see his idol. As he matures, he begins to understand the spell his heroine inadvertently cast on him.David turns from medicine to circus magician as he is in love with the intrepid much older Maud. Even being drafted by the English army to fight the Zulu insurrection against Anglicizing the African countryside and to defend claims to the diamond mines only impedes, but does not stop his love for the older woman that owns his heart; in her way Maud loved him back. David knows that no other woman compared.CONJURING MAUD is a vividly descriptive account of life in late nineteenth century "British" Rhodesia and South Africa obviously through the loving first hand account of David, but also indirectly that of Maud and other key players. The tale provides a fabulously insightful look at 1880s Southern Africa through a scrutiny of a varied cast members to include miners struggling to hold onto diamond claims, British soldiers fighting a losing war to Anglicize the land (sound familiar?), and the various tribes squabbling whether to revolt or bow to the other continent Queen. This winning historical fiction is worth reading due to Africa, not Tarzan's land or that of western propagandized White Burden onus, but as a beautiful land of diversity and conflict that shows how much Philip Danze enjoyed writing this labor of love.Harriet Klausner

A work of literary magic

Philip Danze's Conjuring Maud is a novel about David Unger, an aging circus magician who recounts his younger days in colonial West Africa, and how his profession changed from medicine to magic. The heart of the novel lies in David's unusual, close, and sometimes erotic relationship to Maud King (loosely based on the British feminist and explorer Mary Kingsley), a British explorer and ethnologist 16 years older than David, whose devotion to the resplendence of Africa and its people is unmatched among mortals. Liquid, subtle, and at times bittersweet in its mystery, Conjuring Maud is a work of literary magic, transporting the reader back in time to life in colonial Africa with its careful attention to detail.

conjuring maud

best book i have read in years. an exciting adventure story with romance and a little magic. you can almost feel the heat and dampness of the jungle in wild africa. quite a fantastic book, i couldn't put it down.

May-December romance with a twist!

If you are looking for an adventure and love story right out of Africa, this is for you. It's the story of a young man that meets his soul-mate in a very unlikely place with a very unlikely older woman, Maud. This is a magical trip with unexpected twists and turns throuhout. I just curled up with a cup of Java and let this wonderful story transport me far away from the present reality that lies just outside my door. It's like a calgon bath for the soul!