Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World

Adelaide Herrmann

Magician

Once upon a time, there was a girl with a flair for the dramatic. While other Victorian girls learned housekeeping skills, Adelaide practiced acrobatics, dance, and a new sport called trick cycling. One night, Adelaide saw a magic show in London that changed her life. The magician, Alexander Herrmann (known as Herrmann the Great), asked for a volunteer, and Adelaide eagerly raised her hand. The magician set her ring on fire and made it reappear on a ribbon tied around a dove’s neck! A few months later, when Adelaide moved to New York City, she ran into Alexander again. They got married and together became one of the country’s most successful magic acts. Herrmann the Great was the star, and Adelaide played supporting roles, including a dancer and a human cannonball! In 1896, Alexander suddenly died. Adelaide was left alone with their magic show, a warehouse of props and animals, and a mountain of debt. But soon it became clear that only one person had the experience to continue Herrmann the Great’s legacy- Adelaide herself. For more than thirty years, Adelaide performed as the Queen of Magic. After a fire tore through her warehouse, Adelaide insisted she’d rise like a phoenix from the ashes. And she did. She continued to tour before finally retiring in her seventies.

August 11, 1853- February 19, 1932

England -> United States of America