Disappearing Act

Description

Romantic and intriguing, DISAPPEARING ACT is another compelling book to add to James's growing canon of work with HCPA. Ages: 12+ Matt Cooper is twelve, and spends quite a bit of his time honing his magic skills and tricks. He doesn't realise that his great-grandfather, Mattheus Coperneau, was a professional magician whose career came to a disastrous end when a trick he performed backfired spectacularly. What neither Matt nor Mattheus realise is that there's an even older story behind the failure of Mattheus's 'disappearing trick' and a tragic romance is at the bottom of it all. In 1889, Joachim tannislaus is a young scientist with a stellar career in front of him and half the girls in the small principality of Montilagus pursuing him. But Joachim loves Princess Agneta, who is also studying at the university. When he and Agneta are caught in an embrace, he is thrown into prison to perish, but Agneta gives him a dose of the potion they have been working on in secret, little knowing that the elixir has given him the possibility of eternal life. When Matt and his family return to Montilagus to clear his great-grandfather's name, Matt discovers that there's more to magic than meets the eye.

In a career spanning three decades, James Moloney has delved fearlessly and with the deepest compassion into what it means to be human. His many novels have brought him a Victorian Premier's Prize and a Book of the Year Award from the Children's Book Council of Australia among other literary honours. In 2019 James Moloney was honoured with the CBCA Nan Chauncy Award, which each year honours an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to Australian children's literature. Lovers of grand adventure continue to be enthralled by his Book of Lies trilogy and the Silvermay Sagas. In The Love That I Have he turns his eye on humanity's darkest chapter, searching for light and hope amid the ashes. James lives in Brisbane, Queensland.