Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) is well known as an author of classics including Kim, The Man Who would be King and The Jungle Book, but few people know that he was also an amateur magician. His interest in magic dated back to his early days in India when he had witnessed Eastern mystics perform. In 1934 Kipling attended an event at The Magic Circle which he described in a letter as “an amazing evening”. He immediately wrote to the secretary of The Circle and became a member. Another famous amateur magician was author Charles Dickens. However, he died in 1870, before the foundation of The Magic Circle.