Christopher Priest

The Prestige

Published

 UK edition: Gollancz, 2005 [ISBN 0 575 07580 5, £7.99; pp.360]. US edition: Tor, 1997 [ISBN 0 312 85886 - 8, $14.95; pp. 404]. First published in 1995 by Touchstone (Simon & Schuster). Also available in translation.

Audio book versions: UK: Orion, 2008 [ISBN 978-0-7528-9845-2], abridged, read by David Timpson, Jonathan Keeble, Peter Kenny, Clare Wille, 6 CDs, 6hrs20mins. USA: Blackstone, 2006 [ISBN 978-0-7861-6841-5], unabridged, read by Simon Vance, 10 CDs, 12hrs30mins.

What they say

 "... as an exercise in narrative control, in pretending to propound illusionary matters while never actually, I think, telling an actual untruth, The Prestige is exemplary. It is a lesson to us in the joy of story" -- John Clute, Interzone

"... one senses that the appearance of each new Priest novel represents a publishing occasion, a moment when each of us, if we have the slightest concern about the future of fiction, should put our money where our mouths are. The Prestige is one of those delicious books in which truth -- if there is indeed an absolute truth to the tale -- is revealed only gradually, and partially. I read this novel at a sitting: it's a long novel so it was a long sitting. I cannot loudly enough exhort you to repeat my feat. Here is one of our finest novelists at his peak. Need I say more?" -- John Grant, SFX

Awards

 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, 1995
World Fantasy Award, 1996 

(others - see list in Summary)

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The Prestige was filmed in 2006 by Newmarket Films, directed by Christopher Nolan.

As a book, The Prestige is one of Priest's most acclaimed novels, being winner of both the World Fantasy Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction (and shortlisted for three other awards). It has been in print ever since its first release, and has been translated into 21 languages.

The book differs from the film in several respects. It has a significant sequence set in the present day. The ending is different.

A story of secrecy, curiosity and concealment, The Prestige is largely set in the smoke-and-mirrors world of Victorian music halls. Two stage illusionists engage in a bitter and deadly feud -- the effects are still being felt by their families a hundred years later. Both men are driven to the extremes by the mystery of an amazing stage illusion they both perform. The novel itself is constructed like a stage illusion: because of misdirection, nothing can be taken for granted -- revelations and unexpected twists occur at regular intervals. The secret of the magic is not kept  from the reader, because for the antagonists the real mystery lies deeper. Both men have more to hide than the mere workings of a trick.