This is one of many books David Devant published for keen students of magic. Perhaps because he gained so much from reading books like Modern Magic, he saw the value of sharing the secrets behind tricks and teaching the art of performing them. The importance of not just knowing how to do a trick but knowing how to perform it well is emphasised. Devant recalls an encounter with a young conjuror at the Egyptian Hall who claimed to know three hundred tricks, he replied that he knew eight. By that he meant ‘for some years my repertoire consisted of eight tricks, but I knew them thoroughly. I was always ready to show them at any time, at any place, under any conditions’. Complete mastery of the performance of a trick was essential.