Margery and Me

by Maryka Biaggio

In the 1920s, Margery Crandon captivated both Boston society and psychic researchers with her astonishing seances. At her gatherings, her deceased brother Walter regularly appeared, entertaining the circle with his witty and cheeky remarks. Margery's abilities earned her the admiration of luminaries, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and William Butler Yeats. But one man stood in Harry Houdini, the legendary magician, who was determined to expose her as a fraud.



Margery and Me tells the true story of the medium who mystified scientists, challenged skeptics, and sparked a sensation across America and Europe. As Houdini and Margery clashed in a battle of wits and wills, the question Could the master illusionist unmask her, or would her extraordinary powers be enough to convert even the most resolute of doubters?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

292 pages, Paperback

Published April 21, 2026

About the author

Maryka Biaggio, PhD, is a psychology professor-turned-novelist with a passion for history and the human spirit. After a successful academic career, she turned to writing historical fiction inspired by real people—figures whose lives illuminate the complexities of their time. Her debut novel, Parlor Games (Doubleday, 2013), was praised by New York Times bestselling author Daisy Goodwin as “a wildly entertaining and constantly surprising ride.” She has since published Eden Waits, The Point of Vanishing, The Model Spy, Gun Girl and the Tall Guy, and Margery and Me, which was hailed by distinguished author Valerie Martin as “a wry, lively, and wicked-good novel.”

She loves the challenge of starting with actual historical figures and dramatizing their lives—figuring out what motivated them to behave as they did, studying how cultural and historical context influenced them, and recreating their emotional world through dialogue and action. She prides herself on carefully researching the period, place, and people to provide readers with an immersive experience.

Her fiction has garnered numerous accolades, including the Willamette Writers Award, Oregon Writers Colony Award, Historical Novel Society Review Editors’ Choice, La Belle Lettre Award, a Michigan Upper Peninsula Notable Book Award, a Regional Arts and Culture Council grant, and a Publishers Weekly pick. She served on the Board of the Historical Novel Society North America Conference from 2015 to 2025 and has mentored writers in the Association of Writers and Writing Program’s Writer-to-Writer Mentorship program since 2020.

An avid opera fan, she also enjoys gardening, art films, and, of course, great fiction. She lives in Portland, Oregon. Learn more at her website.

Reviews

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margery & Me is the fictionalized story of spirit medium, Mina Stinson (Margery), as told by her cheeky, dead brother, Walter (Me). Margery became one of the most famous—and controversial—mediums of the early 1900s. With Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as an ally, and Harry Houdini as a skeptic, we follow her dubious career as a spirit medium.

True believers of Margery, like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, saw the experiences of floating trumpets, disembodied voices, knocks, and automatic writing as proof of the existence of spirits. Skeptics, like Harry Houdini, saw these as slights of hand that needed to be exposed. This all makes for a fun and enlightening read.

I would like to thank Regal House Publishing and LibraryThing for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

[Val ── .✦ · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I enjoyed the most about this historical fiction book was the narrator, who is the deceased brother of Mina and sees everything as a ghost and communicates with her. I also admire Mina's strength for the years this story takes place in.

There are also famous figures who appear throughout the book, which is noteworthy.

Thanks to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for this eARC of Margery and Met by Maryka Biaggio, to be published on April 21st, 2026.

[Ree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the first 20% of the book when it focused on Mina's life up until her marriage to Dr. Crandon, but the séance portions eventually began to feel drawn out. I found myself more interested in Mina’s life outside of the séances than in the repeated focus on them. I think the story would have held my interest more if the séances had been spaced out and more organically woven into her daily life, instead of occurring one after another in a way that started to feel monotonous.

I sometimes found it difficult to tell who was speaking during conversations between Mina and Walter—especially when those exchanges were long and woven into scenes with other characters. This made it harder for me to believe she was actually communicating with him, and instead gave the impression that she might simply be engaging in an extended inner dialogue or imagining the conversations.

While I understand the narrative importance of having Walter as the narrator, I often forgot that he—not Mina—was narrating, which caused some confusion.

Overall, I found Mina’s life before the séances more compelling than the séances and tests themselves. Her character is assertive and shows a lot of strength, rarely allowing herself to be controlled by men for long.

If you like historical fiction, this can definitely be a hit or miss depending on personal preference, but worth giving a shot.

[Courtney Pityer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margery and Me is a intriguing historical fiction novel that explores the world of seances and mediums of the early twentieth century. I would have to I was very impressed with how this story turned out to be. You have to admire Mina (Margery) and her dedication of how she is trying to get her point across. While there are some people who are absolutely facinated and supportive of her cause there are also those who absolutely hate it. All in all both these factors give the novel a proper balance.

We are introduced to Mina who early on in her life lost her brother Walter. Later on she goes on to host seances where her brother Walter is a frequent guest with his witty charm. She manages to win the respect of other well known performers such as Harry Houdini. However, deep out in the world there are enemies who will stop at nothing to see her fail.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Margery and Me is based on the true story of an American psychic who drew both the admiration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the skepticism of Harry Houdini. True to the parlors of both the modest and the great in which Margery performed her feats, Biaggio’s novel is a fast-paced, historically rich account of the spiritualist’s struggles to have her psychic powers accepted and celebrated. Narrated by her dead brother Walter, a gleeful storyteller who performs stunts as entertaining as his voice, the novel depicts the many experiments Margery endures at the hands of the powerful men associated with the journal Scientific American. A spiritualist narrative about a pre-feminist society that harshly scrutinized strong women, Margery and Me is a delightful story about the power of vision and purpose, especially when that purpose is greater than oneself.”

[Vivian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fictionalized story of the real psychic Mina Crandon, known in the 1920’s world of spiritualism and seances as Margery, she drew the admiration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the skepticism and disdain of Harry Houdini.
But she truly communicating with her deceased brother Walter or was it truly an act?, even after going thru lots of testings and investigations she had her supporters, or was she so good in deceiving that her detractors were the ones in the wrong? For the answer to those questions you will have to read the book.
I really liked and enjoyed the writing on the book, it felt very engaging, especially the narrator of the story, Walter, his wit, irreverence and outright intelligence makes for a book hard to put down.
The story of Margery is one of determination, love, ambition, heartbreak and the quest for validation.

[Victoria Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margery and Me is a spellbinding dive into the glittering yet shadowy world of 1920s spiritualism and the enigmatic life of Margery, the era’s most notorious psychic. With meticulous historical detail, this novel brings to life the electrifying world of flapper-era Boston, where the lines between science and superstition are blurred and séances captivate both the curious and the skeptical. Both entertaining and heartbreaking, Margery and Me is a masterfully told story of ambition, love, and the haunting cost of chasing the beyond. I will think about this novel for a long time.

[Nico bookreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank uou to the editor and Netgalley for this arc.
I loved that the book was written from Walter perspective, and all in all some bits of information on the afterlife for those curious.
I really enjoyed seen our FMC have a strength and resilience and the brains that seemed so uncommon on that time, but wasn't really, enjoyed a lot of her and Walter games on everyone around them.
It was a good read! and so fun!
thank you author.

[Carol Cram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maryka Biaggio's Margery and Me is one of the cleverest historical novels I've read in a while. The decision to narrate Margery Crandon's story through Walter, her dead brother, is inspired. Walter's folksy, irreverent voice keeps the pages turning while raising the central question the novel never quite answers: is he real, or is he a product of his sister's remarkable imagination? That ambiguity is the engine of the whole book, and Biaggio handles it with considerable skill.
Margery herself is a fascinating character, a Boston socialite who becomes one of the most celebrated mediums of the 1920s and takes on Harry Houdini in a very public battle of wills. The world of seances, ectoplasm, and true believers is rendered with enough period detail to feel authentic without ever becoming a history lesson. If you're interested in the spiritualism craze that swept through grieving post-war society, or simply want a novel that keeps you guessing right up to the last page, this one delivers.

[Shannon St. Hilaire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margery and Me is a brilliant dive into the 1920s spiritualism craze, centered around real-life Boston socialite and notorious psychic Mina "Margery" Crandon. I loved that the narrator is a ghost, which adds a refreshing touch of whimsy. Through the witty perspective of Margery's deceased brother, we watch her navigate high-stakes battles with skeptics like Harry Houdini. Many of the characters were real people, and it was fascinating to learn about this highly specific moment in history. I’d recommend this read to anyone with a penchant for both the supernatural and real historical events.

[Alyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy historical fiction that’s closely based on real events but takes some liberties. Also, perspective is a really fun way to play with a narrative, so the fact that the narrator of this book is the main character’s dead brother is cool.

There were times that it read less like a literary story and more like a news story or periodical. Like…it kind of vacillated in tone. There were times I wished we got more of Margery’s inner dialogue outside of her “communicating” with her brother. I think that could have provided more depth to her character.

It was cool to learn about this medium who I had no idea existed. Sort of made me want to read more about her and get a better understanding of just how widely she was believed.

[Michael Strelow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hang onto your spiritualist and multi-world hats. Maryka Biaggio’s new novel, Margery and Me, is a fast-paced journey into the beautifully researched past of 1920s America. She weaves together a complex world of sceptics and believers and takes us through the rich ‘20s scene of seances and spiritual paraphernalia. Psychic powers and a narrator from beyond, Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the skepticism of science and the accusing finger of doubt—all combine in this fine novel, and the reader is transported. The author has woven a fine and engaging tale of love, doubt and the inevitable humor of a collision of worlds.
Michael Strelow author of John and Julie and Robert and A Confluence of Strangers and other novels

[Devon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Margery and Me by Maryka Biaggio is about a real medium—Margery/Mina Crandon—who purportedly summoned her brother Walter and underwent numerous tests trying to prove the validity of her powers and the existence of ghosts, along with the ability to reach them. This book’s subject matter on the whole reached out to me, but it didn’t hit like I wish it did.

Negative thoughts:

-I disliked how the book repeatedly referred to one character’s weight. “Wide-as-a-barn Aleck Cross”. One listing of guests at a seance ran as follows: “Birdie, McDougall, Helson, fat Aleck, Mina, and Roy.” A second character is referred to more than once as portly, but that’s not as bad as singling out Cross among the others. He’s not in a majority of the book, but it still didn’t sit right with me.

-The seances were fun at first, but then it’s just one after the other and they all generally follow the same theme. Someone wants proof, Walter is rude to them, they’re diligent in their efforts to prove it’s not a hoax, Walter is furious at the idea people wouldn’t just simply believe a woman can commune with spirits and so he refuses to do what they ask, taunting them and insulting them instead. Rinse, repeat. You would think you would want nothing more than to be believed, to help others or at least to not have your sister’s image tarnished, but he essentially sulks and grumbles that he’s not some trained animal.

-The fury over Houdini especially is so funny to me because it’s like…Walter is all “you use tricks!” and like Houdini points out, he’s a magician. He’s never pretended to NOT use tricks. If spiritualism is real, there should not BE tricks. Once again, it all boils down to my being perplexed why they are SO against being tested rigorously to complete satisfaction; if I could speak to the dead, I would welcome it and do everything I could to satisfy their questions and tests. I wouldn’t call them names or throw things or attack their character or refuse to perform because it not only seems petty and childish, but it seems as though you do in fact have something to hide. That’s intensified with how Walter does employ tricks and cheats to discredit and sully Houdini’s name.

-I also never really understood the point of the seances in the first place. If Mina can just hear her brother at all times, why have a seance? The line for me began to blur with reality and hoax because they would do extra effects and tricks and fake other spirits being there.

-The characters, too, are paper thin. About all I get from Mina is she leads on every single man who gives her attention and has something of value to offer her. Walter loves his sister and is sassy and belligerent to everyone else. Roy is greedy and fame-seeking. There is very little in the book that happens outside seances; almost all of the plot is contained within the many seances Mina goes through, first to show off to friends, then to prove herself to the committee, and the time outside of seances is spent discussing seances.

Positive thoughts:

+The best parts of the book are the ones where the characters are interacting and getting to know each other without seances being involved, although that’s in short supply.

+It’s very obvious the author did some intense research, which I always appreciate.

+By the end, everything was getting muddled, which I find fun. Was “Margery” really channelling her brother, or was she having some sort of break with reality? Did it happen on purpose to please her husband, who was so desperate for there to be proof of the afterlife? Or was she doing it outside of her consciousness? Which of the scientists were right in their hypotheses?

+Walter’s voice was fun and did immediately rope me into the story. It’s a shame there wasn’t much Mina to go around, though.

+You can’t have a spiritualism book without Arthur Conan Doyle and Houdini popping up, and they both do. Houdini has a much bigger share of the book, and if you like historical cameos, you’ll like this. I love Houdini, though, so you might enjoy his role more than I did.

I recommend this to people who like historical fiction and spiritualism. I would give this 3.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, to have a visual representation of a deceased loved one. This drove the craze for spirit photography in the time period surrounding the Civil War. Technological advances, such as the telephone in the early 20th Century, created interest in communication with those lost in the Great War. Spiritualists conducting seances provided peace of mind to many seeking comfort. There were those like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who supported spiritualism while Harry Houdini, in opposition, deemed “spiritualism as a cloak to prey on the gullible” and was relentless in his quest to prove that mediums were charlatans.

Walter Stinson, 16 years old, had a talent for dowsing. Farmers for miles around, dug their wells based upon his expertise. He taught his sister Mina, 10 years his junior, to dowse. “Hold the stick…close your eyes. Do you feel the vibration? It’s wiggling…You got the talent, Mina!” When Walter left home, he found employment as a switchman in a trainyard. In March 1911, icy conditions led to a boxcar derailment and Walter’s demise. “And from that moment on I could see right into Mina’s world-exactly what she was thinking and seeing…It was like I became a part of her and she a part of me.” Walter, as narrator, tells the story of Mina “Margery” Crandon and her detractor, Harry Houdini.

The year was 1918. Surgeon Roy Crandon served in a medical unit in a New England Naval Hospital. Mina had volunteered as an ambulance driver transporting the injured to the hospital. They fell in love and married, moving to a four story brick house in the prestigious Boston neighborhood of Beacon Hill. With her life secure, she embraced the elegant lifestyle of a surgeon’s wife and enjoyed entertaining Roy’s friends and associates. She dabbled in spiritualism as a hobby.

“The wall between the physical and spirit world is not easy to crack…When (Mina) was sleeping, I finagled my way into her dreams…It simply didn’t occur to her that it really was me sending messages.” Roy’s friend Dr. Richardson mentioned that Boston was home to many talented mediums and asked Mina for her thoughts on spiritualism. The seeds were sown for Mina to embrace spiritualism with Walter as her spiritual guide. Mina conducted her first seance in May, 1923. A small gathering…a lantern with red panes…a Victrola playing a mysterious melody…participants settled around the spirit table and held hands. Roy’s acknowledgement of Mina’s powers “would turn into an albatross.”

The Setup
*Spirit messages would be sent to seance participants by Walter.
*Josephine Richardson volunteers to keep a written record of all seances.
*Roy, a control freak, determines that money and status might be in the offing.
* Mina hands control of her vocal chords over to Walter. We concentrated all our energy and worked as one. There must be no hint of trickery.

Roy, in his dogged determination to promote Mina’s mediumship and piggyback on her success, wrote to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle touting his wife’s “proclivities”. Scientific scrutiny would soon validate or disprove claims of “production of psychic phenomena.” At Roy’s insistence, Margery as Medium (Mina) entered the Scientific American contest of 1923. A prize of $2500 would be awarded “for demonstration of a bona fide psychic phenomenon” by passing rigorous tests during seances. The five judge panel included skeptic Harry Houdini. The possibility of Margery’s successful confirmation was thwarted by Harry Houdini’s plan “to guard both his reputation and that of Scientific American”. He designed a special “fraud-prevention cabinet”, a crate with openings for only the medium’s head and arms. Houdini’s all out confrontation with Margery caused her to try an unusual manifestation…a wax imprint of Walter’s thumb. Was it genuine? As for public sentiment, it might change on a dime!

A thoroughly researched, fascinating read.

Thank you Maryka Biaggio for the Print ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margery and Me is based on the true story of Margery Crandon, medium, who captivated Boston society and psychic researchers with her astonishing séances in 1920s. But there was one man, the famous magician Harry Houdini, who was determined to expose all mediums as fraud.

The story begins with Walter, Margery’s brother, relating the story. They grew up on a farm with a father who was a tyrant and mother who did nothing to soften the environment. As soon as Walter finished his compulsory school, he tried his luck in the city of Buffalo.

As soon as Margery was seventeen, she escaped the farm life as well. She made her way to Boston, where after five years working for a pastor, she was introduced to a member of the congregation and accepted his proposal.

Walter’s life gets cut short when he is crashed by derailed boxcar at twenty eight. Margery didn’t have enough time to morn her brother as her husband was expecting her to do his bidding in every way. Even though she knew it wasn’t the life she wanted, not much has changed. Not until she had a close encounter almost losing her life. At that point, she refused let life happen to her.

Her mother settled for a loveless marriage and a life of toil, and Margery had no intention of following in her footsteps. She took matters in her hands and divorced her husband.

She landed a secretary job at a theatre company. During 1918, she joined volunteering effort as an ambulance driver. Thanks to her brother, she learned how to drive a tractor as soon as she could reach a pedal.

She set her eye on Dr. Roy Crandon who operated her a few years back and who also volunteered his skills. Their romance blossomed steadily.

The story is originally narrated. When the brother dies, he becomes the sister’s spirit – her protector. When the doctor is courting her and not telling the whole truth about his past, the spirit brother tries to send her warning signs, but she is in such awe with the man that she fails to pick up those signs.

He continues his efforts in sending the right people on her path so she would pick up his sign, and eventually she does. When that happens, they start communicating with each other. They hatch a plan to keep the doctor at bay.

As adamant as her second husband was about mediums, now, he turns not only into hosting séances but also wants Margery to offer her talents to a wide audience. As much as she wanted to keep her séances private, other people kept pushing her in the direction of competition or meeting Harry Houdini, who was on a hunt to take down all mediums.

A lot of facts point that Margery Crandon was one of the fake mediums. Nevertheless, it is still a questionable situation, her brother who was her protector during her childhood dies at an early age. All she wanted was to communicate with him, but others pushed her to prove that there was possibility of communicating with the dead. They wanted her to bring spirituality to the next level.
Her husband had also other motifs - his own fame and fortune.

The first part of the book has a faster pace when there is character-development. Margery is presented as full of charm, with firecracker personality, clever, resourceful with many talents, and resilient. She didn’t want an ordinary life. She learned what was missing in her first marriage and expected that from the beginning in her second marriage. She craved excitement in her life. It certainly took courage to leave the farm and forge her own path and to end her first marriage during her time.

The second part of the story has a slower pace. It mostly focuses on Margery proving what others wanted her to prove, and the rivalry with Harry Houdini.

Overall, it is a fascinating story presented with sharp and fun prose.

Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Katherine Kirkpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This humorous, satirical, and highly entertaining novel tells the story of Margery (Mina) Crandon, an American medium from Boston who gained fame in the 1920s. The story is narrated by Walter, the spirit Margery channels during séances. Walter, Margery’s older brother, was a railway worker who died at age 28 in a train accident. Walter is a witty, sarcastic, and flamboyant spirit. Among his many tricks are vocalizations, musical and rapping sounds, levitations, and glowing lights. He’s an excellent sidekick to lively Margery, a modern, liberated woman of the Jazz era—although she makes mistakes in her choices of men and ends up under the control of her profiteering second husband. Margery’s goal is to become a recognized medium in the public eye. To do so, she must be tested and validated by the scientific community. Initially, she makes good progress, convincing none other than the renowned British author Arthur Conan Doyle that her mediumship is real. However, Margery worries that the judges from Scientific American will tell a different story. The stakes for the magazine’s psychic medium contest are high—there’s prize money involved, and one of the judges is the famous stage magician Harry Houdini. Houdini is on a crusade to expose all mediums, especially Margery, as frauds. The plot is full of delightful twists and turns, and, remarkably, the novel’s major events actually happened in real life. This book vividly captures an aspect of the Jazz era rarely explored in novels set during this period. Not only did American women in the 1920s gain the right to vote, drive cars, “bob” their hair, and adopt the new “flapper” fashions, but they also found opportunities to become prominent stage personalities and earn income outside traditional domestic roles while working as psychic mediums. For middle-class American women like Margery, mediumship was a form of empowerment during a time when spiritualism, following massive casualties in the Great War, was at its peak. Widely publicized controversies and fraud surrounding mediums were also common during this period. Margery’s story, ultimately a sad one, demonstrates both the promise and the pitfalls of a 19th-century woman’s life on stage. While there was great potential for recognition, there was also the risk of social and financial ruin—regardless of whether she had genuine talent. –Katherine Kirkpatrick, author of To Chase the Glowing Hours: A Novel of Highclere and Egypt

[Janis Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maryka Biaggio’s Margery and Me is a fascinating and psychologically rich biographical historical novel that lingers in the mind long after the final page. Centered on the real-life spiritualist Margery Crandon in 1920s Boston, the novel explores the blurred line between belief and deception, science and séance.

I loved the way the author’s brilliant choice to use Margery’s deceased brother, Walter, as the narrator. This unconventional perspective immediately raises questions: Is Walter a genuine spirit presence? A manifestation of Margery’s subconscious? Or a literary device that allows readers to inhabit the uncertain territory between the supernatural and the psychological? With a degree in psychology, I found myself constantly asking what was real and what was imagined. Could dissociation or split personality be at play? Was Walter an embodiment of Margery’s id, ego, or a reconciliation of both? Biaggio never offers simplistic answers, and that ambiguity is one of the novel’s greatest strengths.

The story also offers a compelling look at the spiritualism movement that swept through society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Biaggio captures the era’s hunger for contact with the dead, particularly in the aftermath of widespread loss from the Great War, while leaving readers to consider whether spiritualism was a societal phenomenon, a collective delusion, or perhaps something more mysterious.

At the center of it all is Margery herself. She is surrounded by a cast of men who seek to expose her, control her, explain her, or capitalize on her notoriety. Scientists, skeptics, and self-appointed guardians all attempt to define who she is and what she is capable of.
Margery and Me is much more than a historical novel about séances and scandal. It is an insightful exploration of identity, power, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to make sense of the unknown. Thought-provoking and beautifully written, it will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction that asks as many questions as it answers.

[Pat Malecki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read and reviewed Maryka Biaggio’s newest work, Margery & Me.

Her main characters are Margery also known as Mina, her doctor husband, Roy and Mina’s dearly departed brother, Walter. There are, of course several characters that appear throughout the story that set the stage for the interaction between Mina and her brother. At first, it appears that Walter and Mina set out to harass Roy for his skepticism of the supernatural, but their efforts are thwarted when Roy sees an opportunity to exploit Mina’s talents to satisfy his ego and make a profit,

As Mina séances grow in popularity so do those that question her talents requiring her to prove herself. Mina endures the testing and ridiculous contests which are continuously encouraged by Dr. Roy her husband (which by the way Walter dislikes). Mina is finding herself faced with fraud accusations but one in particular is formidable, Houdini. He is determined to label her as a fraud exposing Mina to an insurmountable devastation of her character.

The book is well written; it is vivid in description. Margery (Mina) appears to have been brought up in my hometown Buffalo which made this read even more delightful.

Thank you for the opportunity Libarything for the opportunity to review this book Margery & Me.

Her main characters are Margery also known as Mina, her doctor husband, Roy and Mina’s dearly departed brother, Walter. There are, of course several characters that appear throughout the story that set the stage for the interaction between Mina and her brother. At first, it appears that Walter and Mina set out to harass Roy for his skepticism of the supernatural, but their efforts are thwarted when Roy sees an opportunity to exploit Mina’s talents to satisfy his ego and make a profit,

As Mina séances grow in popularity so do those that question her talents requiring her to prove herself. Mina endures the testing and ridiculous contests which are continuously encouraged by Dr. Roy her husband (which by the way Walter dislikes). Mina is finding herself faced with fraud accusations but one in particular is formidable, Houdini. He is determined to label her as a fraud exposing Mina to an insurmountable devastation of her character.

The book is well written; it is vivid in description. Margery (Mina) appears to have been brought up in my hometown Buffalo which made this read even more delightful.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this extraordinary story.

[Steven Mayfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Maryka Biaggio’s "Margery and Me," we are introduced to an early twentieth century America where entrenched beliefs versus modern advances and discoveries make science and showmanship compete for headlines. Margery “Mina” Crandon, a young woman from modest circumstances, begins to climb Boston’s social ladder following her marriage to a prominent surgeon. But when her deceased brother, Walter, begins to communicate with her from the Beyond, Mina and her husband take their first, faltering steps onto a slippery slope that could potentially lead to ruin. Séances and investigations by skeptical scientists ensue with narration by the late and irreverent Walter. Based on a true story, Biaggio has masterfully blended fact and fiction, inserting historical figures like Harry Houdini in a way, that at times, makes us wonder if we are reading creative non-fiction. Is Mina a legitimate medium or a skillful magician? Does she commune with ghosts or merely connive to fool a receptive audience? Is Walter a true spirit or merely a layer of Mina’s personality? These questions, along with Mina’s evolution from naïf to a woman who knows and embraces her own mind, keep the pages turning. All in all, "Margery and Me" is a witty and fascinating journey, that like its titular character, is delightfully convincing and fun.

[Paloma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margery Crandon (Mina) has had a hard life and mostly because of men. Her brother Walter couldn't wait to leave their family home because of the constant beatings and abuse he suffered in the hands of their father. Once Walter left, he promised to come back for Mina. The beatings and abuse were then transferred unto Mina. Walter was able to send money, and at seventeen Mina was able to leave. She eventually found her first husband with whom she had a child with. Walter dies from a derailed boxcar. But he seems to loom around and eventually finds Mina, who he tries to communicate with. Mina leaves the bad marriage and finds herself a nice, rich and popular doctor, Roy. Once Mina learns to listen to and channel Walter, she begins her career as a medium, holding seances in her home in Boston. But Roy's greed is always trying to get more out of Mina.

I absolutely enjoyed Walter as the narrator. He was funny, witty and always punishing those who dared hurt Mina. The shenanigans that Walter and Mina come up with were brilliantly hilarious. I loved everything about this book. The other historical characters that appear were also very entertaining.

Thank you Netgalley and Regal House Publishing/IBPA for this eARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

[Antonina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I will be finishing this book. I am currently at 47% and it hasn't enthralled me yet. I thought the premises were interesting but the story is progressing quite slowly and without much happening apart from constant séances and testing by scientists. The character of Houdini has been mentioned but hasn't yet appeared even though I am at almost half the book. Also, the story (as of now) doesn't dwell deeper on the relationship between Margery and her brother, and between Margery and the spirit world in more general terms. It is focusing mostly on how the two siblings try to control Roy, Margery's husband, and stop him from exploiting her too much - even though, ironically, it all started when they decided to show their powers as a way to scare off Roy from cheating on Margery, which is by the way a plotline that seems to be abandoned and only briefly mentioned sometimes. As for the writing, it flows well and the grammar is good, but I've noticed that sometimes chapters end abruptly, with sentences that don't feel like an ending. Overall, I feel like the story isn't that much interesting. I would have liked a deeper exploration of the spirit world - sometimes Walter mentions some elements of it, but only briefly - and a faster pace to the events.

[BonLivre · Rating 3 out of 5]

This title caught my eye because of the book's blend of historical fiction with magical realism. I was aware of the allure of psychics and seances during the early 20th century, but I had no idea the impact these unexplained phenomena had on certain societal circles and well-known historical figures. These trivia nuggets were most intriguing and it was indicative that the author completed an extensive amount of research. However, the plot ran slow. I tired of the narrator's control, tone, and presentation of the story, which made me question the potential genuine connection between Margery and her brother. Also, the construction of the text was a little clunky. Each section started with a full and very detailed list of the characters/historical persons whom the reader was about to meet, but the level of detail provided in these character guides often gave the timeline away before the plot ever had a chance; for me, this approach ruined any twists or surprises. Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Mystica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story deals with Margery a spirit medium and Walter her brother (the Me in the story). Me was spirited, interested in pulling someone’s leg, especially the skeptic and very protective of his sister. Walter always had his sisters back, and hated it when Earl her first husband turned abusive, and when Roy Margery’s second husband tried to take advantage of her talents. From the spirit world there were limitations to what Walter could do, but he certainly tried.

Margery was famous in the 1900s and had the active support of many scientists who formed part of the American Psychics Association. She submitted to many, many tests put forward by them during seances
and passed them all. But she had a skeptic in Houdini, who denounced her openly, without any proof.

The book was informative and not a subject I am familiar with. In Sri Lanka we are exposed to spirit mediums and plenty of astrology everyday, even an official government channel, but I have very little personal knowledge to pass an opinion. This story was educative.

[Maeghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to DNF this at 26% (a little after Part 2 started).

I'm not sure how I feel about this, it was tagged under True Crime so I was expecting it to be a tell-all of some coverup with seances. Colour me surprised when the book is actually historical fiction and told from the perspective of her dead brother. Once I got over that, I was starting to enjoy the story. I did a wiki rabbit hole to learn more about the actual characters since I didn't know the story beforehand but once the seances start I was getting bored. Sure, Mina and Walter's banter was fun, but other than that I didn't feel like there was actually a story going on.

I decided to DNF after reading a few other reviews who seemed to be in the same boat as me and said they finished the book but that the seances got tedious after Part 2.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book!

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out so promising. The concept of a novel based on one of the early psychics Margery Crandon told by her dead brother Walter was certainly intriguing. The parts which were focused on her life that she shared with her husband Dr Crandon and the interactions with her friends in society were enjoyable but it became tedious with all the different scientists and sceptics being paroled in. Yes there were a lot of seances, but that was kind of what the book was about. Yet apart from the engagement with Walter there is no record of her actually channelling anyone else.
Walters' aim was to make his sister rich and famous which he succeeded in doing but sadly at what cost to her happiness.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is historical fiction about the “notorious medium” of the 1920s, Margery “Mina” Crandon. The book is based on her true story. She captivated scientists and Boston society at her seances. She had supporters like William Butler Yeats and Sir Arthur Canon Doyle. And a sole detractor, Harry Houdini.

The book is narrated by Mina’s deceased brother, Walter, and highlights her ties to Game, her clashes with Houdini. Walter gives his sister advice which often dates to heed. Wrapped up in the telling are all the experiments Margery underwent with Scientific American to prove her abilities. This is a book that dives into the shadowy world of 1920s spiritualism. I’m not sure I much liked Margery but then again I’m a bit of a skeptic of seances.

Thank you NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ghost of a young railway man in 1923 turns up both in his beloved sister Margery’s life and at her seances, hoping to guide her in her new vocation as a medium. At first a playful delight, the novel turns dark as experts across America relentlessly try to prove that she is a fake. But Margery is human and often fails to heed her ghostly brother Walter’s good advice when he finds it “damned frustrating watching helplessly from the beyond.” An unusually captivating, original, and witty novel of a good-hearted spirit set down on earth to remedy the problems of a sister he loved very much and left too early.

[Grinning Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a lot to like about this book, including an engaging narrator, who was my favorite character in the story. There were also time-period details and visits by historical figures. But what I thought was most interesting was the debate about whether Mina/ Margery had a real psychic gift or was a fake. The answer is not clear-cut in this book, and I enjoyed the ambiguity..
I did find some of the seances a bit repetitive. There were notable ones, but sometimes there were too many and it got tedious. But overall, I found this book enjoyable and would recommend.

[Dottie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maryka Biaggio has crafted something genuinely original here. Narrated by a ghost with razor-sharp wit and brotherly tenderness, Margery and Me brings 1920s medium Mina Crandon roaring back to life. Walter's voice is the real triumph — brisk, sassy, and surprisingly moving — and Biaggio's choice to keep his "reality" deliciously unresolved is exactly the literary sleight-of-hand this story deserves.

The siblings' bond, forged in hardship and sustained impossibly across death, gives the book its heart, while Houdini makes for a wonderfully pompous villain and Mina's navigation of fame and exploitation adds real emotional weight. Part historical fiction, part ghost story, part feminist portrait of a woman wielding the only power available to her — this is richly layered and tremendous fun. Highly recommended.

[Kathleen Murtha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. It sounded fascinating. As it turned out, the only likeable character in the book was the narrator (the protagonist's dead brother). This story may have been better told as non-fiction. In the end, the reader is left with more questions than answers and a more faithful account may have avoided that. One gets the feeling that if Marjorie hadn't pressed her luck, she may have proved to be a true medium. She seemed to have been her own worst enemy.
I received a free copy of this book via The Niche Reader.