Professor Louis Hoffmann was born as Angelo John Lewis in London, England on 23 July 1839. He studied law at Oxford University and became a barrister in London.
During the early 1860s he learned magic from a book and became an amateur magician.
In 1876, under the pen name Professor Hoffman, he published Modern Magic to educate the public in how to become a magician, including how to perform sleight of hand tricks, as well as how to dress.
Although Lewis is primarily known for his non-fiction works, especially those on magic, he also wrote a significant amount of fiction.