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The greatest trick that \u201cRaymond Lloyd\u201d may ever have performed was a complex illusion: Convincing an elite, male-only society of magicians that he existed.<\/p>\n
That performance won Mr. Lloyd acceptance into the society, The Magic Circle<\/a>, in 1991. But after revealing a few months later that he was in fact a she, the performer was ousted from the club.<\/p>\n Now, The Magic Circle wants her back and has embarked on a quest to solve what turned out to be a disappearing act \u2014 and make amends.<\/p>\n \u201cI would love to look her in the eyes and say, on behalf of the other magicians that we have, \u2018You\u2019re absolutely welcome,\u2019\u201d said Marvin Berglas, the president of society.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Based in London, the Magic Circle was founded in 1905 and lists celebrity illusionists David Copperfield and Criss Angel among its honorary members. For decades, only male magicians were able to join \u2014 until two women set out to call their bluff.<\/p>\n \u201cI always wanted to be first lady in the Magic Circle,\u201d one of them, Jenny Winstanley, told the Canadian broadcaster CBC in 1991<\/a>. \u201cReally wanted to prove that women are as good as men.\u201d<\/p>\n But Ms. Winstanley was already regionally known as a magician at the time, according to Mr. Berglas. That could help explain why she turned to a young actress who went by the name Sophie Lloyd for help \u2014 and why Ms. Lloyd said she agreed to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cI did it for Jenny,\u201d Ms. Lloyd explained in the same interview. \u201cShe thought that it was so unfair that lady magicians couldn\u2019t get into The Circle.\u201d<\/p>\n The women told the CBC that they had spent two years building the Raymond Lloyd character. Ms. Winstanley said she taught the actress magic tricks, and they found ways to disguise what Ms. Lloyd described as her already boyish frame.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The test to gain membership in The Magic Circle, Ms. Lloyd told CBC, involved performing a 20-minute show with tricks and spending over an hour speaking with her examiner, a magician. She passed, earning full membership in March 1991, according to The Magic Circle.<\/p>\n Ms. Lloyd kept up the ruse of being Raymond until The Magic Circle started admitting female members in October that year. Then the women went to the press to reveal their trick.<\/p>\n The Magic Circle, apparently angered about being hoodwinked, voided the membership of \u201cRaymond Lloyd\u201d \u2014 and the story \u201cgot swept under the carpet,\u201d according to Mr. Berglas.<\/p>\n Stuart Scott said that when he joined The Magic Circle about 20 years ago, he remembered hearing a vague story about a woman trying to sneak into the society.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just one of those rumors. I didn\u2019t think much of it,\u201d Mr. Scott, who works as a deception consultant, said in an interview. \u201cNo one ever substantiated it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Years later during the coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Scott said, he was researching the history of magic in London when he stumbled upon two books about The Magic Circle that both briefly referenced the incident.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, there has to be more to it than this,\u201d he said. So he started digging, rooting out archival minutes from the society\u2019s meetings and uncovering more about the ruse.<\/p>\n Mr. Scott integrated his findings into the tours he gives at The Magic Circle\u2019s London headquarters, according to Laura London, the first woman to serve as chair of the society. Ms. London said when she first caught wind of the story about two months ago, she started poring through archives herself in hopes of tracking Ms. Lloyd down.<\/p>\n \u201cI think her story is inspiring and it\u2019s an important one to tell,\u201d Ms. London said. \u201cThat there are brave women out there that do extraordinary things to prove that they can do things in an unjust world. Such as, in her case, to do magic as good as the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n Professional women in magic are still fighting for recognition<\/a> three decades after Ms. Lloyd\u2019s feat. And only 5 percent of The Magic Circle\u2019s approximately 1,700 current members are women. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Magic Circle uncovered articles from the late 1990s that referenced Ms. Lloyd using magic to counteract bullying in schools \u2014 but no trace beyond that.<\/p>\n Ms. Winstanley, her partner in the ruse, died in 2004<\/a>. So The Magic Circle reached out to Ms. Winstanley\u2019s son, Nick Allen. But he said he did not know how to contact Ms. Lloyd \u2014 and thought her first name might have actually been Sue.<\/p>\n With little to go on, The Magic Circle turned to the media. But numerous articles<\/a> in Brit<\/a>ain have failed to find her.<\/p>\n Ms. London said that more than anything, she would like to find Ms. Lloyd to apologize.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important for us to find a way to give her a way to give her some closure on it, if she wants it,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n Whether Ms. Lloyd would take The Circle up on their offer remains to be seen.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest,\u201d she said in her CBC interview, \u201cI\u2019m not into magic.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n