author

Samuel Rid

An early 17th-century English writer, best known for a lively book on conjuring tricks and cheating games, he left behind a small but curious place in literary history. His surviving works open a window onto popular entertainment, street life, and suspicion of rogues in Jacobean England.

1 Audiobook

The Art of Iugling or Legerdemaine Wherein is Deciphered All the Conueyances of Legerdemaine and Iugling, How They Are Effected, and Wherin They Chiefly Consist; Cautions to Beware of Cheating at Cardes and Dice, the Detection of the Beggerly Art of Alcumistry, and the Foppery of Foolish Cousoning Charmes, All Tending to Mirth and Recreation, Especially for Those That Desire to Haue the Insight and Priuate Practise Thereof

The Art of Iugling or Legerdemaine Wherein is Deciphered All the Conueyances of Legerdemaine and Iugling, How They Are Effected, and Wherin They Chiefly Consist; Cautions to Beware of Cheating at Cardes and Dice, the Detection of the Beggerly Art of Alcumistry, and the Foppery of Foolish Cousoning Charmes, All Tending to Mirth and Recreation, Especially for Those That Desire to Haue the Insight and Priuate Practise Thereof

by Samuel Rid

About the author

Very little is known for certain about Samuel Rid’s life, and even his authorship has sometimes been confused with that of other writers. He is usually identified by the initials S. R. and is associated with the early 1600s.

Rid is best known for The Art of Jugling or Legerdemaine (1612), a book about sleight of hand, tricks, and cheating devices. He is also linked with Martin Markall, Beadle of Bridewell (published in 1608 or 1610), a work about rogues and wandering people in England.

What makes his writing interesting today is the mix of popular culture, performance, and social history it preserves. Even though the man himself remains shadowy, his books still offer a vivid glimpse of what fascinated and unsettled readers in Jacobean England.