Merlini's Wife And A Life Less Ordinary

Sun Herald

Sunday February 24, 2008

By Charlotte Connell

MARGARET Robbins Greenland knows all the tricks of the trade.

She was married to a magician but you won't find any secrets in her book Magic, Mayhem, Merlini And Me.

Mrs Robbins Greenland, 82, of Merewether, is taking them to the grave. "It wouldn't be magic if you knew," she said.

Mrs Robbins Greenland, who worked as a nurse most of her life, wrote and published her first book in November last year about her life with magician Robert Robbins, who went by the stage name Merlini.

"I had such an interesting life with Robert, " she said. "People thought I should write it down. I had no idea it would be this popular".

Robert Robbins, born in 1926, was captivated by magic from age eight after he saw American marvel Carter the Great, and by 14 he became the youngest magician to have performed at the Tivoli Theatre in Sydney.

"He hypnotised his sister when he was nine years old from reading a book about it," his widow said. "It was mayhem."

Tales of his magic continue to enchant more than 40 years after his sudden death in 1964.

The State Library of NSW held a book launch for Magic, Mayhem, Merlini And Me last Tuesday night and invited Mrs Robbins Greenland to speak about her late husband. "It was a great event, and about half the people there grew up with Merlini's magic and knew all about him," Mrs Robbins Greenland said.

"One lady came up to me and told me that she was his first girlfriend and that he was a lovely man. I said: 'I know I married him'."

Living with a magician made for an interesting life, as Mrs Robbins Greenland recalls in her book.

"I remember one night coming home to find Robert rehearsing a guillotine magic trick on our nine-year-old daughter," she wrote. "I knew her head wouldn't fall off but I wasn't happy."

When Mr Robbins died from heart disease at age 37, Mrs Robbins Greenland was desperate to "make ends meet" and sold their collection of magic books to the State Library. Soon after the Robbins family moved to Newcastle.

The Robbins Collection Of Stage Magic contains more than 900 books, trade catalogues, pamphlets and serials, dating from 1799 to 1962, including some signed by legendary illusionist Harry Houdini.

Following Mrs Robbins Greenland's talk, guests were treated to some magic tricks from modern-day magician Steve Hart and were given a chance to browse through some of the rarest pieces in the collection.

© 2008 Sun Herald

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