Professor 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. Under the pen name Professor Hoffmann, in 1873 he published a series of articles in ''Routledge's Every Boy's Annual'' which "launched his career as the most prolific and influential magic author and translator until modern times." == Works ==