Disappearing act: Magic Circle hunts female member who posed as a man

The Magic Circle is on the hunt for a long-lost member who was thrown out of the organisation in the 90s for disguising herself as a man.

Before 1991, the Magic Circle, a British organisation founded in 1905 for magicians, had been a male-only membership club. This changed after a vote passed by 75% to allow the admission of women and the October 1991 meeting was the first to include female magicians.

As part of that watershed meeting, magician Raymond Lloyd revealed one of the best illusions in the organisation’s history. He’d been a woman all along. She created her male alter-ego with the help of fellow female magician Jenny Winstanley.

For more than a year and a half, the 29-year-old Sophie Lloyd had been masquerading as a man, the teenage Raymond, and had gained a following as one of the club’s rising stars, known for making five pound notes disappear in flames.

Instead of finding the ruse in-keeping with the ethos of the organisation and its new admissions policy, Lloyd was promptly kicked out of the Magic Circle. Members were reportedly furious at the “deliberate deception” and seemingly unfamiliar with their hobby’s basic premise.

Desperately seeking... Sue

The Magic Circle has come a long way from its 1905 origin where women were refused admission due to their purported inability to keep secrets. Megan Swann, real name Megan Knowles-Bacon, became the organisation’s first female president in 2021. However, of the organisation’s 1,700 members, today only 5% are women.

Now, the organisation is trying to track down Lloyd to re-induct her back. Current president Marvin Berglas has said that she shouldn’t have been ejected back in 91. The search is being led by the Magic Circle’s first female chair Laura London.

The only problem is, Lloyd has disappeared. Disgruntled over being kicked out of the Circle, Lloyd seemingly packed away her rabbit and top hat for good. Beyond an article in local news in 1997, the trail goes completely cold.

Unfortunately, Winstanley died in 2004, but her son has confirmed that Lloyd’s name was likely a stage name and her actual first name was Sue.

“We really do hope that Sophie can be found so that we can welcome her back into our society,” Berglas said in a statement.

London told Britain's The Guardian newspaper that the Magic Circle is “so desperate to right this wrong.”

“I think just to even sit down with her and find out her side of the story would be wonderful for us. But more than that, we could invite her back into the society, which would be the most incredible thing.”