Sophie Lloyd was expelled in 1991 for ‘deliberate deception’ after being admitted while pretending to be a man

The council meeting of the Magic Circle on 9 October 1991 was a historic occasion, marking the moment when the first cohort of women, including Debbie McGee and Fay Presto, were admitted to its previously male-only ranks of magicians.

But the meeting was also memorable for another, lesser known, reason. The council voted to expel a member named Raymond Lloyd, who was in fact a woman named Sophie Lloyd, who had been “masquerading as a male” in order to gain access to the society.