This book is the complete, documented story of the life of Milledgeville, Georgia's Dixie Haygood, who as Annie Abbott, "The Little Georgia Magnet," captivated the world and puzzled scientists in the late 1800s and early 1900s with her unexplained power. Her exhibitions of strength became known worldwide as the "Annie Abbott Act." The magician, Harry Houdini, described her opening performance at the Alhambra Theatre as one of the three big sensations of the London vaudeville stage. Dixie Haygood, who weighed only 96 pounds, used her extraordinary power to overcome the strongest men in the world. When she willed it, strong men could not lift her. She could also transfer her power to children, who then were unable to be lifted! She performed these and many other exhibitions. She performed before all of the crowned heads of Europe, giving exhibitions involving her audiences and baffling men of science. For the first time -- the true story of the creation of the world famous Annie Abbott Act is revealed through hundreds of eyewitness accounts and her own diary. It is only through her diary, autograph album and pain-staking research that her true, and unusual, life has been revealed. The story of Dixie Haygood and Annie Abbott is not simply about this one woman. Her success as Annie Abbott gave rise to imitators, including Annie May Abbott, whose identity and complex relationship with Annie Abbott is explained for the first time. The lives of Annie Abbott, Annie May Abbott, their managers and their families are interwoven in remarkable and never before known ways. The story of Annie Abbott is a story about women, spiritualism, magic, science, vaudeville and family life in the late Victorian Age. Little has been written about women's lives and relationships during the rise of vaudeville. The story of Annie Abbott provides insights into the difficult, but at times exhilarating, life of the vaudeville theater and those who played in it.
About the Author: Dr. Susan J. Harrington is a professor of information systems. She has published various history articles and books and over 25 scholarly articles. She has been researching Annie Abbott and Dixie Haygood for over 10 years. She, along with her husband Hugh T. Harrington, are the world's experts on Dixie Haygood and Annie Abbott. She and her husband have published the seminal article on Annie Abbott in the "Georgia Historical Quarterly," and their articles on Annie Abbott won "Best Article Series of 2003" in "The Linking Ring" magazine published by the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Hugh T. Harrington is an historian who has written many articles on American history and three books on the history of Milledgeville, Georgia: "Civil War Milledgeville: Tales from the Confederate Capital of Georgia," "More Milledgeville Memories," and "Remembering Milledgeville: Historic Tales from Georgia's Antebellum Capital." His history work has appeared in "America's Civil War," "Georgia Backroads," "Patriots of the American Revolution," "The American Revolution," "Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution," "Carologue," and "Muzzle Blasts," among others. He is an expert on Sherlock Holmes and is a member of the Baker Street Irregulars with the investiture of "Wisteria Lodge." His articles have appeared in many Sherlock Holmes publications.