Svengali
Svengali is a fictional character of George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby. Svengali "would either fawn or bully and could be grossly impertinent. He had a kind of cynical humour that was more offensive than amusing and always laughed at the wrong thing, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. And his laughter was always derisive and full of malice".
In the novel, Svengali transforms Trilby into a great singer by using hypnosis. Unable to perform without Svengali's help, Trilby becomes entranced. The novel is less a discussion of the relationship between Svengali and Trilby than an evocation of "bohemian" Paris during the 1850s.
The word "svengali", has come to be used as a common noun referring to a person who, with evil intent, controls another person by persuasion or deceit. The Svengali may use pseudo-kindness and manipulation to get the other person to turn over their autonomy.
The character was portrayed by many silent movie versions of the story and by talking movies, played by John Barrymore in a 1931 movie of the same name, by Donald Wolfit in a 1954 version in Technicolor, and by Peter O'Toole in a 1983 made-for-television modernized version, also in colour, co-featuring Jodie Foster. In the 1983 movie, the names of the characters were changed except for "Svengali", which had become famous.
Svengali was also referenced in the Twilight Zone, Season 3, episode 22 'A Piano in the House' in February, 1962, as the theater critic Fitzgerald Fortune.
The story has also been adapted into a ballet, featuring Svengali's protegé as a dancer instead of a singer. Choreographed by Mark Godden for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, world premiere Oct. 19, 2011.
'Svengali' is also the title and subject of a song by singer-songwriter Steve Taylor, from his album "I Predict 1990".
The name Svengali is used for the Svengali deck, a trick card deck used by card magicians.
Svengali is the name of Derren Brown's 2012 tour.
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