one day he found a book that changed his life -- The Memoirs of Robert-Houdin. until now, Ehrich had never thought of magic as a possible profession. in this book, Robert-Houdin, a French magician, told the story of how he had stared out poor and gained wealth and fame as a magician. soon after reading this book, Ehrich left the necktie factory and convinced Jacob to leave too. they, too, would become famous magicians.
but first they needed a good stage name. in memory of the Frenchman, Ehrich decided to call himself Houdini. the extra letter at the end made it sound better in English. For a first name, he took the nickname his friends used for him--Ehrich--and changed it to Harry. From then on, he was Harry Houdini. He and Jacob Hyman became the Brothers Houdini. He also copied Robert-Houdin's costume--a formal jacket and white shirt--not the long magician's robe that had been popular before.