The Magus (novel)

This article is about the novel by John Fowles. For the book on the occult, see The Magus (Barrett book). For other uses, see The Magus (disambiguation).

The Magus
First edition
Cover artistTom Adams
LanguageEnglish
PublisherJonathan Cape (UK)
Publication date
1965 (revised version 1977)
Publication placeUnited Kingdom

The Magus (1965) is a postmodern novel by British author John Fowles, telling the story of Nicholas Urfe, a young British graduate who is teaching English on a small Greek island. Urfe becomes embroiled in the psychological illusions of a master trickster, which become increasingly dark and serious. Considered an example of metafiction, it was the first novel written by Fowles but his second novel to be published. A revised edition was published in 1977.[1]

In 1999, The Magus was ranked on both lists of Modern Library 100 Best Novels, reaching number 93 on the editors' list and number 71 on the readers' list.[2] In 2003, the novel was listed at number 67 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference GrdnObt2005Nov08 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "100 Best Novels". Modern Library. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  3. ^ "The Big Read". BBC. April 2003. Retrieved 26 October 2012.