The Magus, cover painting by Tom Adams

The Magus is the first novel by British author John Fowles, but actually the second to be published, following the success of The Collector (1963). Fowles started writing it in the 1950s, partly basing on his experiences as an English teacher on the Greek island of Spetses. He wrote and rewrote it for twelve years before its publication in 1965, and despite critical and commercial success, continued to rework it until its revised version, published in 1977. The Magus was a bestseller, partly because it tapped successfully into - and even arguably helped to promote - the 1960s popular interest in psychoanalysis and mystical philosophy. It has been recently named one of the Modern Library's100 Best Novels of the 20th Century, #71 and #93 on the Reader's and Critics' lists, respectively. The Magus cover File links The following pages link to this file: The Magus (novel) ... The Magus cover File links The following pages link to this file: The Magus (novel) ... John Fowles is an English novelist and essayist. ... The Collector is the title of a 1963 novel by John Fowles. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... Spetses (Greek, Modern: Σπέτσες, Ancient/Katharevousa: -ai), older form Spetsai is an island in Greece. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... // Psychoanalysis is a family of psychological theories and methods based on the pioneering work of Sigmund Freud. ... The Flammarion Woodcut can be taken to illustrate the Gnostics mystical search for spiritual worlds by circumventing the constraints of materialism. ...

Plot

The story concerns young and intelligent Oxford graduate Nicholas Urfe, who takes up with Alison, an Australian girl he meets at a party in London. The affair gets more serious than Nicholas can stand, so he leaves her to take a position as an English instructor at the Lord Byron School in the Greek island of Phraxos. Bored, depressed, disillusioned, and overwhelmed by the Mediterranean island, Nicholas contemplates suicide, then takes two long solitary walks. On one of these walks he stumbles upon the wealthy Greek recluse Maurice Conchis, who may or may not have collaborated with the Nazis during the war and apparently lives alone on his island estate. Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom, and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ...

Nicholas is gradually drawn into Conchis's psychological games, his paradoxical views on life, his mysterious persona, and his eccentric masques. At first these various aspects of what the novel terms the "godgame" seem to Nicholas to be a joke, but as they grow more elaborate and intense, Nicholas's perception of what is real and what is not vanishes. Against his will and knowledge he becomes a performer in the godgame, and realizes that the enactments of the Nazi occupation, the absurd playlets after de Sade, and the obscene parodies of Greek myths are not about Conchis's life, but his own. National Socialism redirects here. ... Portrait of the Marquis de Sade by Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo (c. ...

The novel presents an extraordinary series of descriptions of both places and events, and paints an unusually vivid picture of the suroundings in which the action takes place.

Literary precedents

John Fowles has written an article about his experiences in the island of Spetses and their influence on the book [1], and he has also specifically acknowledged some literary works in his foreword to the revised version of The Magus. These include The Wanderer (Le Grand Meaulnes, 1913), by Alain-Fournier, for showing a secret hidden world to be explored, and Jefferies's Bevis (1882), for projecting a very different world. Fowles also refers in the revised edition of the novel to a Miss Havisham, a likely reference to Charles Dickens's Great Expectations (1861). John Fowles is an English novelist and essayist. ... The word Wanderer can refer to: A novel by Fritz Leiber, The Wanderer, a 1913 novel by Alain-Fournier, The Old English poem, A song by U2, A 1988 album by Kevin Rowland, formerly of Dexys Midnight Runners Wanderer (car) a German automobile manufacturer between wars. ... Le Grand Meaulnes, Alain-Fourniers bittersweet novel of youthful ardour and longing is the story of Augustin Meaulnes and his search for his lost love. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Alain Fournier (1943-2000) was a computer graphics researcher. ... 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... Dickens redirects here. ... Great Expectations is a Bildungsroman (a novel tracing the life of the protagonist) by Charles Dickens and first serialized in All the Year Round from December 1860 to August 1861. ... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Media adaptations

A film version was released in 1968, directed by Guy Green, and written by Fowles. It starred Michael Caine as Nicholas Urfe, Anthony Quinn as Maurice Conchis, Anna Karina as Alison, Candice Bergen as Lily/Julie, and Julian Glover as Anton, and was filmed in the island of Majorca. The adaptation, however, was a failure. Michael Caine himself has said that it was the worst film he had been involved in, because no one knew what it was all about. Woody Allen is quoted as saying that if he could live his life all over again, he'd do "everything exactly the same – with the exception of watching The Magus." It is not currently available commercially either on DVD or VHS, but copies can be bought on the Fowlesbooks.com website. The Magus is a 1968 film directed by Guy Green. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Guy Green, 1992 Guy Green (November 15, 1913 – September 15, 2005) was a British director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. ... Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth in Batman Begins Sir Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, CBE (born 14 March 1933), known professionally as Sir Michael Caine, is an English film actor. ... Anthony Quinn (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001) was a Mexican-American actor, painter, and writer. ... Anna Karina in the Jean-Luc Godard film My Life To Live (1962) Anna Karina (born September 22, 1940) is a Danish born actress. ... Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress and former fashion model, best known for her starring role on the television situation comedy Murphy Brown. ... Julian Glover in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. ... Majorca (Mallorca in Catalan and Spanish, sometimes also encountered in English),: from Latin insula maior, later Maiorica, (major island) is one of the Balearic Islands (Catalan: Illes Balears, Spanish: Islas Baleares), which are located in the Mediterranean Sea and are a part of Spain. ... Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth in Batman Begins Sir Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, CBE (born 14 March 1933), known professionally as Sir Michael Caine, is an English film actor. ... Woody Allen in the movie Anything Else 2003. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Top view VHS cassette with U.S. 25c coin for scale Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed The Video Home System, better known by its abbreviation VHS or simply as Video, is a recording and playing standard for video cassette recorders (VCRs), developed by JVC (with some...

References

• Fowlesbooks.com Summary of The Magus and other novels by Fowles