Product Description

Maugham’s enchanting tale of secrets and fatal attraction

The Magician is one of Somerset Maugham’s most complex and perceptive novels. Running through it is the theme of evil, deftly woven into a story as memorable for its action as for its astonishingly vivid characters. In fin de siècle Paris, Arthur and Margaret are engaged to be married. Everyone approves and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves—until the sinister and repulsive Oliver Haddo appears.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #644147 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780143104896
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Review
Maugham tells his tale of the weird and the horrible with simple sincerity and a constant matching of the unhallowed practices with the clean, sweet things of common life that make its effect uncommonly impressive. -- The New York Times

Review
Maugham tells his tale of the weird and the horrible with simple sincerity and a constant matching of the unhallowed practices with the clean, sweet things of common life that make its effect uncommonly impressive. (The New York Times)

About the Author
W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) was a successful playwright and the celebrated author of short stories and novels, including Of Human Bondage.

Robert Calder is a professor of English at the University of Saskatchewan and the author of numerous nonfiction books, including two biographies of Somerset Maugham.

Customer Reviews

Good Read, Disappointing Ending
I picked up this book because I had heard that Maugham had based his title character on Aleister Crowley, and Oliver Haddo is a well-drawn and imagined character. The plot and prose are terrific too for the first two-thirds of the novel, then a surprising event happens and it suddenly becomes melodramatic and clichéd with a B-movie ending. In retrospect, at the end of the book, it is easy to see how Maugham layered the work for the ending he wrote, but ultimately it robs the character of becoming magnificently evil and the novel of having the haunting power it could have had.

Another Maugham Guilty Pleasure
I'm a sucker for Maugham, so I know I usually read his books and short stories through rose-colored glasses. I enjoyed The Magician and was taken with Oliver Haddo, but the ending left me mildly disappointed. Without giving anything important away, I have to say Maugham really falls short by weaving a corny "dawning day" metaphor into the closing scene. So overall I'll remember Haddo and even Margaret, but will promptly forget the plot.