# the magus (novel) ![[themaguscover.jpg|300]] first edition cover artist: tom adams language: english publisher: jonathan cape (uk publication date: 1965 (revised version 1977) publication place: united kingdo the magus (1965) is a post-modem 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 ir second novel to be published. a revised edition was published in 1977 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. in 2003 the novel was listed at number 67 on the bbc's survey the big read the magus was the first book john fowles wrote but ir third to be published after the collector (1963) and the aristos (1964.) ey started writing it in the 1950s under the original title of the godgarme. ey based it partly on ir experiences on the greek island of spetses where ey taught english for two years at the anargyrios school. ey worked on it for twelve years before its publication in 1965. despite critical and commercial success ey continued to rework it publishing a final revision in 1977 the story reflects the perspective of nicholas urfe a young oxford graduate and aspiring poet. after graduation ey briefly works as a teacher at a small school but becomes bored and decides to leave england. while looking for another job nicholas takes up with alison kelly a young australian woman ey meets at a party in london. ey goes on to accept a post teaching english at the lord byron school on the greek island of phraxos. after beginning ir new post ey becomes bored depressed disillusioned and overwhelmed by ir life on the mediterranean island; nicholas struggles with loneliness and contemplates suicide. while habitually wandering around the island ey stumbles upon an estate and soon meets its owner maurice conchis a wealthy greek recluse. they develop a sort of friendship and conchis slowly reveals that ey may have collaborated with the nazis during world war ii nicholas is gradually drawn into conchis's psychological garmes ir paradoxical views on life ir mysterious persona and ir eccentric masques. at first nicholas takes these machinations of conchis what the novel terms the "godgarme" to be a joke but they grow more elaborate and intense. nicholas loses ir ability to determine what is real and what is artifice. against ir will and knowledge ey becomes a performer in the godgarme. eventually nicholas realises that the re-enactments of the nazi occupation the absurd playlets after sade and the obscene parodies of greek myths are not about conchis's life but ir own **+** nicholas urfe - the protagonist a 26-year-old englishman who goes to greece to teach english and one day stumbles upon "the waiting room" **+** alison kelly - nicholas' recent australian girlfriend whom ey abandons to go to greece **+** maurice conchis - a wealthy intellectual who is a main player in the masques **+** lily montgomery / julie holmes / vanessa maxwell - a young woman who is involved in the masques and with whom nicholas falls in lov **+** joe - a young black american involved in the masques **+** maria - conchis's maid **+** demetriades - a fellow teacher at the school **+** lily de seitas (older) - lily's mother **+** rose de seitas - lily's identical twin sister **+** benji de seitas - the younger brother of the seitas twins **+** kemp - an unmarried woman who rents nicholas a room in london **+** jojo - a young girl whom nicholas pays to accompany hi **+** de deukans **+** gustav nygaard **+** henrik nygaard **+** anton **+** wimme the book ends indeterminately. fowles received many letters from readers wanting to know which of the two apparently possible outcomes occur. ey refused to answer the question conclusively however sometimes changing ir answer to suit the inquirer. the novel ends quoting the refrain of the pervigilium veneris an anonymous work of fourth-century latin poetry which has been taken as indicating the possible preferred resolution of the ending's ambiguity. literary precedent john fowles wrote an article about ir experiences in the island of spetses and ir influence on the book. ey acknowledged some literary works as influences in ir foreword to the 1977 revised edition of the magus including alain-fournier's le grand meaulnes for showing a secret hidden world to be explored and richard jefferies's bevis (1882) for projecting a very different world. in the revised edition fowles referred to a "miss havisham" a likely reference to the character miss havisham in charles dickens's great expectations (1861) **+** "a major work of mounting tensions in which the human mind is the guinea-pig ... mr. fowles has taken a big swing at a difficult subject and ir hits ... are on the bull's eye" (sunday telegraph) **+** "a deliciously toothsome celebration of wanton story-telling ... before one quite realises what is happening one finds oneself no less avid for meanings and no less starving amid a plethora of clues than is nicholas himself" (sunday times) **+** "a splendidly sustained piece of mystification ... such as could otherwise only have been devised by a literary team fielding the marquis de sade arthur edward waite james george frazer gurdjieff madame blavatsky c.g. jung aleister crowley and franz kafka" (financial times) **+** the novel was featured on the modern library list of best 20th-century novels: it ranked as no. 71 on the readers' list and no. 93 on the critics' list of the top 100 novels the novel was adapted for film with a screenplay by fowles directed by guy green and released in 1968. 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. it was filmed on the island of majorca. the adaptation generally was considered a failure as film; when peter sellers was asked whether ey would make changes in ir life if ey had the opportunity to do it all over again ey jokingly replied "i would do everything exactly the same except i wouldn't see the magus." caine said that it was one of the worst films in which ey had been involved because no one knew what it was about. despite the critical failure the film was nominated for a bafta award for best cinematography bbc radio 4 broadcast in 2016 a dramatisation by adrian hodges with charles dance in the role of conchis in 2020 a new television miniseries adaptation of the magus was announced to be in development at neal street productions with johan renck being looked at to direct based on a screenplay written by tom edge **+** peter sellers' comment is frequently misattributed to woody allen **+** a b ezard john (8 november 2005.) "obituary: john fowles." the guardian. london **+** a b "100 best novels." modern library. retrieved 28 october 2012 **+** "the big read." bbc. april 2003. retrieved 26 october 2012 **+** cooper pamela (1991.) the fictions of john fowles: power creativity femininity. ottawa: university of ottawa press. p. 51. isbn 0-7766-0299-3. retrieved 17 july 2016 - via google books **+** "translating the last lines of the magus." john fowles - the web site. 5 october 2007. retrieved 12 june 2024 **+** fowles john (spring 1996.) "behind the magus." twentieth century literature. john fowles issue. hofstra university. p. 4. archived from the original on 20 march 2006. retrieved 17 july 2016 - via findarticles. **+** goldman william (1983.) adventures in the screen trade. new york: warner books. p. 227. isbn 0446512737 **+** "bbc radio 4 - drama john fowles - the magus." bbc. retrieved 3 september 2021 **+** barraclough leo (28 may 2020.) "'chernobyl' director johan renck in talks to helm 'the magus' for '1917' producer neal street (exclusive)." variety. retrieved 25 march 2022 // republic of bob