The Magus

Widely considered John Fowles’s masterpiece, The Magus is a masterwork of contemporary literature. By turns disturbing, thrilling and seductive, the novel is a spellbinding exploration of the complexities of the human mind.

When a young Englishman, Nicholas Urfe, accepts a teaching post on a remote Greek island and strikes up a friendship with a reclusive millionaire, he soon finds himself a pawn in the trickster’s deadly game of violence, seduction and betrayal. As Nicholas is drawn deeper into the psychological traps, he finds it increasingly difficult to distinguish past from present, or fantasy from reality. A work rich in symbols, conundrums, and labyrinthine twists, The Magus endures as the most enigmatic and magical novel in the Fowles canon.

The Magus was the first novel John Fowles wrote, although it was his third to be published, following The Collector (1963) and The Artistos (1964). He began writing it in the 1950s under the working title The Godgame, and based the story partly on his own experiences on the Greek island of Spetses, where he taught English for two years at the Anargyrios School. Fowles worked on The Magus for twelve years before its publication in 1965. Despite gaining enormous critical and commercial success, he continued to rework it, publishing a final revision in 1977.

Today, the novel is considered a modern classic, included in Modern Library’s list of 100 Best 20th Century Novels, and the BBC’s The Big Read survey of the top 200 best loved novels.

ARTIST EDITION

• 6” x 9” trim size.
• 800 Pages.
• Limited to 750 unnumbered copies.
• Signed by Marc Burckhardt.
• Quarter cloth binding with European bookcloth covering the spine, and Cot-Linen cloth over the boards.
• Foreword by the author, originally published in the 1977 revised edition.
• A 1994 bonus essay by the author.
• Transcript from the author's October 23, 1997 appearance on the BBC's The Lively Arts.
• New exclusive introduction by Christopher Priest. 
• New exclusive afterword by Eileen Warburton.
• Six full color illustrations by Marc Burckhardt.
• Dust jacket illustrated by Marc Burckhardt (the only edition featuring this illustrated dust jacket). The jacket is double-sided, featuring the first edition dust jacket illustration by Tom Adams on the reverse.
• Set in Monotype Digital Fournier.
• Printed offset on archival Cougar Natural paper.
• Housed in a slipcase covered in Cot-Linen.
• Bookmark with all pre-orders.

NUMBERED EDITION

• 6” x 9” trim size.
• 800 pages.
• Limited to 250 copies.
• Signed by Christopher Priest, Eileen Warburton and Marc Burckhardt.
• Quarter leather binding with Eurpoean bookcloth over boards.
• Gold foil blocked cover.
• Art print inset into the front cover.
• Color fold-out featuring the Artist edition dust jacket illustration, as well as a reproduction of the first edition jacket art by Tom Adams.
• Foreword by the author, originally published in the 1977 revised edition.
• A 1994 bonus essay by the author.
• Transcript from the author's October 23, 1997 appearance on the BBC's The Lively Arts.
• New exclusive introduction by Christopher Priest. 
• New exclusive afterword by Eileen Warburton.
• Six full color illustrations by Marc Burckhardt.
• Set in Monotype Digital Fournier.
• Printed offset on Mohawk Via Vellum paper.
• Endsheets are designed for this edition and printed letterpress on Hahnemühle Bugra Archive.
• Housed in a cloth covered slipcase. 
• Wooden “Le Bateleur” Tarot card with the design laser engraved in olive ash burl wood veneer included as a companion to all Numbered edition orders.
• Bookmark with all pre-orders.