The Magician

Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset), 1874-1965Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 407K words
Chapters: 41

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Magician by W. Somerset MaughamAuthor: Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset), 1874-1965,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Dec 4, 2004

Editor's review

The Magician is one of the more unusual of Maugham's early novels, centred on a magician with mysterious powers of manipulation and unfolding the tension between desire, fear, and the limits of reason. Maugham's narration is clean and restrained, his dialogue sharp, and the plot carries the readability of popular fiction while quietly embedding cool observations of human weakness. It is less widely known than The Moon and Sixpence, yet it lets readers see Maugham's balance between popular storytelling and psychological portraiture. This is a public-domain English e-book without a modern introduction; suitable as extended reading of Maugham's work and for readers who want to experience the pace of early English popular fiction. While reading, note how the magician figure is constructed and how the narrator creates unease without direct judgment.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who have read Maugham's major works and want to explore his early novels
Readers of English fiction who like stories with mystery and psychological tension
Learners who wish to practise long-form English reading with a public-domain e-book
Those interested in early twentieth-century popular-fiction narrative techniques

Not a good fit for

Genre readers expecting tight deduction or hard fantasy worldbuilding
Academic readers needing detailed author biography and contextual notes
Readers impatient with slower pace and character-relationship-driven plots

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters to feel the narrative pace before deciding whether to read straight through
Note the details when the magician appears and record how his image is gradually built
After finishing, compare with other Maugham works to see how he handles human weakness
In English reading, divide long sentences into sense groups rather than looking up every word

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a fantasy novel?

It is closer to a psychological novel with mystery than to strict fantasy. The magician's powers and identity remain ambiguous; the focus is on character relationships and psychological pressure rather than a complete magic system. Readers should enter with popular-fiction expectations.

Can I read this without having read other Maugham works?

Yes. The plot is relatively self-contained and does not depend on prior reading. However, its presentation of Maugham-style human observation is less typical than his major works; afterwards, reading his more mature works will give a fuller understanding of the author's concerns.

Does this e-edition have notes?

Public-domain e-books usually contain only the main text, without modern notes or introduction. If you encounter cultural background or unfamiliar expressions, consult reference materials yourself. It is best treated as long-form English reading material, with notes to map character relationships.

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About the author

Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset), 1874-1965 Author

W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) was a British novelist and playwright. Twenty-four of his works are held in this collection, covering novels, short-story collections and plays, with representative titles including Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, The Trembling of a Leaf, The Circle, Liza of Lambeth and On a Chinese Screen. His writing ranges widely in subject, often depicting human weakness, emotional entanglement and exotic settings in a cool, restrained tone; his narratives are clear and his characters sharply drawn, combining readability with irony. His works circulated widely in twentieth-century English literature and have influenced both popular and serious fiction. As public information is limited, his detailed life and career are not elaborated here.