The Lost Magician

Larry and Grey Bear are the first to trespass onto the top floor. Opening a small door leads them to Folio, the library of every book every written, collected by Nicholas Crowne before he disappeared. He is ‘The Lost Magician.’

The library is divided into sections entitled ‘Reads’, ‘Unreads’ and ‘Never Reads’. Why the separation? Why the fear, and threat of imminent war? Larry, full of imagination and possibilities, aligns himself with the wonder of  ‘Reads’, with fairytales and dreams. This the stuff that has him derided by his older siblings, and bullied at school.

Each of the the four children has his or her own baggage; each is battle wearied from their experiences of WWII. Evie seeks certainty and truth after unnamed horrors of bombing, including a close call at her school. Patricia is overwhelmed by a need to do the right thing. Simon feels distant from his siblings, and ashamed of his reading difficulties.

In ‘The Lost Magician’, Piers Torday has created a work that while reminiscent of Narnia, offers contemporary considerations. From PTSD, homophobia, dyslexia, image identity, the refugee crisis, to threats to the creative arts, these issues are real for the characters and their readers. We empathise with each of the children, and the library worlds through which they traverse. We cheer their individual battles and discoveries, and encourage their fragile recovery and mending relationship.

Including their story within an MI5 secret investigation is a superb stroke. We are desperate to learn more about Professor Diana Kelly and the further motives of her study. What happens next?

For committed readers, those with keen inference skills, for reading aloud, and for sheer wonder and warmth, we recommend ‘The Lost Magician’. This is the work of a storytelling maestro!