Cover of The Magus

The Magus

John Fowles, 1965

British novelist, 1926–2005.

The Magus is a 1965 novel by John Fowles.

Acclaimed
  • Readers' Favourite

On 3 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
John Fowles
First published
1965
Length
720 pages (UK paperback)
Genre
Literary fiction, Psychological, Philosophical, Postmodern

Is The Magus worth reading?

3 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them 100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library) and Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian).

ListPlaceOriginal
100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library, 1998)No. 93See the list
Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026)No. 93See the list
The Big Read top 100 (BBC, 2003)No. 67See the list

Best edition of The Magus

The edition we link to is the Vintage Classics paperback (2004), 720 pages.

Publisher
Vintage Classics (paperback, 2004)
Pages
720
ISBN
9780099478355

How critics and readers rate The Magus

Readers rate it most highly: it earned 27% of the points available on readers' and booksellers' lists, against 8% on critics' lists.

Critics
8%
Prizes
Not eligible for any of these lists yet
Readers and booksellers
27%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like The Magus

If you liked The Magus, try The Lord of the Rings, The Remains of the Day or Cloud Atlas.

Lists used on this page