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Nicholas is gradually drawn into
Conchis's psychological games, his paradoxical views on life, his mysterious persona and his eccentric masques. At first, Nicholas takes these machinations of Conchis, what the novel terms the "godgame", to be a joke, but they grow more elaborate and intense. Nicholas
186:
School on the Greek island of
Phraxos. After beginning his new post, he becomes bored, depressed, disillusioned and overwhelmed by his life on the Mediterranean island; Nicholas struggles with loneliness and contemplates suicide. While habitually wandering around the island, he stumbles upon an
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graduate and aspiring poet. After graduation, he 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 he meets at a party in London. He goes on to accept a post
296:. Fowles received many letters from readers wanting to know which of the two apparently possible outcomes occur. He refused to answer the question conclusively, however, sometimes changing his answer to suit the inquirer. The novel ends quoting the refrain of the
111:, 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
169:, where he taught English for two years at the Anargyrios School. He worked on it for twelve years before its publication in 1965. Despite critical and commercial success, he continued to rework it, publishing a final revision in 1977.
40:
368:"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" (
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loses his ability to determine what is real and what is artifice. Against his will and knowledge, he becomes a performer in the godgame. Eventually, Nicholas realises that the re-enactments of the
313:
wrote an article about his experiences in the island of
Spetses and their influence on the book. He acknowledged some literary works as influences in his foreword to the 1977 revised edition of
465:
was asked whether he would make changes in his life if he had the opportunity to do it all over again, he jokingly replied, "I would do everything exactly the same except I wouldn't see
359:"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 his hits ... are on the bull's eye" (
469:." Caine said that it was one of the worst films in which he had been involved because no one knew what it was about. Despite the critical failure, the film was nominated for a
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estate and soon meets its owner, Maurice
Conchis, a wealthy Greek recluse. They develop a sort of friendship, and Conchis slowly reveals that he may have collaborated with the
419:
826:
679:
302:, an anonymous work of fourth-century Latin poetry, which has been taken as indicating the possible preferred resolution of the ending's ambiguity.
336:(1882), for projecting a very different world. In the revised edition, Fowles referred to a "Miss Havisham", a likely reference to the character
221:
Nicholas Urfe – the protagonist, a 26-year-old
Englishman who goes to Greece to teach English and one day stumbles upon "the waiting room"
126:, 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
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625:
230:
Lily
Montgomery / Julie Holmes / Vanessa Maxwell – a young woman who is involved in the masques and with whom Nicholas falls in love
377:"A splendidly sustained piece of mystification ... such as could otherwise only have been devised by a literary team fielding the
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115:, it was the first novel written by Fowles but his second novel to be published. A revised edition was published in 1977.
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as Anton. It was filmed on the island of
Majorca. The adaptation generally was considered a failure as film; when
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422:: It ranked as No. 71 on the Readers' List and No. 93 on the Critics' List of the top 100 novels.
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762:"'Chernobyl' Director Johan Renck in Talks to Helm 'The Magus' for '1917' Producer Neal Street (EXCLUSIVE)"
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This article is about the novel by John Fowles. For the book on the occult, see
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Maurice
Conchis – a wealthy intellectual who is a main player in the masques
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The novel was adapted for film with a screenplay by Fowles, directed by
161:(1964). He started writing it in the 1950s, under the original title of
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476:
BBC Radio 4 broadcast in 2016 a dramatisation by Adrian Hodges, with
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690:. John Fowles issue. Hofstra University. p. 4. Archived from
165:. He based it partly on his experiences on the Greek island of
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Kemp – an unmarried woman who rents Nicholas a room in London
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The story reflects the perspective of Nicholas Urfe, a young
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being looked at to direct based on a screenplay written by
617:
The Fictions of John Fowles: Power, creativity, femininity
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Benji de Seitas – the younger brother of the Seitas twins
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Jojo – a young girl whom Nicholas pays to accompany him
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Peter Sellers' comment is frequently misattributed to
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for showing a secret hidden world to be explored, and
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Joe – a young black American, involved in the masques
483:In 2020, a new television miniseries adaptation of
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620:. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press. p. 51.
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420:Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels
739:"BBC Radio 4 – Drama, John Fowles – The Magus"
252:Rose de Seitas – Lily's identical twin sister
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246:Demetriades – a fellow teacher at the school
149:wrote, but his third to be published, after
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207:are not about Conchis's life, but his own.
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717:. New York: Warner Books. p. 227.
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487:was announced to be in development at
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471:BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography
441:, and released in 1968. It starred
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827:British novels adapted into films
760:Barraclough, Leo (28 May 2020).
649:"Translating the last lines of
543:Ezard, John (8 November 2005).
715:Adventures in the Screen Trade
418:The novel was featured on the
203:, and the obscene parodies of
124:Modern Library 100 Best Novels
1:
688:Twentieth Century Literature
678:Fowles, John (Spring 1996).
199:, the absurd playlets after
122:was ranked on both lists of
84:1965 (revised version 1977)
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798:John Fowles – The Web Site
657:John Fowles – the web site
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191:during World War II.
25:The Magus (disambiguation)
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713:Goldman, William (1983).
702:– via FindArticles.
637:– via Google Books.
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16:1965 novel by John Fowles
480:in the role of Conchis.
182:teaching English at the
107:novel by British author
21:The Magus (Barrett book)
867:Novels set in the 1950s
614:Cooper, Pamela (1991).
545:"Obituary: John Fowles"
489:Neal Street Productions
832:English-language books
243:Maria – Conchis's maid
23:. For other uses, see
847:Novels set on islands
837:Novels by John Fowles
457:as Lily / Julie, and
842:Novels set in Greece
449:as Maurice Conchis,
862:Fiction set in 1953
852:Jonathan Cape books
822:1977 British novels
817:1965 British novels
812:1965 fantasy novels
387:James George Frazer
383:Arthur Edward Waite
306:Literary precedents
299:Pervigilium Veneris
145:was the first book
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445:as Nicholas Urfe,
354:Critical reception
347:Great Expectations
857:Postmodern novels
595:. BBC. April 2003
568:"100 Best Novels"
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793:.fowlesbooks
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103:(1965) is a
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745:3 September
517:Woody Allen
493:Johan Renck
453:as Alison,
451:Anna Karina
427:Adaptations
407:Franz Kafka
311:John Fowles
205:Greek myths
163:The Godgame
158:The Aristos
155:(1963) and
147:John Fowles
113:metafiction
109:John Fowles
806:Categories
724:0446512737
599:26 October
577:28 October
527:References
271:de Deukans
211:Characters
184:Lord Byron
138:Background
130:'s survey
105:postmodern
33:The Magus
682:The Magus
651:The Magus
553:. London.
485:The Magus
467:The Magus
439:Guy Green
399:C.G. Jung
391:Gurdjieff
315:The Magus
143:The Magus
120:The Magus
118:In 1999,
100:The Magus
68:Publisher
54:Tom Adams
771:25 March
680:"Behind
497:Tom Edge
350:(1861).
60:Language
766:Variety
698:17 July
663:12 June
633:17 July
491:, with
167:Spetses
63:English
721:
624:
405:, and
288:Ending
283:Wimmel
179:Oxford
741:. BBC
503:Notes
334:Bevis
280:Anton
235:Other
189:Nazis
795:.com
773:2022
747:2021
719:ISBN
700:2016
665:2024
635:2016
622:ISBN
601:2012
579:2012
216:Main
201:Sade
74:(UK)
791:www
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