The Magician

A gothic novel set in Paris and elsewhere in Europe, in the years before the First World War. A young English surgeon, Arthur Burdon, and his fiancée Margaret meet Oliver Haddo, a sinister occultist whose boasts of magical powers seem both absurd and menacing. Haddo's character was partly modelled on the real figure Aleister Crowley. The book is a fast, atmospheric tale of obsession, superstition and danger, and an early example of Maugham's storytelling skill.