H.G. Wells, the renowned author of science fiction novels such as "The Time Machine" and "The War of the Worlds," had an intriguing imagination that extended beyond the written word. In addition to his literary pursuits, Wells was also fascinated by magic and the supernatural. In 1923, Wells opened a shop called "The H.G.

The Magic Shop

Out for a walk in London one day, a father and his son, Gip, happen upon a magic shop. At Gip's urging, the two go in — and things grow more and more curious by the minute. Counters, store fixtures, and mirrors seem to move around the room, and the shopkeeper is mysterious himself. Gip is thrilled by all he sees, and his father is at first amused. But then things become stranger, even sinister, and the father is no longer sure where reality ends and illusion begins. Fantastical illustrations underscore the macabre atmosphere of the tale, making this a perfect read-aloud book for Halloween.

Genres ClassicsShort StoriesFantasyFictionAudiobookMagicHorror

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1903

About the author

H.G. Wells

Herbert George Wells was born to a working class family in Kent, England. Young Wells received a spotty education, interrupted by several illnesses and family difficulties, and became a draper's apprentice as a teenager. The headmaster of Midhurst Grammar School, where he had spent a year, arranged for him to return as an "usher," or student teacher. Wells earned a government scholarship in 1884, to study biology under Thomas Henry Huxley at the Normal School of Science. Wells earned his bachelor of science and doctor of science degrees at the University of London. After marrying his cousin, Isabel, Wells began to supplement his teaching salary with short stories and freelance articles, then books, including The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).

Wells created a mild scandal when he divorced his cousin to marry one of his best students, Amy Catherine Robbins. Although his second marriage was lasting and produced two sons, Wells was an unabashed advocate of free (as opposed to "indiscriminate") love. He continued to openly have extra-marital liaisons, most famously with Margaret Sanger, and a ten-year relationship with the author Rebecca West, who had one of his two out-of-wedlock children. A one-time member of the Fabian Society, Wells sought active change. His 100 books included many novels, as well as nonfiction, such as A Modern Utopia (1905), The Outline of History (1920), A Short History of the World (1922), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), and The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind (1932). One of his booklets was Crux Ansata, An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church. Although Wells toyed briefly with the idea of a "divine will" in his book, God the Invisible King (1917), it was a temporary aberration. Wells used his international fame to promote his favorite causes, including the prevention of war, and was received by government officials around the world. He is best-remembered as an early writer of science fiction and futurism.

He was also an outspoken socialist. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Fathers of Science Fiction". D. 1946.

G. Wells Magic Shop" in the heart of London. This establishment was a haven for both amateur and professional magicians, as well as those who were simply curious about the world of illusion and trickery.

Ratings & Reviews

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H G Wells uses his descriptive powers particularly well, when introducing us to the owner of the Magic Shop - “curious, sallow, dark man, with one ear larger than the other and a chin like the toe-cap of a boot”.

Our protagonist has passed the Magic Shop many times in the past without giving much thought, and has never entertained the idea of stepping through its door, that is until his son Gip takes his father’s hand and leads him inside. A somewhat sinister story, though not for young Gip! https://americanliterature.com/author.

What is illusion and what is magic? In the story the lines are blurred until the end. The story is very dated indeed but the beautiful writing holds up.

The best thing about it was the subtle shift from charming illusion to evil magic. One minute it's all illusionist tricks, balls popping up from unlikely places and toys that move of their own accord. Then slowly, slowly, the illusions shift to violent, supernatural malevolence.

Interestingly, although the man is aware of this and frightened by it, his son isn't and sees it all as the kind of magic children believe in: they know it's not true but they believe in it anyway. And the son continues this with the "gifts" that came from the now-disappeared magic shop that might have been an illusion anyway, leading to a deliberately inconclusive ending for the father and the reader.

Interesting and unique.

اا
توقع الخير و ستجده..و لو توقعت الشر ستجده ايضا

عن الفارق الضئيل/الكبير بين السحر و خداع البصري يحدثنا هربرت ويلز..الاب الروحي للخيال العلمي باسلوب فانتازى لم نألفه

في قصة بسيطة عن اب متشكك و طفل بريء يصر على شراء لعبة سحرية من بائع بارع ؛ كريم ؛حكيم و لكنه يريب الاب و يرعبه

لا يراه الا من يستحق *
لا انكر ان متاجر الحيل السحرية كانت تجذب تظري في الدول الاوروبية دوما حتى و لو لم استحق دخولها يوما

عن اسطورة المتجر الخفي /المسحور/المتحرك *
لابد ان يحكى لنا عنه كل مؤلف و لو لمرة..حقا هي قصة قديمة تعود لأكثر من مائة عام و نحن حاليا نتعامل يوميا مع ما كان يعتبر سحرا حينها ..و لكننا هنا نتعامل فلسفيا مع المجهول والمتوارى خلف خداع..نتعامل مع الحقيقة التي تلطمنا عندما نكون متوقعين الخداع

حقا هاري بوتر قتل هذه المتاجر في استعراضه الخلاب لحارة دياجون
اخرج القصة هتشكوك في حلقة لا تنسي كما تم تقديمها مرارا و لها نسخ مصحوبة برسوم خلابة و ترجمة جيدة لسارة علام

لكن يظل للاصالة سحرها و للبدايات فتنتها و لا ننسي كلمات البائع الحكيم
☆لاٍ يمكن لأي أحد منا أن يعرف ما يُخفيه المظهر الخارجي المنمق لإنسان يا سيدي، فهل نحن
إذًا لسنا سوى مظاهر خادعة أو أكفان ناصعة البياض تُخفي ما تُخفي بداخلها☆؟»
.

I think I've found a much greater appreciation for H. G. Wells, as long as it's not any of his Science Fiction books, which, of the ones that I've read, I found to be quite dull. This year I read "The History of Mr. Polly" which I found extremely entertaining and delightful, so when I became aware of this short short, I decided to give it go.

"The Magic Shop" was a delightful short story filled with magic and dare I say, a bit of suspense. Wells's writing surprised me, again! I'll be looking to read more of his gems! Five stars!

3.5*
"Tal vez conozcan esa cosa siniestra que surge como una mano de la nada y oprime el corazón. Saben que destruye el yo habitual y le deja a uno tenso y cauto, ni lento ni precipitado, ni enfadado ni temeroso. Eso me sucedió a mí"

"Dijo muy poco, pero sus ojos eran elocuentes . Era el patio de recreo de emociones indescriptibles".

"—Ninguno de nosotros sabe lo que puede ocultar la buena apariencia de un ser humano, señor. No somos mejores que fachadas encaladas, sepulcros blanqueados…"

Una historia que resalta por las descripciones y ambientación.
Esta Tienda Mágica que se presenta maravillosa, hipnótica, emocionante. Aunque sepas que guarda algo oculto, siniestro, tan genuina que asusta. Al igual que su peculiar "dependiente". Dos miradas diferentes(Padre e hijo).
A pesar de que es una historia muy ambigua(inclusive en su desenlace), no te deja indiferente y te llevas la sensación de que "nada es gratis, tarde o temprano llega la factura"

Wow! A fantastic tale reminiscent of Harry Potter's first trip to Diagon Alley. but so, so much more. Here, the shopkeeper's the star of the show. "prestidigital", as Wells calls him (!) Writing wizardry doesn't get any better than this; I mean it. Just added to my all-time faves shelf. Wow.

"You, you know, are the Right Sort of Boy. It's only the Right Sort of Boy who gets through that doorway."

"He said very little, but his eyes were eloquent. He was the playground of unspeakable emotions."

"We none of us know what the fair semblance of a human being may conceal, sir. Aren't we all then no better than brushed exteriors, whited sepulchers?"

". It squeezed through a door I had certainly not remarked a moment before. Then this door opened wider, and the man with one ear larger than the other appeared again."

". His eye met mine with something between amusement and defiance. 'You'd like to see our show-room, sir,' he said, with an innocent suavity."

"I was beginning to think the magic just a little too genuine."

"All goods of the same quality," said the shopman, rubbing his flexible hands together, "and that is the Best."

"I wandered after them, saying very little, but keeping an eye on this prestidigital fellow."

". The shopman. shut the lid, waved the box in the air, and there it was, in brown paper, tied up and--with Gip's full name and address on the paper!"

"You know, perhaps, that sinister something that comes like a hand out of the unseen and grips your heart about. You know it takes your common self away and leaves you tense and deliberate, neither slow nor hasty, neither angry nor afraid. So it was with me."

This was a delightfully charming (and creepy) short story. From the perspective of a child, a hidden magic shop with "real magic" sounds wonderful. Multiplying glass balls, tin soldiers that come to life, magic eggs. As a child I loved stories that involved those sorts of things, and often fantasized about finding such a place myself.

As an adult, however, I can see things very clearly from the father's perspective. Something doesn't quite fit right about the shop. It's old and creepy. There is a sense of mystery here. And I love that feeling, the tension that builds up. While a child sees magic and wonderment, the father sees dark things, grotesqueness in the shadows. Is this place good or bad? The shopkeeper kindly or cunning? You'll have to read it to find out.

I think I see where J.K. Rowling got her idea for Ollivander’s Wand Shop.

This is an interesting little short (very short) story. Children and adults often see the same exact thing in different ways. Life experience can cause one to be more cautious and more skeptical where a child would only see wonder and amazement, and probably miss out on all the warning signs of something bad about to go down.

Does that mean that as we age, we lose that sense of imagination and wonder? Or does it mean that children must be supervised at all times because they see the candy instead of the stranger? Very thought provoking for such a short story.

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One of my favourite manifestations of the children's book is the turning of classic stories -- either short stories or fables -- into picture books. The marriage of artists to established stories is often inspired and/or illuminating (play on words fully intended since these books truly are modern illuminations of classic works).

François Roca's illustrations for H.G. Wells' The Magic Shop don't unlock anything new in the story, but they do a wonderful job of capturing the moods of Wells' story.

The mood of imagined danger -- particularly when it comes to the safety of one's children -- has always permeated the minds of paranoid urban dwellers from Victorian London to modern day New York and all other cities in between. And this perceived danger is at the heart of the tale.

A father and son stumble upon the Magic Shop in the middle of London, and a Magician with lop-sided ears carries them innocently through a magical world of fun-house mirrors, glass balls, animated tin/lead soldiers, enchanted toy swords and decks of cards full of powerful manifestations.

There really is nothing to be afraid of, but when Gip drops his father's finger and takes up the Magician's, the father is suddenly overwhelmed by fear for the safety of his son, a fear that is motivated by jealousy because someone other than himself has captured his boy's attention.

It is an amazing insight into the depth of our fear for our children, which is often and increasingly unrealistic. Certainly there are those few out there who are dangerous to our children, but we seem to be insulating our children more and more, so that even those who would never hurt our children are being shut out and held at bay. This need to protect is at the core of what it is to be a parent, but perhaps we take things too far. We love our children as ferociously as we do tenderly, and even perceived dangers, when there is really no danger at all, fill us with fear and loathing and a need to act (or react) violently. But Wells might have been suggesting, all those years ago, that this need to protect -- or rather our tendency to overprotect -- shuts something off between our children and ourselves.

There is no violence in The Magic Shop because there was no danger other than a son finding something to love that is all his, but there is a sadness when the book comes to a close. The father, you see, wants to kiss his son when they climb in the hansom cab and start their journey home, but he is stopped from engaging in this asexual intimacy by what society makes of his gender and his gender's engagement with intimacy. And so his son, the boy who has just lost interest in him for the first time, who has just found his first interest beyond his parent, is pushed one step further away rather than drawn closer by an embrace or a kiss that could have acted as a simple validation of the boy's inevitable independence.

Their distance is complete and the magic of the city, the truest black magic of all of our cities, the alienation of being surrounded by people, ensures that their relationship will never be the same. And that, my friends, is the saddest thing of all.

François Roca's final panel captures this sad moment beautifully. The father stands outside the cracked door of his son's room, peeking in to catch the son playing with the magical tin/lead soldiers he brought back from the shop (he claims he does this to see if they really do come alive). But the son is nowhere to be seen. Only the soldiers in their military ranks are in that room, standing still and steadfast, while the father holds himself at remove, spying, hiding behind a barrier he himself imposes, wishing he could return to the world of his child, but shutting himself off as he has been trained to do.

Roca's art didn't add anything new to The Magic Shop -- that is true -- but he captured what is in The Magic Shop with the precision and insight that excellent artists always seem to manage.

Hg wells magic shop

The Magic Shop
by H.G. Wells

Read The Magic Shop for free online.

Chris OConnor
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Re: The Magic Shop by H.G. Wells - A discussion

DWill
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Re: The Magic Shop by H.G. Wells - A discussion

I would guess that "rum" means odd here when the narrator uses it, although the store's proprietor also uses the word to describe the type of magic he sells. Is "ansoms" the word the weird magician taught Gip to animate the toy soldiers? Gip says the word "with exultation." I like the part of the story where the magician implies that the stuff coming out of the narrator's hat represents his own mental baggage, not an illusion created by the magician.

He shook my hat, and shook out into his extended hand two or three eggs, a large marble, a watch, about half-a-dozen of the inevitable glass balls, and then crumpled, crinkled paper, more and more and more, talking all the time of the way in which people neglect to brush their hats INSIDE as well as out, politely, of course, but with a certain personal application. “All sorts of things accumulate, sir. . . . Not YOU, of course, in particular. . . . Nearly every customer. . . . Astonishing what they carry about with them . . . .”

What do we make of the narrator's caution in talking about the incident to his son? Does he fear having exposed his son to demonic powers and doesn't want to bring up the matter ?

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Re: The Magic Shop by H.G. Wells - A discussion

According to the Dictionary of British Slang, 'rum' means odd, peculiar or unusual. I am going to go back and read the story in print (listened to it last night on audio). As for 'ansoms,' from my reading, Cockney Brits tend to drop the h or add an unneeded one. I know this seems contradictory, but. With that in mind, an 'ansom' could very well refer to a Hansom coach or cab, in common use at the time this story is set.

My overall reaction is that this was not one of Well's better stories, but I did enjoy it. More to follow later.

Love what you do, and do what you love. Don't listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it. -Ray Bradbury

Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. Then do it. -Robert A. Heinlein

Chris OConnor
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Hg wells magic shop

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The shop offered a wide range of magic tricks, props, and books, catering to individuals of all skill levels. One of the highlights of the H.G. Wells Magic Shop was its collection of rare and unique magical artifacts. Wells himself was an avid collector of magical items, and he displayed many of his prized possessions in the shop. Visitors could marvel at ancient spell books, enchanted objects, and even allegedly cursed items. This eclectic collection added to the fantastical and mystical ambience of the shop. The H.G. Wells Magic Shop also hosted regular magic shows and demonstrations, where renowned magicians would showcase their talents and teach aspiring magicians new tricks. These events attracted both magic enthusiasts and curious onlookers, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere within the shop. Wells' passion for magic was deeply intertwined with his fascination with science and the unknown. He once famously said, "Magic is the art of creating wonders out of reality." This sentiment was reflected in the philosophy of the H.G. Wells Magic Shop, which aimed to inspire and ignite the imagination of its visitors. Although the H.G. Wells Magic Shop closed its doors in the 1930s, its legacy lives on through the enduring influence of H.G. Wells on the worlds of literature and magic. The shop served as a physical manifestation of Wells' belief in the power of imagination and the possibility of creating magic in the everyday world. Today, it remains a testament to the enduring fascination with the supernatural and the enduring legacy of H.G. Wells' imaginative spirit..

Reviews for "H.G. Wells' Magic Shop: A Timeless Haven of Mystery"

1. Jessica - 2/5 - I was really disappointed with H.G. Wells Magic Shop. The whole concept seemed so intriguing, but the execution fell flat. The store was cramped and cluttered, making it difficult to navigate and find what you were looking for. The staff also seemed disinterested and unhelpful. I had hoped to discover some unique and interesting magical items, but instead, I found the selection to be quite underwhelming. Overall, it was a letdown and I wouldn't recommend wasting your time or money here.

2. John - 1/5 - H.G. Wells Magic Shop was a complete disaster in my opinion. The store was poorly organized, making it nearly impossible to find anything. The selection of magical items was limited and lacked variety. The prices were also exorbitant for the quality of the products offered. Additionally, the staff seemed more focused on chatting amongst themselves than assisting customers. I had high expectations but was utterly disappointed. Save yourself the trouble and skip this so-called "magic shop."

3. Sarah - 2/5 - H.G. Wells Magic Shop did not live up to the hype for me. The ambience of the store was chaotic, with cluttered shelves and dim lighting. The staff seemed inexperienced and unsure about the products they were selling. The prices were unreasonable for what was being offered. I was hoping for a magical and immersive experience, but instead, I felt like I was in a cheap tourist trap. I left feeling disappointed and unsatisfied. I would not recommend this place to anyone seeking a genuine magical shopping experience.

H.G. Wells' Magic Shop: Where Science and Magic Collide