Other editions of book The Magic Shop: By H. G. Wells - Illustrated

This is a charming tale from H.G. Wells about a young boy named Gip who visits a magic shop for his birthday with his father. But this is not just any magic shop - the shopkeeper insists that this is a genuine magic shop. The story is an entertaining adventure as Gip, like any young boy of his age, experiences the pure enjoyment of true magic while his skeptical father grapples with having to draw the line between slight of hand and genuine magic.

Out for a walk in London one day, Gip and his father 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 most mysterious of all. Gip is thrilled by all he sees, and his father is at first amused, but when things become stranger and sinister father is no longer sure where reality ends and illusion begins. Fantastical illustrations underscore the macabre atmosphere of the tale, make this a perfect book read aloud together again and again.

How is this book unique? Illustrations includedOriginal & Unabridged EditionOne of the best books to readClassic historical fiction booksExtremely well formattedH. G. Wells was a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction. His writing career spanned more than sixty years, and his early science fiction novels earned him the title of "The Father of Science Fiction". Simple magic tricks are what a little boy is looking for when he drags his father into a quaint, old shop. The proprietor seems to be a master of illusion - a genius at slight of hand. But, as the son becomes mesmerized, the father feels an icy hand grip his heart.

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Formatted for e-reader Illustrated About The Magic Shop by H. G. Wells H. G. Wells was a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction. His writing career spanned more than sixty years, and his early science fiction novels earned him the title of "The Father of Science Fiction". Simple magic tricks are what a little boy is looking for when he drags his father into a quaint, old shop. The proprietor seems to be a master of illusion - a genius at slight of hand. But, as the son becomes mesmerized, the father feels an icy hand grip his heart.

How is this book unique?Font adjustments & biography includedUnabridged (100% Original content)Formatted for e-readerIllustratedAbout The Magic Shop by H. G. WellsH. G. Wells was a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction. His writing career spanned more than sixty years, and his early science fiction novels earned him the title of "The Father of Science Fiction". Simple magic tricks are what a little boy is looking for when he drags his father into a quaint, old shop. The proprietor seems to be a master of illusion - a genius at slight of hand. But, as the son becomes mesmerized, the father feels an icy hand grip his heart.

Out for a walk in London one day, Gip and his father 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 most mysterious of all. Gip is thrilled by all he sees, and his father is at first amused, but when things become stranger and sinister father is no longer sure where reality ends and illusion begins. Fantastical illustrations underscore the macabre atmosphere of the tale, make this a perfect book read aloud together again and again.

The Magic Shop is the story of a boy named Gip and his mystical experience in a certain magic shop, as told by his father.This magic shop seems to be a little different than all the others, which is just fine, because this little boy seems to be a little different than all the others as well.The shop owner, with one ear larger than the other, entertains the boy and the father with magic tricks, pulling baubles out of thin air.The shopkeeper reminds the father, repeatedly, that this is not just any magic shop, this is “The Genuine Magic Shop”, making sure to emphasize the “Genuine” in the title.The magic tricks and illusions increase in complexity until the father is no longer comfortable with what he’s seeing, given the shopkeeper’s frequent reminders, but the boy is rapt with excitement.This short story comes to a rather abrupt end, and would make a great start for a script for a Twilight Zone episode. In fact, I think it might have been inspiration for one or two such scripts.Wells is one of those writers who can really exercise a language in his writing. He uses his vocabulary as a palette with which he paints a scene. If I were to describe his writing style as a painting technique, it would be as much impressionist as realist. Sometimes he describes things in a literal detail and other times he hints at details in the descriptions, letting your mind fill in the rest.That said, there are a few times where I tripped up reading it, some of the turn-of-the-century vernacular escaped me. For example;“It was being borne in upon me just how tremendously rum this place was; it was, so to speak, inundated by a sense of rumness. There was something a little rum about the fixtures even, about the ceiling, about the floor, about the casually distributed chairs.”

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.