Black Magic
Published on 4. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-5299-5635-1 (ISBN)
Description
A rediscovered gothic classic with a groundbreaking, gender-nonconforming protagonist at its heart.
'I do not sin,' he smiled. 'I am Sin'
In a quiet medieval city, alone in his shadowy chambers, Dirk Renswoude worships the devil. Then the wind brings the young scholar Theirry to his door. Could this beautiful man share his dark obsession? Under a hushed midnight sky, the pair swear themselves to the black arts, and to one another.
Yet Dirk shies away at the slightest touch. He will not discuss his past. As the duo hex their way across moonlit woodlands and learned cities, it becomes clear that Dirk will stop at nothing to live the life he desires, while concealing one precious secret.
'A subtle and complex thriller...Just don't give away its secret' Washington Post
READER LOVE - JOIN THE DARK SIDE:
'Beware. This is dark gothic fiction at its best.'
'A thick and oozing tale of every possible sin and horror...perfect for spooky season'
'That twist!'
'For fans of historical fiction, or horror, or fantasy, this novel should prove absolutely scrumptious.'
'A super fun Gothic extravaganza.'
'Demons! Spells! Satanic rituals! Love triangles! Ghosts and witches! Medieval opulence! Gruesome violence! THE ANTICHRIST! ...Flat-out, straight-up awesome.'
The Vintage Classics Weird Girls series: Dive into the depraved, delectable depths of weird fiction with nine books by nine pioneering female authors. Bold, disruptive, chilling and enchanting, these tales of the weird are strange enough to get lost in.
'I do not sin,' he smiled. 'I am Sin'
In a quiet medieval city, alone in his shadowy chambers, Dirk Renswoude worships the devil. Then the wind brings the young scholar Theirry to his door. Could this beautiful man share his dark obsession? Under a hushed midnight sky, the pair swear themselves to the black arts, and to one another.
Yet Dirk shies away at the slightest touch. He will not discuss his past. As the duo hex their way across moonlit woodlands and learned cities, it becomes clear that Dirk will stop at nothing to live the life he desires, while concealing one precious secret.
'A subtle and complex thriller...Just don't give away its secret' Washington Post
READER LOVE - JOIN THE DARK SIDE:
'Beware. This is dark gothic fiction at its best.'
'A thick and oozing tale of every possible sin and horror...perfect for spooky season'
'That twist!'
'For fans of historical fiction, or horror, or fantasy, this novel should prove absolutely scrumptious.'
'A super fun Gothic extravaganza.'
'Demons! Spells! Satanic rituals! Love triangles! Ghosts and witches! Medieval opulence! Gruesome violence! THE ANTICHRIST! ...Flat-out, straight-up awesome.'
The Vintage Classics Weird Girls series: Dive into the depraved, delectable depths of weird fiction with nine books by nine pioneering female authors. Bold, disruptive, chilling and enchanting, these tales of the weird are strange enough to get lost in.
Reviews / Votes
'It was Miss Bowen's apparent zest that made me want to write. One could not read her without believing that to write was to live and to enjoy.' -- Graham Greene The finest British woman writer of the uncanny of the last century -- Michael Dirda Cut from the same cloth as Keat's "The Eve of St Agnes" and Goethe's Faust, Black Magic is set among the imagined splendor of a vanished epoch... Bowen's set pieces...are splendid * Times Literary Supplement *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
264 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5299-5635-1 (9781529956351)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Marjorie Bowen, born in 1885 as Margaret Gabrielle Vere Campbell, was a prolific British author, writing novels across the horror, romance and historical fiction genres, alongside essays and biographies. Widely celebrated in her day, with admirers including Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle and Graham Greene, Bowen published her bestselling first novel, The Viper of Milan (1906), at twentyone years old, and went on to publish Black Magic (1909) at twenty-four years old. Supporting herself and her three sons by her pen, Bowen wrote over 150 books under various pseudonyms through the course of her life. Bowen died in 1952.