Somerset Maugham’s most unusual and mysterious novel—one that still draws tremendous interest from readers.
An eccentric English gentleman named Oliver Haddo decides to devote his life to “the study of the Magical art” and takes his “occult” abilities seriously, without even a hint of irony. In late Victorian England, that at the very least seems ridiculous. But when Oliver falls in love with Margaret, the fiancée of a young surgeon Arthur Bardon—who firmly believes in progress and science—the funny story turns into something terrifying. To separate the lovers and win Margaret’s heart, Haddo intends to call upon the Dark Powers…