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Awkward Magic
Published in the U.S. under the title The Magic World .'Here we go then,' said the Griffin. And with a last mischievous glance at the horrified Joe, it ran forward and took to the air on its beautiful golden wings...'Oh no!' shrieked Joe. 'Not HERE...'
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
37 people want to read
About the author
Elisabeth Beresford
139 books22 followersElisabeth "Liza" Beresford MBE was a British author of children's books, best known for creating The Wombles. Born into a family with many literary connections, she worked as a journalist but struggled for success until she created the Wombles in the 1960s. The strong theme of recycling was particularly notable, and the Wombles became very popular with children across the world. While Beresford produced many other literary works, the Wombles remained her most well known creation.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 12, 2017
A quick read featuring a boy that finds a griffin and a magic carpet who set about finding treasure. The griffin's personality was very similar to that of the phoenix and what with the magic carpet and the treasure seeking element I couldn't help thinking this author had been inspired by E. Nesbit. My daughter did enjoy this but did keep asking if we have read this before-we hadn't.
June 23, 2020
I read this as a child and remembered liking the story quite a bit. I didn’t remember enough details to be able to find it again for several years.
I think the griffin was a bit gruffer in my reread than I originally remembered him being, but I was thrilled enough to finally have found the book that it just gets 5 stars simply for existing.
Caveat: had I not had such an obsession with finding it again, I’d probably give it 4 stars. It’s a cute book for kids. I hope for other children it creates magical memories like the ones I had.
I think the griffin was a bit gruffer in my reread than I originally remembered him being, but I was thrilled enough to finally have found the book that it just gets 5 stars simply for existing.
Caveat: had I not had such an obsession with finding it again, I’d probably give it 4 stars. It’s a cute book for kids. I hope for other children it creates magical memories like the ones I had.
October 12, 2022
A children's adventure/fantasy novel in the style of E. Nesbit.
Joe Dixon lives in Brighton, and wonders what to do in the school holidays, and comes across two bigger boys attacking a dog, which he rescues, but the dog turns out to be a griffin on a treasure hunt, which Joe helps it with. They are joined by a girl called Grace and the hunt takes them to various places around Brighton.
Readers of Nesbit's books will recognise some tropes similar to those in Five Children and It and The Phoenix and the Carpet, and those who enjoyed those books will probably enjoy this one. Similarly, those who enjoy this book but haven't read Nesbit should probably take a look at her books too.
Joe Dixon lives in Brighton, and wonders what to do in the school holidays, and comes across two bigger boys attacking a dog, which he rescues, but the dog turns out to be a griffin on a treasure hunt, which Joe helps it with. They are joined by a girl called Grace and the hunt takes them to various places around Brighton.
Readers of Nesbit's books will recognise some tropes similar to those in Five Children and It and The Phoenix and the Carpet, and those who enjoyed those books will probably enjoy this one. Similarly, those who enjoy this book but haven't read Nesbit should probably take a look at her books too.
July 4, 2025
Before ever she sent out the Wombles of Wimbledon Common into the world to work their eco-inspired charm Elizabeth Beresford published Awkward Magic, the first of what was to become a sequence of eight books with ‘magic’ in the title.
But first we find ourselves in 1960s Brighton, the seaside town and resort where Beresford grew up and went to school, and are introduced to young Joe who’s about to start his school summer holidays. On his way home he interrupts two older boys throwing stones at what appears to be a bedraggled dog. It’s soon made clear this isn’t a pooch but a griffin, that fantastical creature out of Mesopotamian and medieval myth, a composite beast with the rear parts of a lion and the fore parts of an eagle.
And Joe soon discovers what he’s let himself in for when he takes what seems to be a mistreated dog to the boarding house where, while his father’s in the army, he’s looked after by kind landlady Mrs Chatter: for this curious animal has wings; it talks at length, and with a great deal of sarcasm; and it’s pursuing its ancient function, which is to seek out treasure and guard it.
And what is this treasure? Surely not a magic flying carpet? However, that’s a secret that the reader will have to learn for themselves while the Griffin spends the six weeks allotted for his quest – the exact same length of Joe’s summer holiday – sniffing out this treasure. And there are more mysteries: Why is the Griffin in modern Brighton? Is it because this is where the decadent Prince Regent built his pleasure dome to hold court and to house his collection of chinoiserie? Is there a connection with Joe’s new friend Grace, who claims she’s a millionaire?
How, too, is it that Mrs Chatter’s housebound lodger Mr Serafin is suddenly active, and happy to go out and about in town? Who also is the seemingly nice quiet Mr Wilkins who would dearly love to deal in antiques rather than be demonstrating the modern washing machines that Mrs Chatter covets? What part will Tiger the cat play in proceedings, and how long will Joe’s father ever return from his overseas postings?
Slight though Beresford’s story appears it must surely speak to the young reader who’d dearly like a pet of their own but, even more, requires a parent figure and a role model. What child, too, doesn’t fondly imagine what it might be like being a millionaire, and what adult in a boring badly-paid job doesn’t hanker after achieving their dream occupation? But the star of the show must be the proud, sarcastic, amusing, wayward, focused yet thoughtful magical Griffin who appears out of myth and time but who must, inevitably, return whence he came.
According to her daughter, the writer Kate Robertson, “Two great influences on her writing were E Nesbit, which she loved, and the Fairy Books” – these last the famous series of story collections for children edited by husband-and-wife team Andrew Lang and Leonora Blanche Alleyne. In Awkward Magic that Nesbit influence is very clear: here are treasure seekers; the Griffin is reminiscent of both the grumpy Psammead of Five Children and It and the exuberant Phoenix in The Phoenix and the Carpet, where a flying carpet also appears; and in fact the US title of Beresford’s fantasy – The Magic World – is the very same used for one of Nesbit’s own books.
Many of the instalments in Beresford’s own ‘magic’ series seem set in realistic places – such as here, a town where even in the Regency period the newly married Maria Rushworth in Mansfield Park could believe that ‘Brighton is almost as gay in winter as in summer’ – but Beresford’s obituary in the Guardian noted her own description of the series as really being about “children with very ordinary backgrounds to whom quite extraordinary things happen.”
So in Awkward Magic we certainly get a sense of Joe, Grace, Mrs Chatter, Mr Serafin and Mr Wilkins as the kinds of people one could easily encounter, and her Brighton as a real place, even if some of her street names are fictional. Though not great literature it’s largely due to these ordinary yet believable characters that I found this story hugely enjoyable – partly due to Judith Valpy’s line drawings – as well as a diverting read.
But first we find ourselves in 1960s Brighton, the seaside town and resort where Beresford grew up and went to school, and are introduced to young Joe who’s about to start his school summer holidays. On his way home he interrupts two older boys throwing stones at what appears to be a bedraggled dog. It’s soon made clear this isn’t a pooch but a griffin, that fantastical creature out of Mesopotamian and medieval myth, a composite beast with the rear parts of a lion and the fore parts of an eagle.
And Joe soon discovers what he’s let himself in for when he takes what seems to be a mistreated dog to the boarding house where, while his father’s in the army, he’s looked after by kind landlady Mrs Chatter: for this curious animal has wings; it talks at length, and with a great deal of sarcasm; and it’s pursuing its ancient function, which is to seek out treasure and guard it.
And what is this treasure? Surely not a magic flying carpet? However, that’s a secret that the reader will have to learn for themselves while the Griffin spends the six weeks allotted for his quest – the exact same length of Joe’s summer holiday – sniffing out this treasure. And there are more mysteries: Why is the Griffin in modern Brighton? Is it because this is where the decadent Prince Regent built his pleasure dome to hold court and to house his collection of chinoiserie? Is there a connection with Joe’s new friend Grace, who claims she’s a millionaire?
How, too, is it that Mrs Chatter’s housebound lodger Mr Serafin is suddenly active, and happy to go out and about in town? Who also is the seemingly nice quiet Mr Wilkins who would dearly love to deal in antiques rather than be demonstrating the modern washing machines that Mrs Chatter covets? What part will Tiger the cat play in proceedings, and how long will Joe’s father ever return from his overseas postings?
Slight though Beresford’s story appears it must surely speak to the young reader who’d dearly like a pet of their own but, even more, requires a parent figure and a role model. What child, too, doesn’t fondly imagine what it might be like being a millionaire, and what adult in a boring badly-paid job doesn’t hanker after achieving their dream occupation? But the star of the show must be the proud, sarcastic, amusing, wayward, focused yet thoughtful magical Griffin who appears out of myth and time but who must, inevitably, return whence he came.
According to her daughter, the writer Kate Robertson, “Two great influences on her writing were E Nesbit, which she loved, and the Fairy Books” – these last the famous series of story collections for children edited by husband-and-wife team Andrew Lang and Leonora Blanche Alleyne. In Awkward Magic that Nesbit influence is very clear: here are treasure seekers; the Griffin is reminiscent of both the grumpy Psammead of Five Children and It and the exuberant Phoenix in The Phoenix and the Carpet, where a flying carpet also appears; and in fact the US title of Beresford’s fantasy – The Magic World – is the very same used for one of Nesbit’s own books.
Many of the instalments in Beresford’s own ‘magic’ series seem set in realistic places – such as here, a town where even in the Regency period the newly married Maria Rushworth in Mansfield Park could believe that ‘Brighton is almost as gay in winter as in summer’ – but Beresford’s obituary in the Guardian noted her own description of the series as really being about “children with very ordinary backgrounds to whom quite extraordinary things happen.”
So in Awkward Magic we certainly get a sense of Joe, Grace, Mrs Chatter, Mr Serafin and Mr Wilkins as the kinds of people one could easily encounter, and her Brighton as a real place, even if some of her street names are fictional. Though not great literature it’s largely due to these ordinary yet believable characters that I found this story hugely enjoyable – partly due to Judith Valpy’s line drawings – as well as a diverting read.
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May 23, 2022Titled “The Magic World” back when I read it.
February 6, 2013
a little dated - but took me back to my childhood - full review here
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.u...
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.u...
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews