This Rough Magic

First edition
(publ. Hodder & Stoughton)
Cover art by Val Biro

This Rough Magic is a romantic suspense novel by Mary Stewart, first published in 1964. The title is a quote from William Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Plot summary

Lucy Waring, a young actress, is holidaying in Corfu with her sister, who is married to a rich Italian. She meets photographer Godfrey Manning, the famous actor Sir Julian Gale, his aloof son Max, and their friend Maria whose husband is imprisoned in Albania. The idyllic scene is shattered when Maria's teenage son is reported drowned after falling overboard while out at night sailing in Godfrey's boat.

One theme running through the book is the idea that Corfu is the setting for The Tempest. Another theme is that of a dolphin which will approach humans.

Julian Gale and the play Tiger, Tiger (with a different author) are also mentioned in The Wind Off the Small Isles (1968) by the same author.

Serialisation

The book was serialised in the British magazine Woman's Journal.^[1]

References