The Lost Magician

Review

Torday pays tribute to reading, libraries and imagination in one of the most clever and ambitious children's books you'll read this year (The Bookseller)

An entrancing story that champions imagination at a time when we most need it (Abi Elphinstone)

You'll be on the edge of your seat ... an original, and imaginative war cry for the importance of reading and the magic of libraries (M.G. Leonard)

Thrilling, epic, wise. Truly a book for our times. (With extra rainbow unicorns!) (Natasha Farrant, author of The Children of Castle Rock)

Gripping, original and memorable (Francesca Simon, on The Last Wild trilogy)

Piers Torday...is the new master of books for children who like magic and modernity with their lust for adventure. (The Times, on There May Be a Castle)

Piers Torday continues to demonstrate that he is one of the best writers for children working today (The Guardian, on There May Be a Castle)

An excellent, punchy adventure tale with vivid characters and an impassioned eco message (The Financial Times on The Last Wild trilogy)

A whimsical yet thoughtful tale that brings to mind the smarts and silliness of Roald Dahl and Norton Juster (New York Post, on The Last Wild trilogy)

Wildly inventive, moving and gripping ... full of suspense without ever sacrificing warmth (The Guardian on The Last Wild trilogy)

About the Author

Piers Torday began his career in theatre and then television as a producer and writer. His bestselling first book for children, The Last Wild, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Award and nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal as well as numerous other awards. His second book, The Dark Wild, won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. His most recent book for children, There May Be A Castle, was published in October 2016 to critical acclaim and was a Children's Book of the Year for The Times.

The son of the late Paul Torday (author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) Piers recently completed his father's final unfinished novel, The Death of an Owl. He also adapted John Masefield's classic The Box of Delights for stage in 2017.

In regular demand as a speaker at schools and festivals, Piers is also a reading helper with Beanstalk, a former judge on the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a Patron of Reading at Heathmere School and a trustee of the Pleasance Theatre.

Born in Northumberland, Piers now lives in London with his husband and their dog Huxley.