The Magic Walking Stick

by John Buchan

This charming one-of-a-kind classic is a beautiful compilation which includes the timeless story, The Magic Walking-Stick and several additional Arabian Nights classic stories including; The Seven Voyages of Sinbad, The Story of the Magic Horse, The Story of the Fisherman and the Genie and more.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Short Stories

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1927

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

John Buchan was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation.
As a youth, Buchan began writing poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction, publishing his first novel in 1895 and ultimately writing over a hundred books of which the best known is The Thirty-Nine Steps. After attending Glasgow and Oxford universities, he practised as a barrister. In 1901, he served as a private secretary to Lord Milner in southern Africa towards the end of the Boer War. He returned to England in 1903, continued as a barrister and journalist. He left the Bar when he joined Thomas Nelson and Sons publishers in 1907. During the First World War, he was, among other activities, Director of Information in 1917 and later Head of Intelligence at the newly-formed Ministry of Information. He was elected Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities in 1927.
In 1935, King George V, on the advice of Canadian Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, appointed Buchan to succeed the Earl of Bessborough as Governor General of Canada and two months later raised him to the peerage as 1st Baron Tweedsmuir. He occupied the post until his death in 1940. Buchan promoted Canadian unity and helped strengthen the sovereignty of Canada constitutionally and culturally. He received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly fun little read that I've waited too long to try, because if ever a book required my '40-page-rule', this one did!

My dad recommended this to me years ago, but I put it back on the shelf when the first few pages just didn't click for me. However, the other night I had trouble getting to sleep and picked it up. 'What could it hurt?' I thought. Started at the beginning, read only the first couple of chapters and still the story didn't do anything. I wasn't sure I'd finish it, but when I had trouble nodding off last night, I reached for it again.

This time I read to page 39, when -- pow! the story took off. Adventures, escapes, finding lost treasures, saving a life, saving a kingdom -- I mean this kid did it all! Only to lose the stick at a kiddie magic show. The ending didn't really work; in fact it rather detracted; but hey, I've felt the same about some Harry Potter endings!

I'm glad I read this. Hmm, aren't there some other John Buchan books on my dad's shelves ...?

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to follow

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an early short version of the novel of the same name that Buchan wrote for children which was contained in a contribution that Buchan had made to Lady Cynthia Asquith's short story collection Sails of Gold (1927).

[Brian J Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magic

As a (rather naughty) youth I received this second hand book for Christmas, somewhat scuffed, but from that moment on I fell in love with this story. Today, at the age of 87, I still stop whenever I see walking sticks for sale! Magic it is!

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short tale about a magical stick that transports the owner where ever they wish.

[Christina Eastwood]

Lovely period tale of adventure and magic with a typically Buchan feel. Every child should read this!