The Magic Cottage

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The Magic Cottage was hosted by Pat (Mary Patricia) Meikle (pronounced Michael), an artist and actress. In each episode, Meikle would tell a story illustrated by her drawings on a sketch pad propped on an easel, from which fairy tale characters would transform into live characters who acted out the adventures. Among them were the likes of Larry the Leprechaun, Maxwell the Mouse, and Wilmer the Pigeon, and in each episode Pat herself transformed into a princess who became part of the story being told, as the drawings "rippled" into real-time action to the accompaniment of a strum on a harp. [1] Hermit Guru: Reclusive Flora Chaldean was known for some healing ability, and guarded the secret of Gramarye against the insidious influence of the Synergists. Cult: From their mansion retreat, the Synergists' peddling of homemade goods, and attempt to indoctrinate the youth of Cantrip, earn a disdainful such reputation. Mike is somewhat unsettled by their earnest openness. Their seemingly harmless bid to commune with the "Divine Will," said to permeate all, turns out to be not so harmless - leader Mycroft is a power-crazed fanatic.

I had a lot of fun with this book, even though the pacing was a little slow. The vivid images of the cottage and all of the creatures and flowers there will be with me for a while. This was my introduction to this author and I enjoyed this introduction. At first, this seems like a horror genre novel as the reader knows there is something going on with this cottage. The author does a slow burn for the tension as we get a pervading presence throughout. There is also a sub plot with a religious group that eventually will tie in with the main plot. I did think with the main plot and the sub plot was a little too slow for the majority of the book. I was interested in both plots but not totally enthralled. The finale when these two plots merge is fantastic and why I raised my rating the half star. It was explosive and switched genres to the fantasy genre without losing a beat. I could not stop reading the final scene and I believe it would be great to see visually.Mycroft briefly transfers Mike to a gloomy realm of festering malignancy, in which an airborne river houses bizarre creatures. James Herbert was one of Britain's greatest popular novelists and our #1 best-selling writer of chiller fiction. Widely imitated and hugely influential, he wrote 23 novels which have collectively sold over 54 million copies worldwide and been translated into 34 languages.

Healing Hands: Flora was a renowned healer. Mycroft and the Synergists demonstrate such skill on Mike although the healing is really enabled by the magic of Gramarye. Johnny (or Jenny) was only jaywalking/ S(he) didn't mean harm to a soul/ But because (s)he was only jaywalking/ An auto went out of control./ Two thousand pounds of chrome and steel/ Flying through the air,/ That was the end of an automobile,/ And innocent kids that were there,/ etc., etc.

This novel provides examples of:

Cowardly Lion: Mike freely admits aversion to avoidable hazard, yet steels himself to undergo it when necessary. When they are befriended by the local cult members - the Synergists - life becomes complicated and Midge looks increasingly like a willing victim. In a nearby mansion which serves as the Synergist Temple, a darkened room is built in the shape of a double pyramid, to channel energy from both above and below. Shortly after their arrival, they were greeted by some human neighbors, members of some sort of cult that lived in a nearby old manor house. They seemed friendly enough, if a little strange, but the local town did not like them at all. Something is not quite right about the cottage, however. Besides the friendly local wildlife, Mike and Midge seemed to have creative spells that are unprecedented. Further, a lot of the work that needed to be done to the cottage that they noted was mysteriously fixed before the repair crew arrived. It seems the cottage is somehow a channel for magic, at first for the good, but perhaps there is a dark side as well... I will start by saying that I have been reading this whilst staying in a remote cottage in the woods during an early Easter break, which certainly helped me getting the atmosphere right. It started slow, but I like that as it was primarily the atmosphere I wanted to revel in. A few things hit me that I wouldn't have noticed the first time around. The most prominent one is the slight feeling of unease that lingered all around due to the fact that both protagonists are portrayed as much younger than the early 30's they are supposed to be. They both often act and speak as children, certainly Midge, and she is often referred to as a child-like wife, a pixie that needs to be protected. I found this unsettling at times, but not to the point to stop reading.

James Herbert was Britain's number one bestselling writer (a position he held ever since publication of his first novel) and one of the world's top writers of thriller/horror fiction. David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) ISBN 1-59213-245-6

REVIEWS of THE Magic Cottage by James Herbert

Other regular cast members included Don Hastings, perhaps best remembered in the main supporting role of the Video Ranger on DuMont's popular series Captain Video; and later as the long-running character of Dr. Bob Hughes (1960-2010) on the iconic CBS daytime soap opera As the World Turns. Because it was done in New York, veteran stage actors were commonplace cast members. Among them were the likes of Broadway and TV veteran Ruth White, a Tony- and Emmy-nominated actress who appeared regularly as the librarian named "Bessie Bookbinder."