The Magician’s House

The Magician’s House is a quartet of children’s fantasy books by William Corlett. Two mini-series were produced in 1999 for British television, which were directed by Paul Lynch. The series featured Jennifer Saunders and Stephen Fry voicing some of the animal characters.

The books were published in the early 1990s, and named as follows:

⁕The Steps up the Chimney

⁕The Door in the Tree

⁕The Tunnel behind the Waterfall

⁕The Bridge in the Clouds

Although in a rural setting, this series’ focus on subjects such as industrial development and the combining of present-day and past settings in the plotline gives it a feeling tending more towards urban fantasy than simply contemporary fantasy.

In addition, though there is no specific mention of Welsh myths and legends, the strong part nature plays in the stories and the settings bring to mind other British children’s authors. Authors like Alan Garner, who is perhaps best known for The Owl Service and Elidor, and Susan Cooper, famous for The Dark Is Rising sequence of books, who allude more specifically to British myth and legend in their writings.