blogis librorum. A blog about books. Rare books.

For fans of the fantasy genre, the magic school has long been a beloved trope. The concept of the magic school allows the reader to enter into the world of magic and fully immerse themselves in the way the fantasy world works. From the guiding principles of culture and government to how characters live their everyday lives, magic schools are a gateway into a fantasy novel that allows readers to feel they are also learning along with the characters. From Harry Potter’s Hogwarts to The University in Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind, the magic school continues to captivate readers. Join us today as we look at some of the best fantasy novels set at magic schools:

Renowned horror writer Anne Rice passed away on December 11, 2021, at 80, due to complications relating to a stroke. Born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien in 1941, Rice developed an interest in writing at an early age. She spent much of her young life in New Orleans, a city featured prominently in some of her most famous works.

Irish writer, professor, and amateur theologian C.S. Lewis is best known for his children's fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Inspired by Beatrix Potter and his strong Anglican faith and strong friendship and rivalry with another British fantasy heavyweight, JRR Tolkien, Lewis' Naria series has captivated readers for years with its imagination, heart, and allegory. The Chronicles of Narnia have been adapted numerous times for television, film, and radio, most notably as a BBC series and as a series of several films by Walden Media. It was recently announced that director Greta Gerwig will adapt at least two Narnia films for streaming service Netflix. Let’s take a look at some of the more moving passages from this timeless and beloved fantasy series:

Philip Roth was born in New Jersey in 1933 to second-generation Jewish parents from Austria and Ukraine. He graduated from Weequahic High School in 1950, and his time there inspired much of his fiction, including his popular and critically acclaimed Portnoy’s Complaint. He earned a BA from Bucknell College and an MA from the University of Chicago. He began studying for his PhD but dropped out. He taught writing at numerous institutions before retiring from teaching in the early 90’s. His publishing career began in the 50’s with short stories and novellas. His first collected work, Goodbye, Columbus, won the National Book Award in 1960, securing his place as one of the best American writers of his generation. He won a second National Book Award for Sabbath’s Theater and a Pulitzer Prize for American Pastoral. He also won three PEN/Faulkner Awards throughout his career. He passed away in 2018 at the age of eighty-five. Let’s take a closer look at some of the best passages from Roth’s impressive body of work:

Legendary author Doris Lessing was born in Iran in 1919 to British parents. She spent much of her early life in what is now Zimbabwe. She left school at thirteen to work as a telephone operator and a nursemaid before her first marriage. After the dissolution of her second marriage, she moved to London with her youngest child, leaving her older two with their father. In London, she continued her study and pursuit of the socialist movement. She published her first novel one year later. Throughout her life, she published over fifty novels, as well as plays, poetry collections, essays, and memoirs. While she remained dedicated to social change, feminism, and anti-racism, she later moved away from her Marxist, leanings. She was offered damehood but rejected the offer as an objection of the empire. She was awarded the Nobel prize in 2007. She passed away in 2013 at the age of ninety-four. Join us today as we explore some of the best books by Doris Lessing.

William Shakespeare is arguably the most influential playwright in the English canon. Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, he moved to London sometime in the 1580s, where he began a career as an actor and eventual playwright. Most of his works were performed between 1590 and 1630, after which he returned home and passed away at forty-nine. Shakespeare's career spanned histories, comedies, tragedies, and poems that not only captured the imagination of the common folk but also two different monarchs: Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. His works have inspired generations of writers not just in theme, but that's not the only impact of his work. Shakespeare is credited with coining hundreds of phrases still part of the English language today. Join us as we take a look at the origin of some of the common Shakespeare phrases you've likely heard or even used recently:

Prolific writer and scholar Umberto Eco was born in Italy in 1932. He was greatly influenced by his experiences of Fascism in Italy and of growing up during German occupation during World War II. Though it was his father's wish to become a lawyer, he studied history, literature, theology, and philosophy at the University of Turin, graduating with a degree in philosophy in 1954.

Throughout his career, Nobel laureate, professor, and activist Elie Wiesel published an astonishing fifty-seven books, including his best known work, Night, a memoir of his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. Through his teaching and activism, he was instrumental in the creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. He taught at numerous distinguished universities throughout his career as a professor, including at Boston University where The Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies was established in his honor. Wiesel dedicated his life to speaking out against the suppression of minorities, speaking out against such injustices as apartheid in South Africa, the Armenian genocide and its subsequent suppression, Bosnian genocide in the former country of Yugoslavia, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, and the persecution of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. He famously said in his Nobel Prize Acceptance speech that “Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant.” The following passages from some of his most powerful works represent his lifelong dedication to Jewish people and all of humanity:

Sir Philip Pullman is one of the most notable fantasy writers in the world. Born in Norwich, England in 1949. His family moved to North Wales shortly after the death of his father. Not long after, he discovered comic books, leading to a lifelong love of stories. During the course of his studies at schools such as Eaton and Oxford, he discovered formative influences like Milton’s Paradise Lost and the works of William Blake. He published his first book in 1973, producing several works before he began his most well-known work, The Dark Materials series, the first of which was published in 1995. Throughout his career, Pullman has used his platform to speak out on a variety of issues, such as the consistent labeling of children’s books as been either for girls or boys rather than for all children, speaking out against Brexit, and advocating for fair compensation for writers on ebook loans through libraries. Pullman has been awarded the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, among others. He has been nominated for the prestigious Hans Christian Anderson Award five times. He was named a Knight Bachelor in 2019. The following passages represent some of the best quotes from Pullman’s impressive and beloved body of work:

On December 23, 2021, legendary journalist, novelist, and essayist Joan Didion passed away at the age of eighty-seven due to complications from Parkinson's disease. Throughout a career spanning more than seventy years, she produced works of fiction and non-fiction that explored both the political and the personal.

This pioneer of New Journalism received many accolades throughout her career, including the National Book Award for Nonfiction, a National Medal for the Arts, and was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Today, we explore Didion's career and some passages that exemplify her inimitable style and observational skills, which make her one of America's most important writers.