Bestselling novels by Angela Carter, Salman Rushdie, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and a multitude of others have enchanted us by blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Their genre of writing has been variously defined as 'magic', 'magical' or 'marvellous' realism and is quickly becoming a core area of literary studies. This guide offers a first step for those wishing to consider this area in greater depth, by:




exploring the many definitions and terms used in relation to the genre
tracing the origins of the movement in painting and fiction
offering an historical overview of the contexts for magic(al) realism
providing analysis of key works of magic(al) realist fiction, film and art.


This is an essential guide for those interested in or studying one of today's most popular genres.