''This Rough Magic'' is a romantic suspense novel by Mary Stewart, first published in 1964. The title is a quote from William Shakespeare's ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

''. Like several other novels by Stewart, it is set in Greece and has an element of suspense. Julian Gale and the play ''Tiger, Tiger'' (with a different author) are also mentioned in '' The Wind Off the Small Isles'' (1968) by the same author.

Plot summary

Lucy Waring, a struggling young actress, is on holiday in

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

at the

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

of her wealthy sister, Phyllida Forli, and becomes involved in intrigue involving international

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

and murder. The Forlis rent their gothic castello to a renowned

Shakespearean actor William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, Sir Julian Gale, and his

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

son, Max. While swimming, Lucy encounters a tame local

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

and is nearly struck by a ricocheting bullet. Alarmed, she spies Max Gale watching from his terrace and angrily accuses him of the shooting. Max is dismissive and treats her like an unbalanced trespasser. Godfrey Manning, who rents the second villa on the Forli complex, relays shocking news to Lucy and Phyllida of the drowning of Spiro, son of the Forli housekeeper. Spiro has fallen from Manning's boat, carried by the currents toward communist

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, behind the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

. Lucy meets Sir Julian and is flattered when he relates his pet theory that Corfu is the setting for Shakespeare's ''

'' (a recurring theme in the novel). Max Gale joins the conversation and is more agreeable on this occasion. A dead body washes ashore, discovered by Lucy, who fears it is Spiro. Godfrey Manning and Max Gale each come to investigate, and Lucy sees animosity between them. The body is not Spiro, but a local smuggler named Yanni Zoulas. Past midnight, Lucy returns to the beach on an urgent errand, finds the dolphin helplessly beached on the shore, and runs for help. She stumbles on Max Gale and Athoni (Spiro's best friend), carrying home a wounded Spiro. She angrily accuses Max of being a smuggler and Yanni's killer. Max denies this but admits smuggling Spiro from Albania that night. Yanni had been killed making inquiries about Spiro in Albania, leaving Max to get Spiro out instead. Lucy asks Max to help save the dolphin, and they bond over the rescue. Spiro relates that Manning attempted to kill him upon discovering Manning smuggling

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

currency into Albania. Manning likely killed Yanni to protect his smuggling operations and tried to kill the dolphin that drew disruptive spectators. The next day, Max takes Spiro for medical attention and to the authorities. Lucy goes to Manning's boat and hides a roll of counterfeit currency in the boathouse as evidence. When Manning returns unexpectedly, Lucy is forced to hide in the boat as he takes it out on a run. Manning finds her and attempts to kill her, but Lucy jumps overboard, diving to avoid his searchlight. Nearly drowning, Lucy is saved by the dolphin she rescued, clinging as the dolphin swims to shore. A peasant drives her to the Forli villa on his motorcycle. Lucy sends Athoni to retrieve the evidence in the boathouse. At the Manning villa, Lucy listens out of sight while Manning is questioned by authorities. He denies trying to kill Spiro or knowing what happened to Lucy. Lucy confronts Manning. A fight ensues where Max attacks Manning, who discharges a stray bullet that wounds Spiro. Manning escapes in the chaos and runs past Athoni, who lets him reach the boathouse. Miranda, Spiro's sister, blames Athoni for letting Manning escape, as the boathouse explodes. Athoni tells Miranda that he has taken revenge on her behalf. Sir Julian embraces Lucy and asks if she would like to share a billing with him back in London. Lucy replies that she's not in his league. Max then suggests coyly that she can be billed with him instead, and Lucy readily agrees.

Serialisation

The book was serialised in the British magazine ''

Woman's Journal ''Woman's Journal'' was an American women's rights periodical published from 1870 to 1931. It was founded in 1870 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Lucy Stone and her husband Henry Browne Blackwell as a weekly newspaper. In 1917 it was purchased by ...

''.Recycled Mags
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References

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Dolphins Rescuing Humans
Dolphins-World. (April 26, 2017). {{DEFAULTSORT:This Rough Magic 1964 British novels English novels Novels by Mary Stewart Novels set in Greece Novels set on islands Hodder & Stoughton books