A War of Wizards by Margaret Storey

Title: A War of Wizards
Author: Margaret Storey
Illustrator: Janina Ede
Publication: Faber & Faber, hardcover, 1976
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series
Setting: Britain

Description: In an earlier book, Timothy went to stay with Melinda, a white witch, who lives in an amazing house in London, where he became friendly with Ellen, a girl his age. In this sixth title about them, their adventures begin separately – for Timothy at a circus, where he encounters a real dragon, and for Ellen, when Septimus (transformed into a boy after being a cockroach) appears at her front door, asking for help. He tells her a bad wizard in the Open Country, where magic emanates, is trying to steal great power. At the circus, Timothy meets Tower of Crystal, a Chinese girl, and her dragon, Glorious Metal. She was kidnapped by a wizard who wanted to blackmail her father to give him the Jewel of the East, one of four magic jewels, separated to be safe from just this risk.  Timothy and Ellen turn to their friend Melinda to vanquish the evil wizard but even that talented witch needs assistance from one more powerful than she.

My Impression: Margaret Storey’s book Pauline is one of my top ten, all-time favorites (and was illustrated by another favorite, Victor Ambrus) but this fantasy series about Timothy and Ellen, intended for children about eight, is virtually unknown in the US. It came to my attention when I read that Neil Gaiman was a fan: "Margaret Storey is more or less out of print these days, alas. I loved her when I was about seven or eight, and am looking forward to finding out how much of her stuff has wound up in mine." What a pity I did not know we had Margaret Storey in common during a memorable lunch when my publishing company took him to Sardi’s before the publication of Neverwhere.

I think A War of Wizards would be best appreciated by those who have read the whole series; I found that the most entertaining parts are the juxtaposition of the fantasy world with Timothy and Ellen’s world:

Mother’s voice cried, “Cooee, Ellen. Is Septimus staying for tea?”
“What’s tea?” Septimus asked Ellen.
“Food.”
“I’m staying,” Septimus said.

Septimus' old-fashioned way of talking (due to having been enchanted as a bug for many years) seems like proper good manners to Ellen's mother but his hunger is that of ageless boys.

There did not seem to be anything magic in Melinda’s house, if you didn’t count the disappointing Other Channel or the soft light that was everywhere in the house at night. It all looked ordinary: nice, because it was Melinda’s, but like any other nice house. He opened doors. Nothing was locked. He opened (and shut, of course) the bedroom doors and the bathroom door and the lavatory door and all the cupboards. He looked behind the clothes in the wardrobe, because once another world had been through a wardrobe, though he hadn’t ever been there. He opened all the windows but there was only London and night.

Don't we all surreptitiously check out wardrobes?

Glorious Metal shook himself with a noise of bells, then flung himself to one side and rolled. He finished up lying on his back, with his wings slightly spread, eyes shut, and paws in the air. A dragon, who can be killed where its legs meet the underneath of its body, only likes like that when it knows it is safe and with friends.

Shades of Smaug!

The carpet shop was up an oak tree. At first there were steps going round and round inside, then on the outside, then ladders from branch to branch. They came out on a platform where a squirrel lay asleep on several carpets.
“H’m,” said the fox.
“Oh,” said the squirrel. “Yes. Of course. Carpet. Nice one. Red? Blue?”
“Flying,” said Arthur.
“Far?”
“Yes,” said the fox. “Very.”
The squirrel heaved the carpets back and tugged at a brown and gold one with fringes. “Strong,” he said. “Long distance. Obedient. Stormproof. Five.”
Arthur counted out five of the smaller gold coins. Before h handed them over he asked, “Is it guaranteed?”

In the first book (the only other I have read) Timothy and Two Witches, Timothy and Ellen seemed very young, and reading patterns have really changed since the 1970s: children now prefer to read about protagonists older than themselves.  In any case, Timothy and Ellen have matured since the first book. Timothy is brave enough to ride a strange dragon at a circus and crafty enough to appease the woman who brought him to the circus so she doesn’t worry. Ellen is now studying to be a witch and has enough worldly knowledge to tell Timothy’s penny-pinching mother to reverse the charges so Timothy can call her long distance. They have both developed strong instincts and usually know who can be trusted and who is dangerous – useful skills in fantasy and in the real world.

Source: Personal copy.  As a child, I sent Margaret Storey a fan letter and the American publisher returned it to me saying it could not send it to her!  Couldn't they have forwarded it to her agent?  They must have known where in the UK to send her royalties!