The Magic Walking Stick
| Author | John Buchan |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton[1] |
Publication date | 1932 |
| Publication place | England |
| Media type |
The Magic Walking Stick[1] is a 1932 children's novel by the Scottish author John Buchan.
Plot
The novel relates the adventures of Bill, a 13-year-old boy, and his magic walking stick that has the power to take him and whoever he is holding by the hand to any desired place, from "the blinding white sands of the Solomon Islands ... [to] the rowans and birches of a wintry Highland Glen”.[2] He visits the elephant's graveyard, plays a prank on some selfish neighbours and helps a beleaguered young prince in a Balkan kingdom.
After hearing an old legend, Bill comes to believe the stick is one of the two staves mentioned in the Book of Zechariah 11:7, but whether it is "Beauty", which favours the pursuit of pleasure, or "Bands", which should be used only for serious purposes, he cannot decide.
Background
The genesis of the novel was a game that Buchan used to play with his own children.[2] An early short version of the story was contained in a contribution that Buchan had made to Lady Cynthia Asquith's short story collection Sails of Gold (1927).[2][3]
References
- ^ a b "The Magic Walking-Stick". British Library Catalogue. London: British Library. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- ^ a b c Lownie, Andrew (2013). John Buchan: The Presbyterian Cavalier. Thistle Publishing. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-909609-99-0.
- ^ Buchan, John (1932). The Magic Walking Stick. London: Hodder & Stoughton. Author's note following dedication. Retrieved 15 January 2017 – via Project Gutenberg Canada.