The Book Group: The Magic Toyshop

Discover the 80s TV adaptation of Angela Carter’s enchanting novel – 40 years since it was first published.

The Company of Wolves (1986), but to date that remains one of only two feature-length screen adaptations of her work. In this month’s Book Group, we present the rarely-seen TV version of Carter’s 1967 novel The Magic Toyshop, adapted by the author herself in 1987.

Forty years since it was first published, The Magic Toyshop retains its unsettling power, and this adaptation is largely successful in capturing the unique atmosphere of the novel, which concerns an orphaned teenage girl’s sexual awakening when sent to live with her domineering uncle, who has an unnerving penchant for puppets… This collection also includes three TV documentaries, the highlight of which is the poignant Omnibus profile Angela Carter’s Curious Room (1992), filmed shortly before the author’s death. For anyone curious about Carter or her work, this is the place to start.

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