The Phoenix and the Mirror

The Phoenix and the Mirror: or, The Enigmatic Speculum by Avram Davidson is a fantasy novel that tells the story of a sorcerer named Vergil Magus. This sorcerer was named for Virgil (or Publius Vergilius Maro), poet and author of The Aeneid.

In an introduction to The Phoenix and the Mirror, Davidson claims that during the Dark Ages, people tended to forget that Virgil was a poet and instead believed he was a sorcerer. The Phoenix and the Mirror was the first book in which Davidson attempted to retell the legend of this mysterious sorcerer.

Thus, this was the first book published in the Vergil Magus trilogy, though it’s chronologically the last one. The final book in the trilogy, The Scarlet Fig: or, Slowly Through a Land of Stone, was not published until 2005, 12 years after Davidson’s death.

Davidson was an author of science fiction and fantasy, but he also wrote in the mystery genre. On top of winning a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy Awards for his speculative fiction, he also won an Edgar Award for his work in the mystery genre.

©1969 Avram Davidson (P)2021 Seth Davis