The Mathematics of Magic
Encyclopedia
The Mathematics of Magic is a fantasy
novella
written by science fiction
and fantasy
authors L. Sprague de Camp
and Fletcher Pratt
as the second story in their Harold Shea series. It was first published in the August 1940 issue of the fantasy pulp magazine Unknown
. It first appeared in book form, together with the preceding novella, "The Roaring Trumpet
," in the collection The Incomplete Enchanter
, issued in hardcover by Henry Holt and Company
in 1941, and in paperback by Pyramid Books
in 1960. It has since been reprinted in various collections by numerous other publishers, including The Compleat Enchanter
(1975), The Incompleat Enchanter
(1979), The Complete Compleat Enchanter
(1989), and The Mathematics of Magic: The Enchanter Stories of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt
(2007). It has been translated into Dutch
and Italian
.
The Harold Shea stories are parallel world
tales in which universes where magic works coexist with our own, and in which those based on the mythologies, legends, and literary fantasies of our world and can be reached by aligning one's mind to them by a system of symbolic logic. In The Mathematics of Magic, Shea visits his second such world, that of Edmund Spenser
's epic poem
The Faerie Queene
.
has confirmed his colleague Reed Chalmer's speculation that alternate universes can be reached by employing a system of sybolic logic encoding their basic assumptions. Encouraged at his theory's validation but pessimistic as to the prospects of it being taken seriously by their profession, Chalmers proposes to join Shea in a second expedition, more carefully planned, to a world in which they can achieve the fame and fortune they are unlikely to gain in their own. He suggests the world represented by Spenser's The Faerie Queene.
Outfitting themselves appropriately, they make the attempt and are successful in reaching their target world. They soon encounter the Lady Britomart one of Queen Gloriana's knights, in whose company they attend a tournament at the castle of Satyrane. At the feast afterwards Chalmers becomes smitten by a magical similcrum of the Lady Florimel, only to lose her in the confusion engendered by a sorcerous disruption of the proceedings. Later he and Shea undertake to find the root of the trouble, a secret brotherhood of enchanters they theorize has been tipping the balance against the forces of good, and which they hope to infiltrate and subvert. They meet the woodland huntress Belphebe, with whom Shea becomes enamored, and face the peril of the Blatant Beast, summoned up by Chalmers in a spell gone wrong.
Finally the two succeed in infiltrating the enchanters' cabal, Chalmers as a magician and Shea as his apprentice. Chalmers, bringing a systematic and scientific approach to bear on the study of magic, fits right in -- a bit too well, in Shea's opinion. The secret society appears so congenial to Chalmers that Shea becomes concerned the subversion is going the other way. Escaping, he reveals the enchanters' lair to the realm's knights, who gather to assault it, aided from within by the magic of Chalmers, who wasn't as far gone as Shea had feared. In the aftermath, Shea and Belphebe are blasted back to the mundane world by the attack of a surviving magician, whereupon Belphebe finally accepts Shea's proposal of marriage.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
written by science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
authors L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
and Fletcher Pratt
Fletcher Pratt
Murray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and history, particularly noted for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War.- Life and work :...
as the second story in their Harold Shea series. It was first published in the August 1940 issue of the fantasy pulp magazine Unknown
Unknown (magazine)
Unknown was an American pulp fantasy fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1943 by Street & Smith, and edited by John W. Campbell. Unknown was a companion to Street & Smith's science fiction pulp, Astounding Science Fiction, which was also edited by Campbell at the time; many authors and...
. It first appeared in book form, together with the preceding novella, "The Roaring Trumpet
The Roaring Trumpet
The Roaring Trumpet is a fantasy novella written by science fiction and fantasy authors L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt as the initial story in their Harold Shea series. It was first published in the May 1940 issue of the fantasy pulp magazine Unknown...
," in the collection The Incomplete Enchanter
The Incomplete Enchanter
The Incomplete Enchanter is a collection of two classic fantasy short stories by science fiction and fantasy authors L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, the first volume in their Harold Shea series. The pieces were originally published in the magazine Unknown in the issues for May and August, 1940...
, issued in hardcover by Henry Holt and Company
Henry Holt and Company
Henry Holt and Company is an American book publishing company. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt...
in 1941, and in paperback by Pyramid Books
Pyramid Books
Jove Books, formerly Pyramid Books, is a paperback publishing company, founded in 1949 by Almat Magazine Publishers . The company was sold to the Walter Reade Organization in the late 1960s. It was acquired in 1974 by Harcourt Brace which renamed it to Jove in 1977 and continued the line as an...
in 1960. It has since been reprinted in various collections by numerous other publishers, including The Compleat Enchanter
The Compleat Enchanter
The Compleat Enchanter: The Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea is an omnibus collection of three classic fantasy stories by science fiction and fantasy authors L...
(1975), The Incompleat Enchanter
The Incomplete Enchanter
The Incomplete Enchanter is a collection of two classic fantasy short stories by science fiction and fantasy authors L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, the first volume in their Harold Shea series. The pieces were originally published in the magazine Unknown in the issues for May and August, 1940...
(1979), The Complete Compleat Enchanter
The Complete Compleat Enchanter
The Complete Compleat Enchanter is an omnibus collection of five classic fantasy stories by science fiction and fantasy authors L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, gathering material previously published in three volumes as The Incomplete Enchanter , The Castle of Iron , and Wall of Serpents ,...
(1989), and The Mathematics of Magic: The Enchanter Stories of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt
The Mathematics of Magic: The Enchanter Stories of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt
The Mathematics of Magic: The Enchanter Stories of L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt is an omnibus collection of five classic fantasy stories by science fiction and fantasy authors L...
(2007). It has been translated into Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
.
The Harold Shea stories are parallel world
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
tales in which universes where magic works coexist with our own, and in which those based on the mythologies, legends, and literary fantasies of our world and can be reached by aligning one's mind to them by a system of symbolic logic. In The Mathematics of Magic, Shea visits his second such world, that of Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
's epic poem
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
The Faerie Queene
The Faerie Queene
The Faerie Queene is an incomplete English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. The first half was published in 1590, and a second installment was published in 1596. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: it was the first work written in Spenserian stanza and is one of the longest poems in the English...
.
Plot summary
Psychologist Harold Shea's accidental visit to world of Norse mythologyNorse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
has confirmed his colleague Reed Chalmer's speculation that alternate universes can be reached by employing a system of sybolic logic encoding their basic assumptions. Encouraged at his theory's validation but pessimistic as to the prospects of it being taken seriously by their profession, Chalmers proposes to join Shea in a second expedition, more carefully planned, to a world in which they can achieve the fame and fortune they are unlikely to gain in their own. He suggests the world represented by Spenser's The Faerie Queene.
Outfitting themselves appropriately, they make the attempt and are successful in reaching their target world. They soon encounter the Lady Britomart one of Queen Gloriana's knights, in whose company they attend a tournament at the castle of Satyrane. At the feast afterwards Chalmers becomes smitten by a magical similcrum of the Lady Florimel, only to lose her in the confusion engendered by a sorcerous disruption of the proceedings. Later he and Shea undertake to find the root of the trouble, a secret brotherhood of enchanters they theorize has been tipping the balance against the forces of good, and which they hope to infiltrate and subvert. They meet the woodland huntress Belphebe, with whom Shea becomes enamored, and face the peril of the Blatant Beast, summoned up by Chalmers in a spell gone wrong.
Finally the two succeed in infiltrating the enchanters' cabal, Chalmers as a magician and Shea as his apprentice. Chalmers, bringing a systematic and scientific approach to bear on the study of magic, fits right in -- a bit too well, in Shea's opinion. The secret society appears so congenial to Chalmers that Shea becomes concerned the subversion is going the other way. Escaping, he reveals the enchanters' lair to the realm's knights, who gather to assault it, aided from within by the magic of Chalmers, who wasn't as far gone as Shea had feared. In the aftermath, Shea and Belphebe are blasted back to the mundane world by the attack of a surviving magician, whereupon Belphebe finally accepts Shea's proposal of marriage.