A Marvellous Light

A Marvellous Light is a fantasy romance novel by British author Freya Marske. Published in 2021, it is the first work in her trilogy The Last Binding. It features an unlikely alliance and romance between magician Edwin Courcey and nonmagical civil servant Robin Blyth as they discover a conspiracy that threatens all of Britain.

A Marvellous Light has received numerous accolades. It won the Best Romantic Novel Award from the Romantic Novelist’s Association. It was nominated for both Hugo and Locus awards and was one of NPR’s Best Books of 2021. Its sequels include A Restless Truth (2022) and A Power Unbound (2023). Marske’s next novel, Swordcrossed, will appear in October 2024.

This guide refers to the Kindle e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide depict physical and emotional abuse, violent death, murder, death by suicide, racism, and anti-gay bias.

Plot Summary

The novel opens in London in 1908 as Reggie Gatling is tortured for the location of a magical object. He is under a spell preventing him from speaking, but before his captors kill him, he indicates that the item is in his office.

In the next scene, Robin Blyth enters the office that previously belonged to Reggie, who is now missing. Blyth is a British civil servant newly assigned to Reggie’s former post at the Office of Special Domestic Affairs and Complaints, a department whose function he does not know. He meets his magician counterpart, Edwin Courcey, who clearly resents Reggie’s absence. Edwin reluctantly explains that magic exists and that the office has a mandate to track and prevent any contact between England’s small magical community and nonmagical outsiders. Robin realizes he was assigned there by mistake, as the role is usually given to people who were raised in magical families but lack magic of their own. Edwin, also a point-of-view character, has minimal magical strength, and his considerable accomplishments in magical theory are denigrated by those around him. He is secretly attracted to Robin despite his dislike.

Robin is attacked by magicians who demand that he tell them what Reggie hid in his office and how to find it. They place a magical tattoo on his arm—a painful curse intended to compel him to give them the information they seek. Robin recently inherited his family’s estate and is emotionally and logistically burdened by the responsibility. His parents were narcissistic gossips who neglected their estate and their children. His sister Maud is a budding feminist eager to attend university.

Robin shows Edwin the curse, and Edwin realizes he cannot follow standard procedure and erase Robin’s memory of magic until it is removed. Edwin reluctantly takes him to see Jack Alston (hereafter referred to as Hawthorn, his hereditary title), the son of an earl who understands this form of magic. Hawthorn is bitter and cynical, as he no longer has power of his own. He baits Edwin, shocking Robin by openly mentioning their prior affair, as this could expose them all to legal scrutiny due to laws criminalizing gay men’s sex lives. Edwin decides the only way to help Robin is to take him to his family estate, Penhallick, and erase his memory later. Robin conceals that he is also having visions that seem to depict the future.

Robin meets Edwin’s siblings and their friends, whose idleness and casual cruelty remind him of his parents. Except for his mother, Edwin’s family is cruel to him for his lack of magic, especially his brother Walter (Walt). Robin resents being mocked as an outsider and struggles to adjust to the unusual setting. He comes to appreciate Edwin’s intellect and wit, and they discover they are both gay, increasing their comfort with one another. Robin uncovers a folktale describing a mysterious set of magical ephemera called the Last Contract: a cup, knife, and coin that gave the magicians of Britain their powers as a gift from the fairies.

Robin is nearly drowned by a mysterious spell during a boat outing, increasing his desire to remove the curse. Edwin attempts to do so, with help from his powerful brother-in-law, but the spell fails. Edwin and Robin work to keep his visions secret, as Robin would attract attention from the magical authorities. One of the guests, Billy Byatt, expresses strong interest in whether magical power can be transferred between people. Robin learns that Hawthorn lost his magic in such an attempt, and his twin sister died not long after.

In a quest for more information, Robin and Edwin visit nearby Sutton Cottage, the residence of Reggie Gatling’s great-aunt, Flora Sutton, in part because Robin believes he saw it in a vision. Flora cryptically indicates that she and some associates hid the Last Contract, but she refuses to say more. Her own magic relies far more on connections to land and the magic within it. She believes Edwin has this capacity. Before either man can speak more with her, they are attacked by a magician and nearly killed in the estate’s hedge-maze. They return to find that Flora has chosen death by suicide, rather than cooperate with the attacker. Edwin, to his shock, is designated the heir to her estate. Edwin and Robin have sex for the first time, though Edwin still believes he should erase Robin’s memory after the curse is removed. He is fearful of real intimacy with another person after his family’s abuse and his failed relationship with Hawthorn.

They return to Penhallick, to discover Robin’s sister has come to find him. Robin grows determined to take control of his visions on his own behalf, though he accidentally becomes trapped in them. Edwin finds him and realizes he can draw on the estate’s magic to help. He temporarily stops Robin’s heart to make the curse’s mechanism stop working and remove it. The celebration is brief, as Robin soon discovers Edwin’s plan to erase his memory. He leaves angrily, as Edwin is too frightened to apologize or to consider a future as a couple.

Robin returns to London with a new sense of resolve as he repairs his family’s finances and becomes determined to find Edwin again. Edwin finds the other pieces of the coin from the Last Contract where Reggie hid them, but is kidnapped by Billy Byatt, who is part of the conspiracy. Robin, with help from Miss Morrissey and her magical sister, finds Edwin, who accidentally kills Billy with a powerful spell. Robin and Edwin reunite, but they are soon kidnapped by Edwin’s brother Walt, who demands they take him to Sutton Cottage to find the last piece of the contract. Edwin gets Walt the coins, and Robin asserts he will die by suicide rather than allow Walt to threaten his family or Edwin, knowing Walt wants access to his visions. Walt reluctantly agrees to leave them free but resolves to break Edwin’s hand. Sutton Cottage comes alive in his defense, trapping Walt in the vines of its wallpaper. In exchange for the coin, Edwin and Robin force Walt to swear a magical oath that he will not harm them. Walt does not notice that they are not similarly bound, and they plan how to thwart the conspiracy. Edwin and Robin profess their love for one another and desire for a lasting partnership. In the epilogue, Edwin and Robin are in the office as full partners, as Edwin begins to master Flora Sutton’s magic system.