Real Magic Books

23/05/2026

Book of the day and our next non fiction book group title. Naomi Alderman’s Don’t Burn Anyone At The Stake Today. Using history to help guide us through our current age of ‘information crisis’. For those feeling lost in the chaos of the online onslaught, nice people meet in real life to discuss and drink wine✨Meeting on Wednesday 17 June.

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11100/9781405981392

22/05/2026

Our book of the day and our next fiction book group title. Lázár by Nelio Beidermann. A ‘sweeping epic’ that charts the story of the Lázár family from the beginning of the twentieth century to the Hungarian uprising of 1956. Excited to read this and discuss with our book group on Wednesday 24 June.

‘Exquisite and masterly’ Patti Smith

‘An astonishing book… a truly great writer steps onto the stage’ Daniel Kehlmann

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11100/9781529445336

10/05/2026

Big thank you to all who came down to the Legion last night to witness the return of the mighty Pictish Trail. What a night.

If you missed out then you can make up for it almost immediately by joining us this coming Friday (15 May) to see Seamus Fogarty.

Actually so excited for this one, we adore Seamus' music, and we assure you that this will be another special night. Final 20 tickets available below.

Tickets: https://wegottickets.com/ft/dmAeuBwnU8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR6zjRg-HA4&list=RDxR6zjRg-HA4&start_radio=1

Live version of Seamus Fogarty's single 'I Passed Your House'.Filmed by Emma SmithVisuals by Seamus Fogarty and Alex Dobbins.'I Passed Your House's is taken ...

10/05/2026

SLIME FOR THE PEOPLE!
A massive thank you to for a brilliant night + such great support from . Thanks to everyone who came along and got slimed. We love you. If you missed out then you can make up for it almost immediately this coming Friday to see . Final 20 tickets on sale now.

28/04/2026

Book of the day, the gripping non fiction thriller, What If Reform Wins - A Scenario by Peter Chappell

I recommend picking this up before next week’s local elections. Maybe leave a copy or two around the place.

‘We all need to take this scenario very seriously’ Anthony Seldon

‘A dazzling imagined account of Nigel Farage’s first year in Number Ten… Spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well’

‘Brilliant’ Daniel Finkelstein

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11100/9781399433723

23/04/2026

Old Magic!✨We are now gratefully accepting pre-loved books at the shop. We would love any special old paperbacks, mid century fiction and non fiction, vintage children’s bits, curiosities and esoterica, 70s weirdness, cool 80s, lovely books on nature, politics, philosophy, poetry and more. You know the sort of things we dig! If you have a box of books you’re wanting to get rid of and you think that we might like them then do pop them by.

We are curating an Old Magic section in the shop and would love your donations. If it’s not right for us we’ll make sure it finds a home. This is a great way to support Real Magic and we’re excited to see what bits come through the doors. Feel free to get in touch if you have a collection you want to sell too, can’t promise we’ll be able to buy everything but we’re happy to have a chat. Thanks all x

19/04/2026

We are thrilled to announce that we will be bringing Zakia Sewell to Wendover on Thursday 25 June to discuss Finding Albion. In a hopeful quest for a new sense of national identity that unifies rather than divides, Zakia Sewell explores folk rituals, myths and traditions throughout the British isles, from Morris dancing to the Notting Hill Carnival

https://realmagicbooks.com/finding-albion-with-zakia-sewell/

‘Finding Albion offers up much needed alternative national identities and stories for us to keep close and cherish. Its a timely book that helps us consider who we are and more importantly where we are going’ Jeremy Deller

Zakia Sewell is on a quest for another Britain. Traversing the length and breadth of our island from Somerset to Scotland, she’s seeking out a different story – one that lies beyond divisive national myths and symbols.

In Finding Albion, Zakia uncovers an alternative spirit of Britain that is vividly alive today. It is found in otherworldly folk songs, ancient legends, Celtic seasonal rites and mystic stone circles that punctuate our landscape. Her journey begins as the sun rises on the spring equinox over Glastonbury Tor, where she meets neopagans reclaiming traditions from our pre-Christian past. At summer’s peak at Notting Hill Carnival she hears cultural echoes that passed along the slave trade routes from the Caribbean. On All Hallow’s Eve she encounters the ghosts of Empire that are still haunting the nation, and in the depths of a Cornish winter she asks if today’s new folk revival could unite our increasingly divided country?

Finding Albion brings a hopeful story of Britain out from the shadows, giving us a deeper sense of who we are, and heralding the promise of a brighter future.

https://realmagicbooks.com/finding-albion-with-zakia-sewell/

‘A fascinating and uplifting journey that feels urgently relevant. Finding Albion makes old traditions feel fresh and vital, tracing unexpected connections between past and present. This is a beautiful and important book’ James Fox, author of Craftland

11/04/2026

We’re delighted to welcome John Grindrod to Real Magic on 21 May for an evening discussing his latest book, Tales of the Suburbs.

https://wegottickets.com/f/18354

Throughout LGBTQ+ history, suburbia has been seen as somewhere to escape from: a place where heterosexuality rules; where difference will not be tolerated; where you’ll never find a soulmate. But for many, those streets of twitching curtains and pebble-dashed semis were - or still are - a place to call home.

From Addlestone to Wilmslow, Tales of the Suburbs explores the relatively untold twentieth century tale of le***an, gay, bisexual, trans and q***r people in small towns and suburbia.

Through remarkable archive material and original interviews, social historian John Grindrod reveals stories that are messy and moving, dark and funny, uplifting and extraordinary. Together, they reclaim suburbia as a space for all - or those that want it - where counter-cultural expression thrives despite the Neighbourhood Watch, and q***r love and friendship bloom against the odds.

https://wegottickets.com/f/18354

‘A fantastically entertaining alternative history of q***r life in Britain . . . Tales of the Suburbs is ultimately about what it means to call somewhere home’ - Guardian

‘Breaks new ground’ - David Kynaston

‘Grindrod is one of the best chroniclers of British life’ - Jude Rogers

09/04/2026

Book of the day. Will is loving this one just in, a customer recommendation that we had somehow missed. We get lots of our titles on the shelves from people coming in and telling us about things they’ve read about. Thank you!✨

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11100/9780500029800

‘A truly beautiful book that maps - ha! - the history of the Middle Ages in Europe and the Mediterranean in wonderful detail…’

26/03/2026

We’re going back a few decades and having a total change of pace for our April Fiction book group, reading Elizabeth Jane Howard’s The Light Years.

It’s book 1 in a series of 5 books - the Cazalet Chronicles - that I’ve just devoured over the last couple of months. It was really popular in the 90s and was also made into a TV programme so you might be familiar with it.

For me it’s high up there as one of my favourite series, really cleverly showing the impact of the second world war and post war years on an upper middle class family through a very domestic and emotional lens. I think it deserves a new audience.

Elizabeth Jane Howard’s niece is continuing the saga with the latest instalment out later this year so it’s a great time to re/discover the series. All the books available in the shop and at bookshop.org now.

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11100/9781035042449

Join us on Wednesday 22 April as we chat about the book over a glass of wine. Against all the odds, book group is still free and we’re always welcoming new members. Come along. 🧡