The Magician's Elephant

Did You Know?

• As part of the book's promotion, Candlewick commissioned a song called 'Light & Night' from the indie band Tally Hall and singer-songwriter Nellie McKay.
• The song 'Light & Night' was included as a download code with copies of the book purchased at Walmart stores.
• In 2022, Needlejuice Records rereleased 'Light & Night' on the B-side of a vinyl single of 'Turn The Lights Off' to accompany their reissue of Good & Evil.

Characters

Peter Augustus Duchene is an orphan boy being trained as a soldier by his guardian, Vilna Lutz. He promised his mother he would care for his sister, and he is smart, caring, and kind. He believes a fortune teller's prophecy that an elephant will lead him to his sister. Vilna Lutz, a soldier and friend of Peter's father, acts as Peter's guardian and tells him his sister is dead, while training him for soldierhood. Adele is Peter's younger long-lost six-year-old sister; their mother dies right after Adele is born, and Adele grows up in an orphanage unaware of her brother, dreaming of an elephant coming for her. The Magician causes an elephant to appear from the ceiling, though he claims he intended only lilies, and is imprisoned for handicapping Madam LaVaughn with the elephant. Leo Matienne, a police officer living below Vilna Lutz's apartment with his wife Gloria, is unable to have children but ends up adopting Peter and Adele. Madam LaVaughn, whose legs are broken by the summoned elephant, eventually forgives the magician. Hans Eckman is Madam LaVaughn's manservant who recalls having a dog that could jump across a river but cannot remember its name. Tomas is a beggar who owns the blind dog Iddo and is known for his singing. Bartok Wynn, a former gargoyle sculptor who fell off and became hunched, has a spontaneous tendency to laugh and works as the elephant's caretaker.

Adaptations

A stage musical version by Nancy Harris and Marc Teitler debuted at the Royal Shakespeare Company during their winter 2021 season, with its US premiere at Hale Center Theatre in Sandy, Utah during their 2024 season. In 2009, Fox planned to adapt the book into a film produced by Julia Pistor. On December 15, 2020, Netflix acquired the rights for an animated feature film adaptation directed by Wendy Rogers and produced by Julia Pistor, announcing that Noah Jupe, Benedict Wong, Pixie Davies, Sian Clifford, Brian Tyree Henry, Mandy Patinkin, Natasia Demetriou, Dawn French, Aasif Mandvi, Miranda Richardson, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste had joined the cast.