Angie Sage

British author of the Septimus Heap children's fantasy series, beginning with Magyk, a charming alternative to Harry Potter for young magic enthusiasts.

Angie Sage is a British author best known for the Septimus Heap series, a seven-book children’s fantasy sequence that won a devoted following in the years following the completion of the Harry Potter saga. The first volume, Magyk, was published in 2005 and introduced readers to the vivid world of the Castle, its Ancient Ways, and the boy Septimus Heap, the seventh son of a seventh son, whose destiny involves the mysterious powers of Magyk.

Sage’s world-building draws on a rich array of sources — medieval alchemy, English folklore, fairy tale conventions — to create a setting that feels both familiar and genuinely inventive. The Castle and its denizens are observed with affectionate detail, from the chaotic Heap family to the enigmatic ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand. The books are notable for their warmth, humor, and the lived-in quality of their setting, which rewards careful readers with deepening levels of detail across the series.

Before writing Septimus Heap, Sage worked as an illustrator and designer, and her visual sensibility is evident in the evocative, richly described world she creates on the page. She has also written the TodHunter Moon series, a sequel trilogy set in the same world. For families looking for a long, immersive fantasy series with a gentler tone than some of its contemporaries, the Septimus Heap books remain a delightful choice.