Practical Magic Series – serie

Everyone needs a little magic in their lives... The Rules of Magic is the long-awaited prequel to Practical Magic, and a New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon's Book Club pick!In this sparkling prequel we meet the Aunts from Practical Magic, sisters Frances and Jet and Vincent, their brother. From the beginning their mother Susanna knew they were unique: Franny with her skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, who could commune with birds; Jet as shy as she is beautiful, who knows what others are thinking, and Vincent so charismatic that he was built for trouble. Susanna needed to set some rules of magic: no walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles and certainly, absolutely, no books about magic…  But the Owens siblings are desperate to uncover who they really are. Each heads down a life-altering course, filled with secrets and truths, devastation and joy, and magic and love. Despite the warning handed down through the family for centuries – Know that for our family, love is a curse – they will all strive to break the rules and find true love.***A perfect read for crisp autumn nights!***Praise for The Rules of Magic: ‘The combination of magic with the universal themes of romantic love and the bond between siblings allows the reader to have one foot in a magical world and another in the realities of family life. Much like the bewitching heroines in this book.’ – The Lady‘Utterly spellbinding’ - Heat‘Shows the author at their best… She neatly intertwines their lives with a backdrop that brims with periodic detail. Gnomic maxims add to a wise, seductive, fabular tone… Thrilling and transportive’ – Sunday Times  ‘Enchanting… Spellbinding and entertaining’ – Sunday Express‘Hoffman explores Aunt Frances and Aunt Bridget’s (known here as Jet) awakening to the craft in the 1960s. Franny and Jet, along with their brother Vincent, stay with their Aunt Isabelle. Each of their gifts grow, but can they use them to break the family curse? The Rules of Magic is a gentle tale, perfect as the nights draw in' – Press Association  ‘As efficient a slice of escapism as you would expect from Hoffman… Hoffman’s skill is to ground her light-as-a-feather tale in a very specific time and place: Manhattan in the Sixties. Wisely, she doesn’t rely on the momentous times to do too much work, but the heady atmospherics are expertly interwoven’ – Daily Mail  ‘A bewitching, hard to put down tale of the consequences of magic, love and family’ - Bookbag

Discover the beloved novel that inspired the classic film – a magical, moving story of sisterhood, love and the ties that bind us.As children, Gillian and Sally Owens are marked as different, growing up on the margins of a small New England town where whispers of magic cling to their family name. Each longs to escape: one into marriage, the other as far from home as she can travel.Years later, when tragedy draws them back together, the sisters must confront not only the past they tried to leave behind, but the enduring connection between them – and the power, both dangerous and transformative, that has always set them apart.Richly atmospheric and quietly spellbinding, Practical Magic is a story of love and loss, forgiveness and belonging, and the extraordinary resilience of family. Alice Hoffman’s beloved novel continues to enchant readers with its seamless blend of the everyday and the otherworldly, capturing the fragile, powerful magic of being human.PRAISE FOR THE PRACTICAL MAGIC SERIES: 'A real pleasure' Kate Atkinson'Simply brilliant' Daily Mail‘A delicious fantasy of witchcraft and love in a world where gardens smell of lemon verbena and happy endings are possible’ Cosmopolitan‘What do you do when your long lost little sister shows up on your suburban front step… a dead man in the Oldsmobile that’s blocking your driveway? …You help her bury him in your backyard, underneath a wilting lilac bush that will suddenly spring back to life, bearing masses of heady flowers that remind everyone who passes by of desires they thought they’d long since stifled’ Vogue‘Dark comedy and a light touch carry the story along to a truly Gothic climax, complete with heaving skies and witchery on the lawn’ New York Times'A scrim of magic lies gently over this fictional world, in which lilacs bloom riotously in July, a lovesick boy's elbows sizzle on a diner countertop and a toad expectorates a silver ring...' Publishers Weekly

‘Full of Hoffman’s bewitching and lucid prose and vivid characters, The Book of Magic is ultimately about the very human magic of family and love and actions that echo through generations… it casts a spell’  —Matt HaigTHE STUNNING, UNFORGETTABLE CONCLUSION TO THE BELOVED PRACTICAL MAGIC SERIESFor centuries, the Owens family has been cursed in matters of love. When beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the sound of the deathwatch beetle, she knows that it is a signal. She has finally discovered the secret to breaking the curse, but time is running out. She has only seven days to live.Unaware of the family’s witchcraft lineage and all it entails, one of the young sisters of the new Owens generation has fallen in love. As the curse strikes once again, her love’s fate hangs in the balance, spurring three generations of Owens to venture back to where it all began and use their gifts to break the spell that has marked all their lives.But doing so threatens to destroy everything the family has fought so hard to protect. How much will they give up for the greatest gift of all?'This page-turning Atlantic-crossing caper is, above all, a paean to family love... These fast fairytales for grown-ups are full of enchanting comfort – more escapist than curse' —Sunday Times'A satisfying tale springs from a slow beginning, packing in escapist fable, real-world savvy and incidents galore' —Mail on Sunday'Delightfully witchy... Alluring on its own, it's also a satisfying end to a timeless saga' —New York Times Book ReviewPRAISE for ALICE HOFFMAN‘Beautiful, harrowing, a major contribution to twenty-first century literature’Toni Morrison‘I am still reeling from The Dovekeepers – from the history Alice Hoffman illuminates, from the language she uses to bring these women to life. This novel is a testament to the human spirit and to love rising from the ashes of war. But most of all, this novel is one that will never be forgotten by a reader.’Jodi Picoult‘In her remarkable new novel, Alice Hoffman holds a mirror to our ancient past as she explores the contemporary themes of sexual desire, women’s solidarity in the face of strife, and the magic that’s quietly present in our day-to-day living. Put The Dovekeepers at the pinnacle of Hoffman’s extraordinary body of work. I was blown away.’Wally Lamb‘Alice Hoffman takes seemingly ordinary lives and lets us see and feel extraordinary things.’Amy Tan‘Miss Hoffman heals wounds with the gentle touch of an angel’Joseph Heller'Oh, what a book this is! Hoffman’s exploration of the world of good and evil, and the constant contest between them, is unflinching; and the humanity she brings to us – it is a glorious experience.'Elizabeth Strout

The extraordinary and enchanting novel tracing a centuries-old curse back to its beginning from the author of PRACTICAL MAGIC and THE DOVEKEEPERSFor centuries, the women of the Owens family have been cursed: any man who loves an Owens woman will die.It begins with a baby abandoned in a snowy English field in the 1600s. Gentle Hannah Owens takes the baby in, and as the child grows, Hannah teaches little Maria about the 'Unnamed Arts'. Maria has a gift for them – a gift that may well prove her undoing.When Maria is abandoned by the man she loves, she invokes the curse that will haunt her family for centuries. Because magic has rules, and they must be obeyed.PRAISE for ALICE HOFFMAN‘Beautiful, harrowing, a major contribution to twenty-first century literature’Toni Morrison‘I am still reeling from The Dovekeepers – from the history Alice Hoffman illuminates, from the language she uses to bring these women to life. This novel is a testament to the human spirit and to love rising from the ashes of war. But most of all, this novel is one that will never be forgotten by a reader.’Jodi Picoult‘In her remarkable new novel, Alice Hoffman holds a mirror to our ancient past as she explores the contemporary themes of sexual desire, women’s solidarity in the face of strife, and the magic that’s quietly present in our day-to-day living. Put The Dovekeepers at the pinnacle of Hoffman’s extraordinary body of work. I was blown away.’Wally Lamb‘Alice Hoffman takes seemingly ordinary lives and lets us see and feel extraordinary things.’Amy Tan‘Miss Hoffman heals wounds with the gentle touch of an angel’Joseph Heller'Oh, what a book this is! Hoffman’s exploration of the world of good and evil, and the constant contest between them, is unflinching; and the humanity she brings to us – it is a glorious experience.'Elizabeth Strout

‘There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.’As children, Gillian and Sally Owens are marked as different, growing up on the margins of a small New England town where whispers of magic cling to their family name. Each longs to escape: one into marriage, the other as far from home as she can travel.Years later, when tragedy draws them back together, the sisters must confront not only the past they tried to leave behind, but the enduring connection between them – and the power, both dangerous and transformative, that has always set them apart.Richly atmospheric and quietly spellbinding, Practical Magic is a story of love and loss, forgiveness and belonging, and the extraordinary resilience of family. Alice Hoffman’s beloved novel continues to enchant readers with its seamless blend of the everyday and the otherworldly, capturing the fragile, powerful magic of being human.‘A great atmospheric story teller’ Kate Atkinson‘Alice Hoffman is wonderful on stories and writing’ Stephen King‘The reigning queen of magical realism’ Kristin Hannah‘Storytelling is in Hoffman’s bones’ New York Times Book Review

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING SANDRA BULLOCK AND NICOLE KIDMAN*Previously published as THE BOOK OF MAGIC*The breathtaking conclusion to the Practical Magic series – a spellbinding and bewitching novel that asks: How far will you go to change your fateFor more than three hundred years, a curse has kept the Owens family from love – but all that is about to change. The novel begins in a library, the best place for a story to be conjured, when beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the deathwatch beetle and knows she has seven days to live. Jet is not the only one in danger – the curse is already at work.A frantic attempt to save a young man’s life spurs three generations of the Owens women – and one long-lost brother – to use their unusual gifts to break the curse as they travel from Paris to London to the English countryside, where their ancestor Maria Owens first practiced the Unnamed Art. The younger generation discovers secrets that have been hidden from them in matters of both magic and love by Sally Owens, their fiercely protective mother. As Kylie Owens uncovers the truth about who she is and what her own dark powers are, her aunt Franny comes to understand what she herself is ready to sacrifice, and Sally realizes that she is willing to give up everything for love. A heartfelt and satisfying conclusion to a beloved series, Practical Magic 2 celebrates mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and anyone who has ever been in love.