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Title | Charmed Life
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Author | Diana Wynne Jones
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Cover Art | Greg Newbold
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Publisher | SFBC - 2000
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First Printing | 1977
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Title | The Magicians of Caprona
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Author | Diana Wynne Jones
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Cover Art | Greg Newbold
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Publisher | SFBC - 2000
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First Printing | 1980
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Title | Witch Week
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Author | Diana Wynne Jones
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Cover Art | Greg Newbold
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Publisher | SFBC - 2000
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First Printing | 1982
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Title | The Lives of Christopher Chant
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Author | Diana Wynne Jones
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Cover Art | Greg Newbold
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Publisher | SFBC - 2000
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First Printing | 1988
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Title | Mixed Magics
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Author | Diana Wynne Jones
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Cover Art | Thom Lang
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Publisher | HarperCollins - 2005
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First Printing | HarperCollins - 2000
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Title | Conrad's Fate
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Author | Diana Wynne Jones
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Cover Art | ---
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Publisher | HarperCollins - 2005
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First Printing | HarperCollins - 2005
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Title | The Pinhoe Egg
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Author | Diana Wynne Jones
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Cover Art | Brandon Dorman
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Publisher | HarperCollins - 2006
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First Printing | HarperCollins - 2006
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Category | Children/Young Adult
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Warnings | None
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Main Characters | Chrestomanci (Christopher Chant), Cat Chant, Charles Morgan, Nan Pilgrim, Tonino Montana, Angelica Petrocchi, Conrad Tesdinic, Marianne Pinhoe
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Main Elements | Wizards, witches, enchanters
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Website | Diana Wynne Jones Official Site
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 Charmed Life
Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing when the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the redoubtable enchanter refuses to notice her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack - and it falls to Cat to save the day.
The Magicians of Caprona
Tonino is the only person in Casa Montana who wasn't born with an instinct for creating spells, but he has other gifts. His ability to communicate with cats just might help defend the Italian city of Caprona against a mysterious enchanter - but only if Tonino can learn to cooperate with a girl from the hated Petrocchi family of spell-makers. Aided by the incomparable Chrestomanci, Tonino learns that sometimes a boy, a girl and a cat can do more than all the magicians of Caprona combined.
Witch Week
In one of the Anywheres, there are good witches and bad witches, but the law says that all witches must be burned at the stake. So when an anonymous note warns, "Someone in this class is a witch," the students of 6B get nervous - especially the boy who's just discovered that he can cast spells and the girl who was named after the most famous witch of all. But all that changes when they conjure a very special Inquisitor...
The Lives of Christopher Chant
Though born into a wizardly family, nothing seems magical about Christopher Chant...except his dreams. Night after night, he climbs through the formless Place Between and visits marvelous lands he calls the Almost Anywheres. But when he discovers he can bring real things back from his dreams, it turns his life upside down. For Christopher Chant is sent into training to become the most powerful magician of all - the great Chrestomanci!
Mixed Magics
In the worlds of Chrestomanci, being able to use magic is a distinct advantage. But ordinary people have rights too, and only the strength and skill of a nine-lifed enchanter can possibly begin to control the exploits of the numerous witches and warlocks, socerers and necromancers out to make mischief.
The fours stories in Mixed Magics all feature the enigmatic Chrestomanci - taller and more handsome than ever. With plenty of old friends, new acquaintances - and a particularly devious enemy with an outrageously despicable plot.
Conrad's Fate
Conrad is young, good at heart, and yet is apparently suffring from the effects of such bad karma that there is nothing in his future but terrible things. Unless he can alter his circumstances - well, to be brutally honest, he is DOOMED.
Conrad is sent in disguise to Stallery Mansion, to infiltrate the magical fortress that has power over the whole town of Stallchester, and to discover the identity of the person who is affecting his Fate so badly. His mission is clear - get rid of them! But can any plan really be that simple and straightforward? Of course it can't! And things start to go even more strangely for Conrad from the moment he meets the boy called Christopher...
 Anthology Details
"Warlock at the Wheel"
Main Characters: The Willing Warlock
Main Elements: Wizards
First Published:
The Warlock at the Wheel and Other Stories, Macmillan - 1984
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"Stealer of Souls"
Main Characters: Tonino, Cat
Main Elements: Wizards
First Published:
Mixed Magics, HarperCollins - 2000
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"Carol O'Neir's Hundredth Dream"
Main Characters: Carol O'Neir, Christopher
Main Elements: Wizards
First Published:
Dragons and Dream, New York Harper - 1986
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"The Sage of Theare"
Main Characters: Thasper, Christopher
Main Elements: Wizards, Gods
First Published:
Hecate's Cauldron, Daw - 1982
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The Pinhoe Egg
Cat Chant and Marianne Pinhoe have discovered something exciting - something truly precious, very strange, and valuable. And egg.
An egg that has been hidden away in an attic for who-knows-how-many years. And egg protected by some strong "Don't Notice" spells. An egg that Marianne gives to Cat, even though he lives at nearby Chrestomanci Castle. Chrestomanci himself, the strongest enchanter in the world, is sure to be interested in the egg - and interference from the Big Man is the last thing Marianne's family of secret rogue witches wants.
But how much longer cna the Pinhoes keep their secrets? Gammer, the leader of the clan, has gone mad, a powerful bad luck spell is wreaking havoc, and there's an unexplained plague of frogs. Not to mention the mysterious barrier Cat finds in the forest.
Marianne and Cat may be the only two who can set things right. But first Marianne must accept her own powerful magic, and Cat must uncover the secrets behind the mystical Pinhoe Egg.
In this new Chrestomanci book, Diana Wynne Jones is at her most magical.
This series came to me with high recommendations, and having seen Howl's Moving Castle, a movie recently made from another of Diana Wynne Jones books, I was looking forward to getting acquainted with Chrestomanci. I was not disappointed, the books had earned every compliment I'd heard. Written for a younger age group than Harry Potter, the books sometimes come across as a little childish, but I found that was part of their charm.
Chrestomanci isn't so much a person, but a position. As the most powerful enchanter in all the worlds, he is a kind of the chief of wizard police. He alone has nine lives and no counterparts in any of the other worlds, easily identifying the one who should take the post. Aside from The Lives of Christopher Chant, Chrestomanci plays a surprisingly minor role, often just showing up to give advice. Instead the stories revolve around other characters.
The truth is the four stories were very similar. In each, there are two main male and female characters, both children. Generally they are orphans, but sometimes they are simply misunderstood by their parents. In each case the children discover they have great powers, or at least have a great destiny in store for them. The worlds and names change, the general idea behind the plot stays the same. That is the major fault in this series.
However, one cannot deny that Chrestomanci is a fascinating character, and one is willing to put up with a bit of repetition for the sake of each tantalizing look into his life. I personally love how when he gets summoned to a world, he always appears a little out of sorts. That's understandable of course, considering he never knows when or where he will be summoned, one just needs to say his name. He is handsome, dashing and confused. ^___^
Each story contains a lot of twists and suprises, and very few people are as they appear. Here is a lovely snippet from Charmed Life, the imagery is just wonderful:
As a rule, gingerbread men were fun. They leapt up off the plate and ran when you tried to eat them, so that when you finally caught them you felt quite justified eating them. It was a fair fight, and some got away. But Mrs. Sharp's gingerbread men never did that. They simply lay, feebly waving their arms, and Cat never had the heart to eat them."
Think my calling the books "childish" might make them boring? Well you haven't read any good children's books then. These books are full of action and danger, after all Christopher dies several times in the Lives of Christopher Chant. And I had this problem...see I'd read them before going to bed, and as I got towards the last third of each book I found I couldn't put them down. I'd end up reading far longer than I'd intended, making getting up for work the next morning harder than usual. But I'd say that is a good problem to have, no?
Reading the first four books made me run out and get the other three. I actually liked the last two best of all. Either I just grew more attached to the characters, or Jones actually got better as she went along. I found the last two stories to be more inventive, not the same "orphan discovers power" stories. Though there was still a little of that going on, I like how Conrad had to enter the world of butlers and maids. The extra twist made it that much more fun. And the short stories are not just random excursions, they link up with the novels and they refer to each other. And The Pinhoe Egg brings the humour to another level. I can't get the scene of the Gammer, rooted to the bed, being carried down a hill by her family, and the whole lot of them being chased by a rogue kitchen table!
If you've seen Howl's Moving Castle, this series has the same whimsical feel to it. Though this is for a younger age group (10-12 year olds) I still recommend it to older readers. If you liked Harry Potter but thought it got too dark and adult, well here are some fun stories without the doom and gloom.
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