Description

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

Publisher Review

Praise for the Practical Magic series 'Her books are a real pleasure - practical magic' Kate Atkinson '[A] delicious fantasy of witchcraft and love in a world where gardens smell of lemon verbena and happy endings are possible' Cosmopolitan 'Dripping with pathos and otherworldly possibility' 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 master of magical realism, draws us back into the spellbinding universe of the Owens family with gorgeous prose set against a backdrop of vivid imagery' Marie Claire 'A delightful confection - witty, imaginative, unexpectedly touching' The Times 'Reading an Alice Hoffman book is like falling into a deep dream where senses are heightened and love reigns supreme... I never wanted to awaken' Jodi Picoult 'Hoffman's classy prose imbues this modern fairy tale with bite as well as beauty' Mail on Sunday 'Storytelling is in Hoffman's bones' New York Times Book Review 'Vivid and enchanting... another sublime entry in an arresting series' Esquire 'I got so swept up in this enchanting story' Reese Witherspoon 'A vivid and evocative tale - prepare to be spellbound' Woman '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 Haig