Practical Magic

The Beloved Novel of Love, Friendship, Sisterhood and Magic

About The Book

‘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

About The Author

Photograph © Alyssa Peek

Alice Hoffman is the author of thirty works of fiction, including Practical Magic, The Dovekeepers, Magic Lessons, and The Book of Magic. Visit her website: AliceHoffman.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner UK (October 19, 2017)
  • Length: 288 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781471169205

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Raves and Reviews

 

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

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More books in this series: The Practical Magic Series

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