From Publishers Weekly
Part of the series featuring debonair enchanter Chrestomanci, this comic fantasy follows two orphans, one of whom is a witch, when they are summoned to live in a castle full of necromancers. Ages 10-up. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8–In this recording of Diana Wynne Jones's first novel in the Chrestomanci quartet (Morrow Avon, pap. 1998), British actor Gerard Doyle strikes just the right tone as he delivers the story of Cat Chant and his sister Gwendolen, orphaned as the result of a tragic boat accident and adopted by their relative, the mysterious sorcerer Chrestomanci. Cat begins to settle in at Chrestomanci Castle, but Gwendolen hates it. No one—least of all Chrestomanci—seems to appreciate Gwendolyn's magical powers, and after weeks of playing nasty magical practical jokes on the various inhabitants of the Castle, Gwendolyn finally leaves by going into a parallel world and replacing herself in Cat's world with a double called Janet. Cat and Janet eventually find the way to set the worlds right again, with some help from unexpected quarters. Doyle's pacing and voices are well executed and entertaining. This would be a good way to introduce a new generation of children to Diana Wynne Jones's magical fantasy, and it will encourage them to read the other novels in the Chrestomanci series.–Sarah Flowers, Santa Clara County Library, San Jose, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


"The concept is ingenious."


"An outstandingly inventive and entertaining novel. Altogether a delightful book."

Book Description
A bewitching comic fantasy by a master of the supernaturalCat 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 the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.

Download Description
"PerfectBound e-book exclusive extras: Diana Wynne Jones's The Chronicles of Chrestomanci: Nine Notes; Author Interview A bewitching comic fantasy by a master of the supernatural! 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 the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack."

Card catalog description
Gwendolen Chant and her brother Cat find the Chrestomancie Castle family's magic powers difficult to counter with the inferior powers of the Coven Street witches.

From the Publisher
Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the enchanter Chrestomanci refuses to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack. "Altogether a delightful book." --Times Literary Supplement. "The concept is ingenious." --The Horn Book.

About the Author
Diana Wynne Jones was raised in the village of Thaxted, in Essex, England. She has been a compulsive storyteller for as long as she can remember enjoying most ardently those tales dealing with witches, hobgoblins, and the like. Ms. Jones lives in Bristol, England, with her husband, a professor of English at Bristol University. They have three sons and two granddaughters. In Her Own Words..."I decided to be a writer at the age of eight, but I did not receive any encouragement in this ambition until thirty years later. I think this ambition was fired-or perhaps exacerbated is a better word-by early marginal contacts with the Great, when we were evacuated to the English Lakes during the war. The house we were in had belonged to Ruskin's secretary and had also been the home of the children in the books of Arthur Ransome. One day, finding I had no paper to draw on, I stole from the attic a stack of exquisite flower-drawings, almost certainly by Ruskin himself, and proceeded to rub them out. I was punished for this. Soon after, we children offended Arthur Ransome by making a noise on the shore beside his houseboat. He complained. So likewise did Beatrix Potter, who lived nearby. It struck me then that the Great were remarkably touchy and unpleasant (even if, in Ruskin's case, it was posthumous), and I thought I would like to be the same, without the unpleasantness."I started writing children's books when we moved to a village in Essex where there were almost no books. The main activities there were hand-weaving, hand-making pottery, and singing madrigals, for none of which I had either taste or talent. So, in intervals between trying to haunt the church and sitting on roofs hoping to learn to fly, I wrote enormous epic adventure stories which I read to my sisters instead of the real books we did not have. This writing was stopped, though, when it was decided I must be coached to go to University. A local philosopher was engaged to teach me Greek and philosophy in exchange for a dollhouse (my family never did things normally), and I eventually got a place at Oxford."At this stage, despite attending lectures by J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, I did not expect to be writing fantasy. But that was what I started to write when I was married and had children of my own. It was what they liked best. But small children do not allow you the use of your brain. They used to jump on my feet to stop me thinking. And I had not realized how much I needed to teach myself about writing. I took years to learn, and it was not until my youngest child began school that I was able to produce a book which a publisher did not send straight back."As soon as my books began to be published, they started coming true. Fantastic things that I thought I had made up keep happening to me. The most spectacular was Drowned Ammet. The first time I went on a boat after writing that book, an island grew up out of the sea and stranded us. This sort of thing, combined with the fact that I have a travel jinx, means that my life is never dull."Diana Wynne Jones is the author of many highly praised books for young readers, as well as three plays for children and a novel for adults. She lives in Bristol, England, with her husband, a professor of English at Bristol University. They have three sons.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A bewitching comic fantasy by a master of the supernatural

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 the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the enchanter Chrestomanci refuses to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.

"Altogether a delightful book." Times Literary Supplement.

"The concept is ingenious."The Horn Book.

SYNOPSIS

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 the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle.

FROM THE CRITICS

Horn Book

The concept is ingenious.

Times Literary Supplement

An outstandingly inventive and entertaining novel. Altogether a delightful book.

Times Literary Supplement

An outstandingly inventive and entertaining novel. Altogether a delightful book.

Publishers Weekly

Part of the series featuring debonair enchanter Chrestomanci, this comic fantasy follows two orphans, one of whom is a witch, when they are summoned to live in a castle full of necromancers. Ages 10-up. (May)

Publishers Weekly