Charmed Life | |
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Cover of Charmed Life |
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Author(s) | Diana Wynne Jones |
Country | Great Britain |
Language | English |
Series | The Chrestomanci Series |
Genre(s) | Children's, Fantasy novel |
Publisher | Macmillan |
Publication date | 1977 |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
Pages | 261 pp |
ISBN | 0333214269 |
OCLC Number | 3433640 |
LC Classification | PZ7.J684 Ch 1977 |
Charmed Life is a 1977 novel by British children's author Diana Wynne Jones. It was the first book in the Chrestomanci series of novels to be published. The series name comes from the way the plots involve a series of powerful nine-lived enchanters who carry the title Chrestomanci. Carriers of the title are essentially government administrators who supervise the use of magic on Earth.
The character of Christopher Chant (the Chrestomanci in this novel) appears as a young boy in The Lives of Christopher Chant and as a teenager in Conrad's Fate.
Cat is a young boy, who is sent to live at Chrestomanci Castle after a steamboat accident causes his parents to drown. He originally appears to have no magic and indeed holds this notion himself. As Charmed Life progresses it is revealed that Cat is actually an immensely powerful enchanter with nine lives. Unbeknownst to Cat, his sister Gwendolen constantly uses and abuses Cat's magic. He only has three lives remaining, having lost his first life when he only just survived being born, his second when Gwendolen had put his lives into a book of matches (to make them easier for her to use), the third when he drowned in the boating accident that killed his parents, the fourth when Gwendolen used it to turn his fiddle into a cat (which he kept as a pet and named Fiddle), the fifth when Gwendolen used it to take her into her new world where she reigned as queen, and the sixth when he burned a match from his 'life book' of matches in an attempt to prove that he didn't have nine lives and the matches weren't connected to him. This matchbox is his main weakness. He is a kind boy, but he follows others a bit more than he should. His sister, Gwendolen, technically rules him, though he doesn't mind. He loves playing the violin, despite being quite terrible at it and also suffers from chronic car-sickness. Cat is training to be the next Chrestomanci.
Chrestomanci- Christopher Chant
Chrestomanci is very unpredictable and random. He is a nine-lifed enchanter like Cat, but only has two lives left after a series of accidents took place when he was younger. Chrestomanci has very strong magic and must appear whenever summoned; he works for the government, controlling magic and keeping hold on wayward witches and wizards.
Julia is one of Chrestomanci's two children. She is quite fat and normally nice, but proves to have a vengeful streak when Gwendolen provokes her. Julia's magic seems to center on a handkerchief. However, her magic is lesser than Cat's, and she often finds her attempts at revenge disrupted by him.
Roger is Julia's brother and the other child of Chrestomanci. He tends to be laid back and not as hot-tempered as his sister. Roger is more inclined to cooperate with Cat and to entertain him. He usually ignores Gwendolen, unless things get too out of hand.
The novel won the Guardian Award in 1978 and was commended for the 1977 Carnegie Medal. It also won the German Preis der Leseratten.
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