Magic Lessons: A Prequel to Practical Magic

Description

Where does the story of the Owens family begin? With a baby abandoned in a snowy field in the 1600s. Under the care of Hannah Owens, little Maria learns about the "Unnamed Arts." Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. When Maria is abandoned by the man she loves, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family. And it's is here that she learns the rules of magic and the lesson that she will carry with her for the rest of her life. Love is the only thing that matters.

Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The Book of Magic, Magic Lessons, The World That We Knew, Practical Magic, The Rules of Magic (a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick), the Oprah's Book Club Selection Here on Earth, The Red Garden, The Dovekeepers, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, The Marriage of Opposites, and Faithful. She lives near Boston.

'Enticing... conjures up spells, herbal lore and romance in harsh, historical times' Daily Mail 'We first met the Owens in the brilliant novel Practical Magic, then we discovered the tragedy of the siblings in Rules of Magic. Now, we learn how it all began...' Bella 'A vivid and evocative tale - prepare to be spellbound' Woman 'Storytelling is in Hoffman's bones, and the skill with which she dispenses information and compresses time, so that a year passes in a sentence, so that a tragedy witnessed becomes the propeller for a hundred-page subplot, is (forgive me) bewitching' New York Times Book Review 'Vivid and enchanting, with a can't-miss-it foray into the Salem Witch Trials, Magic Lessons is another sublime entry in an arresting series' Esquire 'Hoffman writes deftly, and often beautifully, about nature, and she can plot like, well, a witch, casting a spell on her reader' Boston Globe 'A gorgeous new novel you won't want to miss' Bustle 'In Hoffman's luminous prose, all characters, even the villains, are not only vividly, but also compassionately, rendered... Hoffman adeptly highlights that how one uses a talent, selflessly or selfishly, has a sweeping impact on many lives' Booklist