In 1995, Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic whisked readers away to a world of magic in a small town in Massachusetts, home to the Owens family of witches. Two and a half decades later, the cultural influence of this spectacular novel has only grown. A 1998 film adaptation starred Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, and Hoffman’s 2017 prequel to the novel, The Rules of Magic, was an instant New York Times bestseller and a Reese’s Book Club selection.
Now Berkley, a member of Penguin Group, a Penguin Random House company, is issuing a special 25th anniversary edition, with a new introduction from the author.
In the same way the book stars three generations of women, Hoffman’s novel has been embraced by generation after generation of reader.
In her new introduction, Hoffman says her tale “is a book about magic, but more importantly, it’s an ode to sisterhood and family, and to the power of love.”
The book has received much praise:
“A beautiful, moving book about the power of love and the desires of the heart.” — Denver Post
“Charmingly told, and a good deal of fun.” — The New York Times Book Review
“One of her most lyrical works … Hoffman is at her best.” — San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
“Written with a light hand and rhythm … Practical Magic has the pace of a fairy tale but with the impact of accomplished fiction.” — People
Practical Magic follows three generations of Owens witches contending with their magical lineage. While the older Owens women have come to terms with their abilities — and the disdain it brings from others — the family’s youngest girls, sisters Gillian and Sally Owens, want nothing more than to escape.
But what these sisters find is that their ties to their family will always bring them back together … as if by magic.
https://booktrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Alice-Hoffman_Deborah-Feingold.jpg
Photo Credit: Deborah Feingold
About Alice Hoffman:
Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The World That We Knew, The Rules of Magic, The Marriage of Opposites, Practical Magic, The Red Garden, the Oprah’s Book Club selection Here on Earth, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, and The Dovekeepers. Her most recent novel is The World That We Knew. Her new novel Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic will be published this fall. She lives near Boston.