I have two books hanging over from 2017 that are yet to be reviewed, mainly because I squeezed reading them into the last few weeks of the year, and then Christmas came along.
So, first up, at number 78 on the list, is the 'Chrestomanci' series by the British fantasy and sci-fi queen Diana Wynne Jones. For those of you who have never heard of her, she wrote Howl's Moving Castle, on which the very famous Studio Ghibli film is based (albeit loosely). Anyway, the list called for 'Chrestomanci: The Lives of Christopher Chant', but as I couldn't get hold of that one, I read the first book in the Chrestomanci series 'Charmed Life'.
Who's the dapper chap on the cover I hear you ask? Well that would be Chrestomanci himself, extremely powerful enchanter, ruler of his very own magical kingdom, and owner of a glorious amount of flamboyant dressing gowns! But the story's not really about him. Instead, the story follows the lives of orphaned brother and sister Cat and Gwendolen Chant. Cat and Gwendolyn are very different. Cat, or Eric as he is really called, is a timid boy with low expectations of his magical powers, always eclipsed by his bossy, and rather vile, sister Gwendolen. She appears to have all the magical talent in the family. However, when she starts taking extra magic lessons from a slightly dodgy wizard their lives take an interesting turn.
Published in 1977, this book sits among some of the classics of children's fantasy literature, in particular the magical school genre, which was popular at the time, and that J.K Rowling so wonderfully revisited in the Harry Potter series. In my opinion, if done well this genre never gets old! For children it allows a level of escapism, through an already very familiar setting of school. Unlike something like Ursula Le Guin's 'A Wizard of Earthsea' however, the story is set in a domestic setting rather than a boarding school. However, the school room and the things the children get up to still very much sit within that genre.
Cat and Gwendolen are sent to live at Chrestomanci Castle, with the great enchanter and his family. Gwendolen is convinced that the move is down to her amazing talents, and that she will be rich and spoilt forever, but that is not quite the case. I might not have anything to do with her at all....
When no one takes any notice of her magical abilities Gwendolen begins to wages war on Chrestomanci Castle and it's inhabitants. Determined to show the powerful enchanter what she can do she begins using her magic in dangerous and selfish ways, causing all kinds of nasty spectacles and horrid apparitions. As ever, cool and calm Chrestomanci ignores everything she does, no matter how vile, so Gwendolen decided she's had enough and disappears into a parallel world. However, she doesn't go without leaving something for Cat, a replacement sister! Enter poor old Janet, a non-magical (we could call her a muggle) girl from another parallel world. She is identical to Gwendolyn in looks but luckily not in temperament. She is a kind girl, who is totally confused by the whole thing, and frankly slightly annoyed that she's been dragged from her nice cosy life into Cat's world.
As you probably know by now, I hate a plot line where the children don't tell the adults what's gone wrong. Honesty is the best policy I was always told, but it clearly doesn't spin a good yarn!
Cat and Janet don't tell anyone that Janet is not Gwendolen! But what a mess the real Gwendolen has left for them to clear up! There is the issue of Cat's life for starters, but I won't spoil that for you as it's a nice twist. And then there is the very angry boyfriend of the maid who challenges Cat to a magical duel for something that Gwendolen did! Plus the whole story climaxes in a massive magical mutiny! I shan't give you all the details, but hopefully these events, plus a whole range of slightly bizarre, and even villainous characters, will entice you dip your toe into the World of Chrestomanci.
Thanks for reading, L x
Next up another catch up post about Dick King Smith's classic story 'The Sheep Pig'
No comments:
Post a Comment