Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman - Available

Magic Lessons

#.25 in series

by Alice Hoffman
Sutton Foster
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
The extraordinary novel tracing a centuries-old curse back to its beginning from the author of PRACTICAL MAGIC and THE DOVEKEEPERS
We first met the Owens in the glorious novel Practical Magic. We discovered the tragedy of the Owens siblings in Rules of Magic. Now we learn how it all began... with a baby abandoned in a snowy English field in the 1600s. Under the care of gentle Hannah Owens, little Maria learns about the 'Unnamed Arts'. Maria has a gift for them - a gift that may well prove her undoing.
When Maria is abandoned by the man she loves, she invokes the curse that will haunt her family for centuries. Because magic has rules, and they must be followed. This is the lesson that Maria will carry with her for the rest of her life, and pass on to her children and her children's children.
PRAISE for ALICE HOFFMAN
'Beautiful, harrowing, a major contribution to twenty-first century literature'
Toni Morrison
'I am still reeling from The Dovekeepers – from the history Alice Hoffman illuminates, from the language she uses to bring these women to life. This novel is a testament to the human spirit and to love rising from the ashes of war. But most of all, this novel is one that will never be forgotten by a reader.'
Jodi Picoult
'In her remarkable new novel, Alice Hoffman holds a mirror to our ancient past as she explores the contemporary themes of sexual desire, women's solidarity in the face of strife, and the magic that's quietly present in our day-to-day living. Put The Dovekeepers at the pinnacle of Hoffman's extraordinary body of work. I was blown away.'
Wally Lamb
'Alice Hoffman takes seemingly ordinary lives and lets us see and feel extraordinary things.'
Amy Tan
'Miss Hoffman heals wounds with the gentle touch of an angel'
Joseph Heller
'Oh, what a book this is! Hoffman's exploration of the world of good and evil, and the constant contest between them, is unflinching; and the humanity she brings to us – it is a glorious experience.'
Elizabeth Strout

  • Creators

  • Series

    Practical Magic

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 6, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781471197246
      • File size: 386910 KB
      • Duration: 13:26:03

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Tony Award winner Sutton Foster narrates the prequel to PRACTICAL MAGIC. In 1664, Hannah Owens takes in baby Maria and teaches her the craft. Maria grows up and falls in love but is abandoned. She follows the object of her affection to Salem, Massachusetts, where she invokes the curse that will affect generations, and, in the process, she learns the real rules of magic. Foster sings beautifully and keeps to a steady pace for the descriptive story. Her emphasis on the word "blood" as a spell ingredient highlights its importance as compared to common items, which are read softly. Whispered pleas drive home the characters' desperation. The sweetly confident voice of a young witch contrasts with the dry, sardonic tone of the embittered but fair man assisting her in her journey. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 3, 2020
      Hoffman’s striking latest entry in her Practical Magic series (after The Rules of Magic) turns to 1664 rural England for the origin story of Maria Owens, matriarch of the series’ clan of witches. Maria is discovered as an infant by Hannah Owens, a practitioner of the “Nameless Art” who raises Maria and teaches her natural remedies and witchcraft. As a girl, Maria has an innate sense of magic and emulates Hannah’s desire to help the scores of women who secretly come to her for help—mostly for problems with their love lives. After Maria is reclaimed at age 10 by her birth mother, Rebecca, another Nameless Art practitioner, Maria comes to understand—like other heroines in Hoffman’s “Magic” books—that love can be unexpectedly overpowering. Maria becomes ensnared in a complicated relationship and has a daughter out of wedlock. As Maria’s story takes her from England to Massachusetts and New York, Hoffman offers an eye-opening account of how single women were treated in the 17th century, particularly when their knowledge or intelligence was deemed threatening. While the musings on “enchantments and remedies” grow repetitive, Maria’s page-turning adventure is thoroughly enjoyable. Hoffman’s redemptive story of a fiercely independent woman adds an engrossing, worthwhile chapter to the series.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading