The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1 (Chrestomanci, #1-2) By Diana Wynne Jones

Martine

Long before J.K. Rowling ever invented Harry Potter, Diana Wynne Jones penned the Chrestomanci series, in which children perform magic (or fail to do so) in worlds which resemble ours but are ever so slightly different. Like Rowling, Jones infused her fantasy novels for children with enough wit and interesting ideas to make them appealing to adult readers; unlike Rowling, she never made it big, although one of her books,
Howl's Moving Castle, was adapted into an enjoyable anime movie by Hayao Miyazaki a few years ago. It's a pity Jones is not better known in the world of children's fiction, as her work is as good as Rowling's, if not actually better. While they lack the puns and pseudo-Latin that make the Potter books such a delight, Jones' stories are exciting and well-paced -- more so than some of Rowling's books. They feature great magic, superb world-building and a psychological insight which I think beats Rowling's. Jones understands children well, which makes it easy to identify with her young protagonists, even if they occasionally perform acts of magic to which few of us can aspire.

The first story in this two-book volume, Charmed Life, is set in a world which vaguely resembles today's England but seems a bit more old-fashioned and, well, magical. The protagonists are two orphaned siblings -- Eric Chant, nicknamed Cat, and his sister Gwendolen, a young witch of quite formidable powers. When the story opens, Cat and Gwendolen are taken to live with Chrestomanci, a mysterious man whose castle oozes magic and whose assistants are to teach them witchcraft. As always, Cat proves to be useless at magic. He feels stupid, doesn't feel at home in his new surroundings and generally spends a lot of time moping and feeling sorry for himself. Meanwhile, Gwendolen obviously excels at magic, but doesn't quite get the adulation she was expecting. Feeling ignored and insulted, she starts doing all sorts of terrible things to prove how powerful a witch she is. A battle of wills between Gwen and Chrestomanci ensues. Needless to say, things go horribly wrong, and people not just in this world but in all the parallel worlds of the universe may end up suffering for it, unless Cat and Chrestomanci can do something about it.

Charmed Life is a great minor classic. It was my favourite book when I was twelve, and I can still see why -- it's bold, it's inventive, it has funny touches and it's very well put together (although the beginning is a tad slow). Like all good fantasy, it deals with big issues (who should be in charge of magical powers? What are the consequences of our deeds?), but what really makes the book the gem it is, is the characterisation. Cat is a bit too weak and passive to make for a dashing hero, but his frustration and loneliness are genuine, which makes his betrayal at the end all the harsher. For her part, Gwendolen makes a fabulously spoiled and selfish older sister; her tantrums rank among the highlights of the book, and her magic, while nasty and self-serving, undeniably has flair. As for Chrestomanci, who looks vague but might just be the most powerful enchanter in the world (or indeed in all the worlds), he's a brilliant character whom Jones rightly felt deserved a few more appearances in her oeuvre. Thus she devoted the second book in this volume, The Lives of Christopher Chant, entirely to Chrestomanci. A prequel to Charmed Life, The Lives of Christopher Chant tells the story of Chrestomanci's childhood. Like Charmed Life, it features the usual fantasy staples of larger-than-life characters, travel between worlds and the discovery of unsuspected talents, but there's more to it: living goddesses, animals with magical powers, and heaps of spectacular action. For all its magic and non-stop action, though, what sets this book apart from other fantasy fare is the excellent way it deals with the more mundane aspects of life: divorce, friendship, loyalty, betrayal and thwarted dreams. Adult readers will find the story a bit more predictable than Charmed Life, but it's undeniably gripping and imaginative and features a great cameo by a cat. If you like magic and cats, chances are The Lives of Christopher Chant will be right up your alley.

Laura

I read an article a few years back -- wish I could remember which publication; hopefully they've gone under -- which claimed that Diana Wynne Jones plagiarized Harry Potter for Charmed Life. As I recall, the accusation was largely based on these facts:
(i) Harry Potter and Cat Chant are both young, male, British wizards who also happen to be orphans (and the reviewer inaccurately claimed that Cat wore glasses).
(ii) Harry and Cat are both taken to a place to learn magic.
(iii) What, you need more evidence of plagiarism than that?!
They also leveled their accusing pen at Neil Gaiman for daring to write The Books of Magic, featuring a young, British, bespectacled boy learning about magic.
Needless to say, Diana Wynne Jones has been writing excellent -- and ORIGINAL -- novels since before J.K. Rowling was alive (and so has Gaiman). But if this poorly-researched article led just one Harry Potter fan to discover the strange and beautiful world of Diana Wynne Jones, then I suppose it wasn't entirely a waste of space.
Nothing against Rowling, BTW -- I'm just not a fan of myopic Potter fanatics who consider Harry Potter the be-all and end-all of fantasy.

Laura

Diana Wynne Jones is a delight to read. Understated, clever, and filled with dry humor, this book was very hard to tear myself away from. The escapades of the Chant boys are ridiculously fun.

I was introduced to Diana Wynne Jones by Miyazaki's animated version of her book, "
Howl's Moving Castle", which I enjoyed reading after seeing the film. I picked up "The Chronicles", having heard that Jones' "Chronicles of Chrestomanci" series was superior to the "Harry Potter" books. Though "Harry Potter" is enjoyable and addictive, the "Chronicles" is wonderful on an entirely different level -- the "Harry Potter" books are fast-food, whereas "the Chronicles" is an exquisite dish, to be savored and pondered (perhaps that's a dumb analogy, but I think it makes the point). The world that Jones has created is marvelous and complex, yet entirely believable.

This first volume of "The Chronicles" is composed of two separate novels, "Charmed Life", and "The Lives of Christopher Chant". "Charmed Life" centers around Cat Chant and his sister Gwendolen, two orphans who are adopted by the enigmatic Chrestomanci, and their escapades at Chrestomanci Castle. "Charmed Life" is fun, but I found "The Lives of Christopher Chant" to be superior and more engaging, overall.

"The Lives of Christopher Chant" was, in a word, amazing. Jones' style is remarkable for so many reasons, one of which is the way she changes it to fit Christopher's age. His early years read like the dream-like, wonder-filled memories most of us form of our youngest childhood days, and as Christopher ages, the writing style becomes gradually more sophisticated and elaborate. The story of Christopher's youth is beautiful, and I won't attempt to summarize it. Stepping into his world, even through the limited medium of words, feels like a rare privilege, and does not once disappoint, right through the end of the book.

I can't wait to read the next volume!

Emily

I loved Chrestomanci as a kid. I still remember reading this edition while sitting in the hallway of my elementary school. I've reread The Lives of Christopher Chant several times over the years, and it's one of my all-time favorite books. It captures what Diana Wynne Jones is so good at: believable kids growing up in the absence of adults, inventive and interesting magic, and satisfying plots that all tie together. Christopher's exploration of the World Edge is so captivating and unique. And ! I've really never read anything like it. That's why Diana Wynne Jones is the queen.

It's interesting to reread these as an adult. I was never as much of a fan of Charmed Life (even though it's the start of Chrestomanci!), possibly because so much of the plot hinges on Cat desperately trying to keep secrets that he's sucked into despite himself. I think it was also hard for me, as a kid, to conceptualize Millie, Roger, and Julia as Christopher's family, because the book spends so much time casting them as ordinary. I have a new appreciation for the three of them as characters (even if it does feel like there's some retconning going on in later Chrestomanci books) and for the Family in general. I think it's because, as a kid, I was so invested in characters being special. It's now much easier to see that even the special characters, like Christopher, have their flaws, and that this family is the one that would make him the happiest. I also like ; I don't remember that being explained in later books, really, so I will have to go reread all of them.

Richard Derus

$1.99 on Kindlesale until 4 October 2021

Priya

(First read in May 2011. Re-read in March 2016)

Diana Wynne Jones's writing is the literary equivalent of a delicious cup of cocoa. :)

Adelina

For Christmas this year, my sister asked us instead of buying her a present, if as our gift to her we would read any book she chose for us. I was happy to oblige the request because I know my sister has great taste in books, and would pick something accordingly. I was not disappointed with her choice of the first volume in the Chrestomanci series. And thank goodness she has the rest of the series I can now borrow too!
She chose this book for me because I am a Doctor Who fan – or Whovian. If you watch Doctor Who or know anything about it, you know The Doctor is a Time traveler. Which reminded my sister of the Twelve Related Worlds. Although it’s not time travel – but rather world hopping of sorts.
The Twelve Related Worlds are the only known “Worlds” out there. As the book description says, they are parallel universes. Within each World though, is a series of worlds. The whole “what if” this happened situation will create a spin off to a new world within that world’s universe. There are 9 worlds in a series – meaning there are 9 of you out there somewhere. And that is where the Chrestomanci comes in. A person born in a world, that does not have another on the other worlds, giving him 9 lives in 1 body.
I highly recommend this book! It was a fascinating read, one that really pulled me from reality into a new world.

Joaquin Mejia

Volume 1 of "The Chronicles of Chrestomanci" contains the first two books of the series which are called "Charmed Life" and "The Lives of Christopher Chant". Cat Chant is the main character in the first book and Christopher Chant is the main character of the second book. They both live in a world where there is magic everywhere. Sadly, neither Cat nor Christopher can do magic. But they will discover that there is more to them than they expect.

Diana Wynne Jones's books are always filled with fun, magic, and wonder. But every book offers its own unique adventure. Cat's story is very different from Christopher's. Reading both of their stories in one volume made me glad about Diana Wynne Jones's ability to give her readers a different kind of adventure in every book. No wonder why so many people try to collect as much books written by her as possible.

There are four more books to read in the "Chrestomanci" series. But I guess I will read the other volumes that have two books each. I am so excited to read the other books now.

Stephanie

Diana Wynne Jones is just a fantastic writer. I loved both Charmed Life and The Lives of Christopher Chant. I want to be Chrestomanci when I grow up.

Disappointed to find a few points of colonialism/orientalism/racism in Charmed Life but was glad to see the inclusion of a brown-skinned (the way he's described he sounds Black to me) character in The Lives of Christopher Chant but then again, his people are really cruel, but smart, so... I'm betwixt and between on that.

Meredith

This volume includes "Charmed Life" and "The Lives of Christopher Chant" and I'm really glad that I read them back-to-back as they work very well as a pair. Charmed Life is good but together they form a much richer story.

Kaethe

I love the concept at the heart of these two books: the many worlds theory is true; some of these worlds use magic. I enjoy the efforts of the Chants to become who they want to be, and the process of figuring out who that is. I particularly love the character of the embodied Godddess, as well as Throgmorten. I don't even mind too much that Edwardian notions of birth-based class were transferred into a magic-using Britain, where the servants are sadly deficient in innate skill (which is somehow less offensive that the quite powerful house-elves being enslaved in Harry Potter, because of their race). Forgive me the pun, but the books really are enchanting.

Carina Shephard

Charmed Life

5 stars // read December 2021

I started reading this book with no other expectations than a vague hope of liking it. It absolutely blew me out of the water, and I actually enjoyed it significantly more than Howl’s Moving Castle *le gasp!* I actually stayed up until an unholy hour last night ~~in other words, 2 a.m.~~ reading this and I have No Regrets.

Things:

-Characters! Cat (aka Eric Chant, but nobody calls him that) tends to go along with whatever his sister wants and not really stick up for himself, and for the most part seems to be okay with it. ~~Definitely not relatable whatsoever.~~ Gwendolen, Cat’s sister, is a witch with enough ambition and ruthlessness for several politicians. One thing this book really highlights is that the main character is still a kid, doing normal kid stuff like playing with soldiers and in treehouses (albeit with some magic involved).

-The worldbuilding! 😍 The magic system is really fascinating-the limits the backstory about why some people , etc. I also liked all the fun little details- like the charm that prevents things getting stolen by yelling “this is the property of so-and-so!” when outside a certain parameter. Very practical and realistic for a magical world.

-Interestingly enough, there was one part of the story that gave me serious Narnia vibes- the part where Not sure if that was intentional or not, or if I’m seeing similarity where there isn’t any, but it was interesting to me. 🤷‍♀️

Content:
Language: one use of d***ed

Violence: Mild/Medium. MAJOR SPOILERS:

Other things to be aware of: The entire book revolves around witches, enchanters, and the like. Dark magic and necromancy pop up, but are shown in a negative light. A soothsayer attempts to tell Cat his future but kind of ends up getting possessed instead. While I love well-done magic systems, this kind of stuff is definitely in the Iffy Territory for me, personally.

The Lives of Christopher Chant

5 stars // read December 2021

In which:
-cricket is played
-Christopher loses an alarming amount of lives
-people are not exactly who they claim to be
-a cat is named Throgmorten
-and more!

Another fun installment. Loved seeing how this wove back into Charmed Life. Recommend to readers 13/14+ (mainly due to violence.)

Marielle

Second book I liked a lot, first book was a bit slow. On average 4*

Lore

2.5 stars.

Sam at A Journey Through Pages

Review from
A Journey Through Pages

Now Diana Wynne Jones has been one of my favourite authors for about 8 years now, ever since I read Year of the Griffin. Though one of my favourite memories is when Howl's Moving Castle came out and would see commercials and go: Hey! That's the name of my favourite author paired with my favourite animator, what is going on!? I have since read many books by her (rest in peace Jones, rest in peace), but Chronicles of Chrestomanci is a series that I found myself avoiding for the longest time.

I couldn't tell you exactly why I avoided the series for so long, possibly it could be because of my long standing prejudice against reading books from a male point of view (silly really, but I convinced myself that I could only connect to female narrators).

And then one time perusing the library I noticed The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Volume 1 and decided, what the heck, I love her writing style I should give it a try. And I must say, I don’t regret it at all.

Comprised of two books, both older than me, Charmed Life, whose hero is Cat Chant, and The Lives of Christopher Chant, starring Christopher Chant. They are actually in backwards chronological order as Jones wrote Charmed Life first.

The books are very stylistically Jones, very whimsical and light. It became my before-bed wind-down book because its simplicity was perfect for me to unwind to with a cup of herbal tea in bed.

Of the two, Charmed Life was my favourite as I found myself enjoying the character of Cat more than the character of Christopher, though there was a joy in reading the second book as you knew by then who Christopher is in the first and making the connections was exciting.

(More to Review on Blog)

Julie Davis

Charmed life is the first book in this two book volume. It also is the first book in the Chrestomanci series, of which I previously read The Lives of Christopher Chant, which is the number 2 book of the series and which I enjoyed immensely. So, naturally I gave it a whirl.

Cat and Gwendolyn are orphans who are wards of their little town. In their world magic is commonplace although not everyone can work magic and there are different levels of ability and talent. Cat cannot do any magic while Gwendolyn is a witch with seemingly endless abilities. After they discover that they are related to one of the most powerful wizards in the world, Cat and Gwendolyn go to live with him and his family. It is there that we learn more about what Cat and Gwendolyn are really like as the story is told by Cat and he is a very unreliable narrator. He doesn't deliberately not tell us the truth but he is fairly blind to a lot of what is obvious to the reader once they get to the castle, where everyone around them does not have an agenda. Gwendolyn has a plan to become Queen of the World. Yes, you read that right. She once had her fortune told and upon hearing that was her future Gwen determined to make it happen as soon as possible. This causes Cat quite a few problems and isn't easy on anyone else around them either.

I enjoyed reading this sequel (in the timeline) to The Lives of Christopher Chant but it was clearly oriented to a younger reader than that book was. Still, it managed to have several surprises and watching the story unfold was a fast but good read. The one thing that I would say I found problematic was how passive Cat's behavior was. But that is my own reaction and actually is quite in line with his story and history. Recommended, especially for younger readers.

Teri-K

Charmed Life - I read the the first book in this series when it came out, and didn't think much of it. The story was supposed to be about Cat, but focused mostly on his nasty older sister, Gwen. Then, toward the end, I don't think Cat was very interesting in that book - too brow-beaten and placid to make a strong MC. Also, the pacing of that story felt awkward to me. Thus, I never went on to the rest of the series. That's too bad, because I've now read a couple of the later books and I enjoyed them a lot. 2 weak stars for the first book.

The Lives of Christopher Chant - Now that I've read the "second" book in the series, which takes place before the first and tells the story of the Chrestomanci from the first book, I found I enjoyed it quite a bit. Jones' MCs aren't perfect people, but have realistic flaws that cause them some problems. I found this story well paced, interesting, and with enough twists to keep me happily reading. 4 strong stars for this story.

Jesus Flores

This is two books in one

First is Charmed life, the tale of Cat and his sister Gwen, who end up in Chrestomaci castle, Gwen is the pone who is grea and using Magic, cat is a bit slow, but Gwen wants to grow in power, thinking Chrestomaci is the villian, the things she doe to make him angry are fun, then things gobad, Gwen turn villian to the point of wanting to kill Cat. Great story, with fun, tensión and lots of magic. 5 stars

Second is the many live of Chant, which is the story of how the Chrestomanci of the previous book was the kid who learned to later become Chretomacci, and the advetures he had. The adventure part is good, but it suffers in the figure of the previous Chretomancy, the usual adult who would say nothing to the kid he is teaching abou the important thing he should really know to avoid all the problems. And after Reading several books where this become a plot device it's starting to feel like not so good. 3.5 stars

Katie Whitt

I can't believe it took me this long to actually read these books! I'm a huge Neil Gaiman and he talks a lot about Wynne Jones, but I also kept hearing it as a substitute for Harry Potter withdrawals and none of those recommendations has ever worked for me, but to be honest this fit the bill. In my opinion it's more of a mash up of HP and the Bartimaues trilogy, but since I love both those series that's perfect for me! I like that Wynne Jones doesn't write anything too precious and there are some truly vicious/unlikable characters in her books, but there are some pretty great ones too. Can't recommend enough.

Monica

I absolutely loved this book when I was younger, and it was actually one of the most influential novels of my childhood. I really need to read this book again as an adult, because no matter what my change in perspective will do to the story, I am pretty sure I will enjoy it for the sentimental value alone.

Leanne

The second book, The Lives of Christopher Chant, is simply -- and I believe this is the official term -- amazeballs. Millie may be one of the best characters ever, and Throgmorton, Christopher, and Tacroy are pretty delightful as well.

Everything ends very happily and nicely, but that's okay with me. Reading Diana Wynne Jones always cheers me up.

Jameschneider007

This book is very magical. I like the way that it makes the magical things around the characters more or less common practice. I really like that each of the magical spells that are cast seem to have some kind of a cost. It is just very good, as is volume two.

Audrey

Enjoyed very much. The setting reminded me of Howl's Moving Castle, another favorite.

Elli Williams

Cute Book, I think if you liked Harry Potter, you may like this.

BACASE

This book is unquestionably awesome.

Rindis

Somehow, I missed Dianna Wynne Jones during my reading heyday in the '80s. So my first introduction to her was through Hayao Miyazaki. My second introduction was slightly later through a friend who had gotten these collected volumes of the Chrestomanci series. Recently, I found my own used copies. I had already read the first book through Kindle, and planned to just skim it as a reminder before going into the second book, but I ended up re-reading the entire thing instead, which should serve as a recommendation right there.

In this volume, both Charmed Life and The Lives of Christopher Chant have a lot of structural similarities."Chrestomanci" is the name of a government office in an alternate England. He regulates magical access to other worlds, to prevent or at least curtail illegal trade in nasty things like dragon blood and mermaid tails. How exactly this works is not explained, nor what this means for other countries, but it does require someone of great magical power. What happens if the only person available with enough power would be more likely to conduct such trade isn't mentioned.

But, both books are from the point of view of children (around 10-12), so a lot of that is way outside the scope of the stories here. There is an underlying current of if you have the power, you're probably also temperamentally the right person for the job, no matter how unlikely it seems at first.

Charmed Life is a fun read from start to finish, but suffers from the usual DWJ habit of the plot just collapsing into a very sudden ending. It's a bit rushed, and people kind of just show up for it (okay, they were legitimately summoned to the big climax, but they're more powerful than the limited viewpoint has shown so far). The Lives of Christopher Chant is kind of a re-run of some of the same themes in a prequel, but much better developed. Chris is much more proactive, and has definite goals he tries to pursue, even if some of them turn out to be bad ideas, and the ending flows out of the action in a much more satisfying way.

So, given the first book was good enough to draw me into a re-read, and it just gets better from there.

Cheri

Such an interesting read! I’ve been looking for a book similar in coziness + adventure to Harry Potter and feel Crestomanci definitely got me there. Trying not to read or add money to J K Rowlings wealth as she continues to be transphobic, so so was relieved to discover this whole series by Jones!
Jones does plot twists excellently but she also does coziness and adventure as I said. Loved Cat and loved that I could read Charmed Life first then the next one with all the explanations for the first. Super fun read.

Jess

Kid/teen me gives this 5 stars. It was one of my favorite books growing up.
28 year old me gives this 2 stars... maybe? It was written years ago, but the fat shaming and some of the language was extremely off-putting.

Ann

Een nieuwe lievelingsschrijver ontdekt. Ik heb enorm genoten van dit boek en kan niet wachten tot ik de andere kan lezen.

Title	:	The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1 (Chrestomanci, #1-2)
Author	:	Diana Wynne Jones
Rating	:
ISBN	:	006447268X
ISBN-10	:	9780064472685
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Mass Market Paperback
Number of Pages	:	598
Publication	:	First published January 1, 1988

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1 (Chrestomanci, #1-2) by Diana Wynne Jones

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