Product Description

In the worlds of Chrestomanci, anything can happen. This adventure takes place in the Italian Dukedom of Caprona, where spells are as slippery and as tricksy as spaghetti! Casa Montana and Casa Petrocchi look after the magical business in the Dukedom of Caprona, watched over by its magnificent guardian statue, the Angel. The families have been feuding for years, so when all the spells start going wrong, each naturally blames the other. Then young Tonino Montana and Angelica Petrocchi disappear. Could the terrible rumours of a White Devil who threatens Caprona be true after all?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #433525 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 272 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In books by fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones, nothing is ever as it seems. And so it is with one of her finest creations--"The Worlds of Chrestomanci".

Here, there are hundreds of other, parallel worlds--each one formed when the result of a big event in history, like a battle or an earthquake, could have been two quite different things. Both things happened, but because they could not exist together, the worlds split apart and took their new courses independently. What's more, it is common for people to have at least one exact double populating several of these other world...

Confused? Don't be--The Magicians of Caprona is the second instalment in the fascinating life of Christopher Chant (better known as Chrestomanci) and explains everything you ever needed to know about magic, witchcraft and the black arts. There are new characters, more surprises, slippery spells and an enchanted romance too!

In the Italian Dukedom of Caprona, the houses of Montana and Petrocchi control everything magical, watched over by its magnificent guardian statue, the Angel. But the families have been feuding for years so when all the spells that are meant to vanquish the threat of war from other city-states all start going wrong--each predictably blames the other. It is only when the young Tonino Montana and Angelica Petrocchi suddenly disappear that rumours of a White Devil who threatens the Angel of Caprona are taken seriously. Family differences must be cast aside to save the day from an evil enchanter, and lives cannot be saved without the involvement of the magic man they call Chrestomanci.

The Magicians of Caprona is the slightly more serious sequel to Charmed Life, and is followed by two further Chrestromanci novels--Witch Week and The Lives of Christopher Chant and a new collection of short stories, Mixed Magics. (Ages 10 and over) --John McLay

Review
"!Her hallmarks include laugh-aloud humour, plenty of magic and imaginative array of alternate worlds. Yet, at the same time, a great seriousness is present in all of her novels, a sense of urgency that links Jones's most outrageous plots to her readers' hopes and fears!" Publishers Weekly

About the Author
Diana Wynne Jones spent her childhood in Essex and has been writing fantasy novels for children since 1973. With her unique combination of magic, humour and imagination, she has been enthralling children and adults with her work ever since. She won the Guardian Award in 1977 with Charmed Life, was runner-up for the Children's Book Award in 1981, and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal. She is married with three sons, and lives in Bristol with her husband.

Customer Reviews

Its great and really follows on the sequence!
Its amazing and magical.About friendship with excitement jumping in.Its like a folded piece of paper which unfolds slowly as you read on.It leaves you really excited untill the end and you want to read more and more. Take my advice and read it!

Awesome!!!!!!! Splendid!!!!!!! Great!!!!!!!!
The Magicians of Caprona is undoubtly one of the best books i've ever read.It beats Harry Potter hands down.If you have read other Chresomanci or Diana Wynne Jones books and love it, then this is the right book for you. What more can i say? Its the best!!!!!!!! Its more than the best......its simply......AWESOME.

Delicate but funny!
DWJ adds an Italian feel to the Chrestomanci series. This book was, I think, the first book of hers I ever read. It takes the Capulet/Montague theme from Romeo and Juliet, but sets it down in a city with two warring families of magic practitioners. The main characters are children rather than teenagers, but I don't think it's meant as a reworking of the play, it's an original in itself. They have to learn to work together (despite their family feud) to try and rescue the city...any more and I would give the plot away. But it's a good read if not as *complex* as some of Diana Wynne Jones' work, and highly recommended for younger readers.