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Practical Magic

The Beloved Novel of Love, Friendship, Sisterhood and Magic
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( 156,833 ratings, 15,021 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman is a tale of two sisters with a family legacy of witchcraft and a curse that haunts their romantic lives. Growing up under the eccentric guidance of their aunts, they navigate the complexities of love, loss, and their own magical abilities. The story weaves together themes of familial bonds, healing, and the power of embracing one's true self.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This enchanting tale may appeal to you if you enjoy stories that blend the mystical with the everyday. It explores themes of family, love, and self-discovery through generations of strong, magical women dealing with love and loss. You'll be captivated by its poetic prose and magical realism if you appreciate a touch of the supernatural in contemporary settings.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Everyone needs a little magic in their lives... and for the Owens sisters, magic is inevitable. Practical Magic is the beloved novel by Alice Hoffman, inspiration for the classic film.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The beloved classic novel, the basis of the classic film starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock.

As children, sisters Gillian and Sally were forever outsiders in their small New England town, teased, taunted, and shunned for the air of magic that seems to sparkle in the air around them. All Gillian and Sally ever wanted was to get away.

And eventually they do – one marries, the other runs as far from home as she can manage.

Years later, however, tragedy will bring the sisters back together. And they’ll find that no matter what else may happen, they’ll always have each other. An enchanting tale of love, forgiveness, and family, Practical Magic is beloved of readers of all ages.

Book 3 in the Practical Magic series.

~~Readers love Practical Magic~~

'A real pleasure' - Kate Atkinson

'Simply brilliant' – Daily Mail

‘[A] delicious fantasy of witchcraft and love in a world where gardens smell of lemon verbena and happy endings are possible’ – Cosmopolitan.

‘What do you do when your long-lost little sister shows up on your suburban front step… a dead man in the Oldsmobile that’s blocking your driveway? …You help her bury him in your backyard, underneath a wilting lilac bush that will suddenly spring back to life, bearing masses of heady flowers that remind everyone who passes by of desires they thought they’d long since stifled’ – Vogue.

‘Dark comedy and a light touch carry the story along to a truly Gothic climax, complete with heaving skies and witchery on the lawn’ – New York Times.

'A scrim of magic lies gently over [this] fictional world, in which lilacs bloom riotously in July, a lovesick boy's elbows sizzle on a diner countertop and a toad expectorates a silver ring...' – Publishers Weekly.

Series: The Practical Magic Series

View all
  • Practical Magic
    The beloved classic novel, the basis of the classic film starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. As children, sisters Gillian and Sally were forever outsiders in their small New England town, teased, taunted, and shunned for the air of magic that seems to sparkle in the air around them. All Gillian and Sally ever wanted was to get away. And...
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Magic Lessons
    Where does the story of the Owens family begin? With a baby abandoned in a snowy field in the 1600s. Under the care of Hannah Owens, little Maria learns about the “Unnamed Arts.” Hannah recognises that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. When Maria is abandoned by the man she loves, she follows him...
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Rules of Magic
    Everyone needs a little magic in their lives... The Rules of Magic is the long-awaited prequel to Practical Magic, a New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon's Book Club pick! In this sparkling prequel, we meet the Aunts from Practical Magic: sisters Frances and Jet, along with their brother Vincent. From the beginning, their mother Susanna knew they were unique:...
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Book of Magic
    ‘Full of Hoffman’s bewitching and lucid prose and vivid characters, The Book of Magic is ultimately about the very human magic of family and love and actions that echo through generations… it casts a spell’ —Matt Haig THE STUNNING, UNFORGETTABLE CONCLUSION TO THE BELOVED PRACTICAL MAGIC SERIES For centuries, the Owens family has been cursed in matters of love. When...
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Practical Magic
    Pre-order
    Practical Magic
    ‘There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.’ As children, Gillian and Sally Owens are marked as different, growing up on the margins of...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Pre-order
    Out 1 Dec 2026
  • Practical Magic: Deluxe Edition
    The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching, New York Times bestselling novel that inspired the cult-classic film starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. This beautiful deluxe trade paperback edition features: A dazzling new cover with foil details Exquisitely designed stenciled edges For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The book by Alice Hoffman is widely acclaimed for its enchanting blend of witchcraft and love, set in a vividly magical world. It's praised for its bewitching prose and the ability to transport readers into a spellbound realm of fantasy with a compelling narrative of the Owens family's adventures. Critics highlight its combination of dark comedy, dreamy storytelling, and magical realism, making it both an evocative and charming read.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781398515512

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 December 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Scribner UK

Edition: Reissue

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The Book of Magic, Magic Lessons, The World That We Knew, Practical Magic, The Rules of Magic (a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick), the Oprah’s Book Club Selection Here on Earth, The Red Garden, The Dovekeepers, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, The Marriage of Opposites, and Faithful. She lives near Boston.

Also by Alice Hoffman

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  • When We Flew Away
    There is a day you never forget, the day the whole world changes. When you close your eyes, light becomes dark, night never ends, beasts walk freely down the street, stars fall from the sky. You were young one second, and then you were far too old. You lived years in minutes and decades in weeks. You wanted to travel,...
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  • On Sale
    19% off
    The Invisible Hour
    From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of the Practical Magic series comes an enchanting novel about love, heartbreak, self-discovery, and the enduring magic of books. Sixteen-year-old Ivy is pregnant and alone. Cast out by her family, she runs away and finds safety in the arms of Joel Davis. He offers a simpler life than the one she had...
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  • The Dovekeepers
    ‘A major contribution to twenty-first-century literature’ Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate and author of Beloved In the year 70 CE, nine hundred Jews held out for months against the Roman army in ancient Israel. Only two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic event, Alice Hoffman weaves a spellbinding story about the lives of four bold and remarkable women...
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Magic Lessons
    Where does the story of the Owens family begin? With a baby abandoned in a snowy field in the 1600s. Under the care of Hannah Owens, little Maria learns about the “Unnamed Arts.” Hannah recognises that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. When Maria is abandoned by the man she loves, she follows him...
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Rules of Magic
    Everyone needs a little magic in their lives... The Rules of Magic is the long-awaited prequel to Practical Magic, a New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon's Book Club pick! In this sparkling prequel, we meet the Aunts from Practical Magic: sisters Frances and Jet, along with their brother Vincent. From the beginning, their mother Susanna knew they were unique:...
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Witches of Cambridge
    New Release
    The Witches of Cambridge
    Once upon a time, women were drowned in the river and the only witnesses were the crows in the trees. The Puritans blamed Eve for the sins of the world. That was when we began to meet in the name of Lilith, Adam's first wife—banished for refusing to do as she was told. By the 1950s, Cambridge, Massachusetts feels far...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Book of Magic
    ‘Full of Hoffman’s bewitching and lucid prose and vivid characters, The Book of Magic is ultimately about the very human magic of family and love and actions that echo through generations… it casts a spell’ —Matt Haig THE STUNNING, UNFORGETTABLE CONCLUSION TO THE BELOVED PRACTICAL MAGIC SERIES For centuries, the Owens family has been cursed in matters of love. When...
    Paperback
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Dovekeepers
    An ambitious and mesmerizing historical novel from the bestselling author of Rules of Magic. The Dovekeepers is "striking....Hoffman grounds her expansive, intricately woven, and deepest new novel in biblical history, with a devotion and seriousness of purpose" (Entertainment Weekly). Nearly two thousand years ago, nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain fortress...
    Paperback
    $5500
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • The Invisible Hour
    The latest New York Times bestseller from beloved author Alice Hoffman celebrates the enduring magic of books and is a "wonderful story of love and growth" (Stephen King). One June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it...
    Paperback
    $5300
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • New Release
    Practical Magic 2
    For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620 when Maria Owens was abandoned by the man she loved and tried for witchcraft.Centuries later, in a library in Cambridge, Massachusetts, seventy-eighty-year old Jet Owens hears the call of the deathwatch beetle, signaling that she has only seven days to live. She spends her final days with her...
    $2199
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • The Best Dog in the World
    New Release
    The Best Dog in the World
    A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Fourteen beloved authors celebrate the life-changing bond with their canine companions in this heartwarming essay collection edited by New York Times bestselling author and lifelong dog lover Alice Hoffman. Anyone who has ever been fortunate enough to share their life with a dog knows the experience is both profound and transformative. Here, in this charming...
    Hardback
    $5500
    In Stock
    Ships Monday
  • Practical Magic
    Pre-order
    Practical Magic
    ‘There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.’ As children, Gillian and Sally Owens are marked as different, growing up on the margins of...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Pre-order
    Out 1 Dec 2026

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