Book Review: Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman

By georgelthomas on 15 Nov 2024 • ( 0 )

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. Today, I am reviewing Alice Hoffman’s Magic Lessons.

Magic Lessons was published in 2020 by Simon and Schuster and is 416 pages long.

The Plot
Magic Lessons is the prequel to Hoffman’s bestselling novel Practical Magic and serves as an origin story for the Owens family of witches. The book, set in the 1600s, follows the story of Maria Owens, a young woman who is abandoned as a baby and taken in by a stranger previously accused of witchcraft. This story is where it all begins, where the curse that affects all of Maria’s descendants is born.

Characters
Maria Owens
Maria is the protagonist of the story. Born in the 1600s, she begins life in England, where she’s taught the magical arts by her adoptive mother, Hannah. After a tragic series of events, Maria sets sail for America, encountering even more challenges while navigating life, love, loss, and betrayal. Throughout the novel, Maria’s courage and determination are pushed to their limits, especially when her daughter, Faith, is stolen.

Faith Owens
Faith is the daughter of Maria Owens and John Hathorne. Born in America, she inherits her mother’s magical abilities. She’s curious and adventurous and loves to explore the forests and the rivers around her home. She also develops a connection with animals, enabling her to communicate with them. The older she gets, the more Faith learns to hone her powers, sometimes going a little farther than her mother would like.

Hannah Owens
Hannah is Maria’s adopted mother. She finds Maria as a baby, wrapped up in a basket in a snowy field near her cottage. Hannah is a wise and loving woman who teaches Maria the ways of magic and guides her through her first years of life. She is a good and positive influence on Maria, and despite her early death, her teachings live on through her daughter.

Rebecca and Robbie
Rebecca, Maria’s biological mother, leaves her in the snowy field to be found by Hannah. Later, Rebecca comes back to see what has become of Maria and to ask Hannah for a way to break a love spell she had placed on her husband ten years earlier. When Hannah helps her, it leads to a whole host of troubles and a new life for Maria.
Robbie, Maria’s father, is an actor and Rebecca’s true love. They both appear to be a little selfish, with their only selfless acts being Rebecca giving Maria away and then Rebecca and Robbie helping Maria escape to the Americas before they meet an untimely fate.

Thomas Lockland
Thomas is Rebecca’s husband. A long time ago, she placed a love spell on him, and years after realising she had made a terrible mistake, she asks Hannah for help reversing it. Doing so fills Lockland’s heart with hate, and he ties Hannah to her front door and burns down her cottage.

John Hathorne
John is a married Puritan judge who has an affair with Maria Owens, resulting in a daughter, Faith.
He ends up becoming a prominent proponent of persecuting witches, including Maria, inevitability leading to her conviction and hanging — which Maria miraculously escapes. Before her near-hanging, Maria curses anyone who would fall in love with an Owens, culminating in the long line of Owens over the centuries who’ve lost the loves of their lives.

Samuel Dias
Samuel is the son of the ship owner who takes Maria to Boston. During the trip, she heals him and the two form a connection.
Samuel plays an essential role in Maria’s journey as a mentor, friend, and, later, much more.

Martha Chase
Martha is a woman who has grown bitter with her lot in life. She has always wanted a child but didn’t ever have one, leaving her desperate. Spying Faith in a shop one day, Martha decides to steal her away by plotting to have Maria arrested for witchcraft. When Maria is inevitability arrested, Martha offers to look after Faith because prison is no place for a little girl, but it is all a lie so she can keep Faith for herself.

Writing Style
Alice Hoffman’s lyrical and evocative writing style is, as always, wonderfully evident in this book, and as with the other books in the series, Magic Lessons is nothing short of gripping.

What I loved most about this book is how Hoffman seamlessly weaves historical details with an intriguing plot and well-developed characters. The details were meticulously researched and vividly described, making me feel like I was right there with Maria as she journeyed from England and then through Massachusetts, where the fear and suspicion of anything deemed “other” was rampant.

Just like with the previous two books in the series, the cast of characters is well-drawn and multi-dimensional. Each feels fully fleshed out and layered, and not a single character feels wasted, with each playing a prominent role in shaping who Maria is.

Final Thoughts
Overall, Magic Lessons is beautifully written and captivating; Hoffman’s skilful storytelling and attention to detail make this book a must-read for historical fiction, magic and romance fans. If you were into the other ‘Practical Magic’ books, you will love this one, too.

I am giving Magic Lessons a 9/10.

Have you read any of the ‘Practical Magic’ books? What did you think?

Thank you, as ever, for stopping by to read my review.

Until next time,

George