Review By: Anonymous
Published: 2020
Series: Practical Magic Series, Book 1 of 4 (chronologically a prequel)
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Magic
Audience: Grades 12 and Adult
Content Warnings: Domestic violence, child abandonment, sexual abuse, child abuse, generational trauma, grief, kidnapping
Goodreads Link: Magic Lessons
Publisher’s Summary:
In an unforgettable novel that traces a centuries-old curse to its source, beloved author Alice Hoffman unveils the story of Maria Owens, accused of witchcraft in Salem, and matriarch of a line of the amazing Owens women and men featured in Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic.
Where does the story of the Owens bloodline begin? With Maria Owens, in the 1600s, when she’s abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby. Under the care of Hannah Owens, Maria learns about the “Nameless Arts.” Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. It is here that she learns her first important lesson: Always love someone who will love you back.
When Maria is abandoned by the man who has declared his love for her, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family. And it’s here that she learns the rules of magic and the lesson that she will carry with her for the rest of her life. Love is the only thing that matters.
Magic Lessons is a celebration of life and love and a showcase of Alice Hoffman’s masterful storytelling.
Review:
Magic Lessons, written by Alice Hoffman, is the prequel to the Practical Magic series. Set in the 1600s, it reveals the origins of the Owens family curse by following Maria Owens, a young orphan abandoned in rural England and raised by Hannah Owens, a healer who recognizes Maria’s magical gifts. As Maria learns the “Nameless Arts,” she travels from England to Curaçao and finally to colonial Massachusetts, where she falls in love, faces betrayal, and unknowingly casts the spell that shapes the future of her daughter and all Owens women to come.
The reviewer loved this book and appreciates Hoffman’s storytelling style. Maria’s transformation from an innocent child to a powerful, determined woman is compelling and emotionally resonant. The novel explores themes of female empowerment, love and betrayal, societal expectations, inherited trauma, witchcraft accusations, compassion, forgiveness, and the cost of magic.
Because of its mature themes and historical depth, the reviewer recommends this book for young adults, mature teenagers, and adults. It offers rich curricular connections, including Puritan New England, the Salem Witch Trials, early medicine, and the role of women in early American society.
Suggested activities include a character ancestry map tracing the Owens lineage, and creative writing exercises such as composing modern spells or letters inspired by Maria’s Book of Shadows.
