

Magic Lessons is a celebration of life and love and a showcase of Alice Hoffman's masterful storytelling. 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. Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family. When Maria is abandoned by the man who has declared his love for her, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. It is here that she learns her first important lesson: Always love someone who will love you back. 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. 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. I was blown away.' Wally Lamb 'Alice Hoffman takes seemingly ordinary lives and lets us see and feel extraordinary things.' Amy Tan 'Miss Hoffman heals wounds with the gentle touch of an angel' Joseph Heller 'Oh, what a book this is! Hoffman's exploration of the world of good and evil, and the constant contest between them, is unflinching and the humanity she brings to us - it is a glorious experience.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. Put The Dovekeepers at the pinnacle of Hoffman's extraordinary body of work. But most of all, this novel is one that will never be forgotten by a reader.' Jodi Picoult 'In her remarkable new novel, Alice Hoffman holds a mirror to our ancient past as she explores the contemporary themes of sexual desire, women's solidarity in the face of strife, and the magic that's quietly present in our day-to-day living. This novel is a testament to the human spirit and to love rising from the ashes of war. PRAISE for ALICE HOFFMAN 'Beautiful, harrowing, a major contribution to twenty-first century literature' Toni Morrison 'I am still reeling from The Dovekeepers - from the history Alice Hoffman illuminates, from the language she uses to bring these women to life. Because magic has rules, and they must be obeyed. When Maria is abandoned by the man she loves, she invokes the curse that will haunt her family for centuries. Maria has a gift for them - a gift that may well prove her undoing. Gentle Hannah Owens takes the baby in, and as the child grows, Hannah teaches little Maria about the 'Unnamed Arts'. Hoffmans striking latest entry in her Practical Magic series (after The Rules of Magic) turns to 1664 rural England for the origin story of Maria Owens. It begins with a baby abandoned in a snowy English field in the 1600s. The extraordinary and enchanting novel tracing a centuries-old curse back to its beginning from the author of PRACTICAL MAGIC and THE DOVEKEEPERS For centuries, the women of the Owens family have been cursed: any man who loves an Owens woman will die.
