1977 fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones
Charmed Life is a children's fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones published by Macmillan Children's Books in 1977. It was the first Chrestomanci book and it remains a recommended introduction to the series. Greenwillow Books published a US edition within the calendar year.
The Chrestomanci books are collectively named after a powerful enchanter and British government official in a world parallel to ours, where magic is accepted as commonplace. The Chrestomanci is a government office whose duties include the supervision and enforcement of magical law, and only the most powerful enchanter is up to the task. "Charmed Life" is set during the tenure of Christopher Chant, who serves as Chrestomanci in five of the seven books and is often referred to by his title.
Plot summary.
When the Chant children, Gwendolen and Eric (known as “Cat") are orphaned after their parents die in a boating accident, Gwendolen petitions Chrestomanci to let them live at Chrestomanci Castle where she can further her magical training under the tutelage of the world's most powerful enchanter after a fortune teller tells her he will lead her to becoming a queen. The siblings move to Chrestomanci's castle where they meet him, his wife Millie and their two children Roger and Julia. Spiteful after Chrestomanci bans her from using magic, Gwendolen starts a feud with Julia, charms ghouls to stalk people through windows, spelling the churches stained glass windows and turning Cat's fiddle into a cat called Fiddle. But when Chrestomanci fails to express interest or awe in her skill, spoiled Gwendolen buys illegal products from Mr Baslam and starts a dangerous spell with Cat, who is aware of the dangers but scared of disappointing her. Chrestomanci however, manages to stop her and punishes them both severely, removing Gwendolen's witch abilities. The next morning, Gwendolen has disappeared and a confused lookalike named Janet has taken her place.
Working to hide Gwendolen's disappearance, Cat and Janet are forced to contend with many complications Gwendolen left in her wake, and Cat must come to terms with his sister's abandonment and his denial of her exploitive nature. Janet uncovers a plot which Gwendolen was involved in with the villagers, who are unaware of their switch, but is unable to discover the actual contents due to instructions left by Gwendolen. The two resolve to runaway to Janet's world with no magic. Janet realises the scope of Gwendolen's cruelty when she discovers a book of nine matches, five of which are already burnt. When Cat foolishly strikes a match and finds himself engulfed by flames, Janet's suspicions are confirmed: Cat, who has always believed himself utterly lacking in magical ability, is actually a nine-lived enchanter and is thus destined one day to take over the office of Chrestomanci, and Gwendolen has been leeching Cat's magic and wasting his lives to fuel her own magic. 
Two weeks later, Cat and Janet attempt to open a portal to Janet's world using ingredients Gwendolen had previous stolen for her own escape, but instead conjure a vision of Gwendolen in an alternate universe where she is queen. Gwendolen's allies appear and capture the two children before forcing Cat to summon Chrestomanci before quickly using his weakness - silver - to subdue him. Gwendolen switches places with Janet, and reveals her plan to sacrifice her brother on the magic plinth before killing Chrestomanci in order to permanently open gateways to other worlds. When Gwendolen reveals to the others that they will have to sacrifice Cat multiple times as he has 9 lives, they are angered as it means he is a powerful enchanter and they will also need to kill him with his weakness on the final life. Gwendolen realises one of Cat's lives is stored in Fiddle as she used his magic to turn him into a cat and so they all split up to look for him. Cat is heartbroken by Gwendolen's betrayal, but Chrestomanci galvanises him into taking back enough magic to break his bonds as the witches return. Chrestomanci manages to hold them off, but is unable to call Millie who has enough magic to defeat them. Cat, realising he needs to take his power back, confronts Gwendolen and stands up to her managing to pull his magic back and rendering her useless.
The rest of the family arrive and capture everyone except for Gwendolen who uses her last remaining magic to seal herself in the other world, causing Janet to reappear. Chrestomanci offers to send her back, but Janet refuses as although she prefers her old life the double who took her own place is much happier. Janet is adopted into the family as Cat begins training to become the new Chrestomanci.
Characters.
The character of Christopher Chant (the Chrestomanci in this novel) appears as a young boy in "The Lives of Christopher Chant" and as a teenager in "Conrad's Fate."
Awards.
Jones and "Charmed Life" won the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers. The novel was also a commended runner up for the Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject. It also won the German Preis der Leseratten. 
Translations.
Dutch and Finnish-language translations were published in 1980, followed by German. Danish, Italian, and French editions were published in the 1990s (when the four early novels were in print); later Polish and Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese, Serbian.
Film Adaptation.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures purchased the movie rights to make a live action adaptation.
Notes.
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References.
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