The Book of Magic

The Book of Magic is the 2021 installment in Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic series, which includes elements of both fantasy and magical realism. The series opens with Practical Magic, published in 1995 (which was made into a film in 1998). The 2017 prequel, The Rules of Magic, is about the lives of Jet, Franny, and Vincent when they’re young and live in New York, while Magic Lessons (2020) digs deeper into the past, detailing the life of Maria Owens, who cursed her descendants: Those they love will die.

In The Rules of Magic, Jet, Franny, and Vincent’s mother, Susanna, tries to keep them from learning about magic, but their inherent gifts are too strong. They stay with their aunt, Isabelle, in her house on Magnolia Street, and she teaches them about their lineage. Vincent starts doing black (left-handed) magic and sleeping with various women, including a distant cousin, April. April’s daughter, Regina, gives birth to Sally and Gillian. Eventually, Vincent gives up left-handed magic and comes out as gay, and (after faking his death) lives with his beloved, William, in France. Jet falls in love with Levi, Reverend Willard’s son.