Practical Magic
For more than two hundred years, the Owens women had been blamed for everything that went wrong in their Massachusetts town. And Gillian and Sally endured that fate as well; as children, the sisters were outsiders. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, but all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape. One would do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they shared brought them back-almost as if by magic...
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Practical Magic
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Sally and Gillian Owens grow up in a Massachusetts house run by their two great-aunts, where every woman the Owens women love comes to a bad end. As adults the sisters get tangled in a death anyway.
Yes. The 1998 film starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman is one of the most-loved witchy movies of the 1990s. A sequel film with both actresses returning has been confirmed for 2026.
Alice Hoffman has written four Practical Magic books: Practical Magic, The Rules of Magic, Magic Lessons, and The Book of Magic. Together they form the Owens family saga across four centuries.
Practical Magic was written by Alice Hoffman, published in 1995 by Rocco.
Practical Magic is 288 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Practical Magic takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
Practical Magic is a standalone novel by Alice Hoffman, not part of a series.
Practical Magic is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.