Wyrd Sisters
Wyrd Sisters is the sixth Discworld novel and the second to feature Terry Pratchett's witches of Lancre, published in 1988. The kingdom of Lancre, a small mountain principality on the Disc, has just suffered a regicide. King Verence has been stabbed by his ambitious cousin Duke Felmet on a dark and stormy night at the urging of the duke's even more ambitious wife. The dying king's loyal servant escapes the castle with the infant prince and a heavy crown and dies in the woods near the coven of Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and the wet young witch Magrat Garlick. Reluctantly the witches take charge of both baby and crown, parking them with a traveling theatrical troupe for safekeeping. Pratchett uses the setup as a frame for one of his most loving satires of Shakespeare, drawing in equal parts on Macbeth and Hamlet, complete with a stage-loving young actor king and an offstage chorus that occasionally requires a bucket.
Themes & atmosphere
Also by Terry Pratchett
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What you might want to know about Wyrd Sisters
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
On a thundery night above Lancre, the witches Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and the young Magrat Garlick receive the infant heir to the throne and a crown from a dying soldier, after the king has been murdered by Duke Felmet.
Yes. It is part of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and the second Witches subseries book, after Equal Rites.
No. Discworld is divided into subseries, and Wyrd Sisters works as a starting point for the Witches arc.
Wyrd Sisters was written by Terry Pratchett, published in 1988 by Transworld Publishers Limited.
Wyrd Sisters is 322 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, Wyrd Sisters takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
Wyrd Sisters is a standalone novel by Terry Pratchett, not part of a series.
Wyrd Sisters is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.