Witches tend to be a very literary bunch; we love to read. And when we’re not reading spell books and witchcraft 101 manuals, most of us love a good fiction to sink our teeth into. So in the spirit of sharing the love, here is a list of books about or featuring witches that I own and love.
Fantasy.
The Witches of Eileanan series by Kate Forsyth - Dragonclaw, The Pool of Two Moons, The Cursed Towers, The Forbidden Land, The Skull of the World, The Fathomless Caves. Set in the land of Eileanan, this series follows the adventures of Isabeau and Iseult, twin sisters with powerful magical gifts. Epic battles, high magic, witches casting circles and revering nature, magical creatures, and a cast of strong female protagonists and antagonists. This was the series that first got me interested in witchcraft lo those many years ago. A fantastic read, you won’t regret it!
The Rhiannon’s Ride trilogy by Kate Forsyth - The Tower of Ravens, The Shining City, The Heart of Stars. Forsyth returns us to the magical world of Eileanan, set some 20 years after the events of The Fathomless Caves. A whole new cast of characters to love, and the return of some old favourites, will delight fans of the original series and newcomers to Eileanan alike.
The Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire - Wicked: the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, Out of Oz. Read the book that led to one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time. Wicked recounts the story of Oz, but from the Wicked Witch of the West’s point of view, and takes a close look at the nature of evil and wickedness. While A Lion Among Men fell a little short in my opinion, the series as a whole is fantastic, and turns the loveable, musical world of Oz on its head into an industrial revolutionary-era dystopia, complete with egomaniacal dictators, oppressed minorities, civil war, domestic terrorists, and a persecuted goddess-based religion. So much happened before Dorothy came along, and so much happened after she left.
The Witches Saga of Discworld by Terry Pratchett - Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Masquerade, Carpe Jugulum. If you love fantasy but want a bit of a laugh, then these are the books for you. Whilst the Discworld novels as a whole are fantastic, for me it is the Witches novels, and Granny Weatherwax in particular, that really stand out. The novels at once pay homage and lightly mock the staples of witchcraft: the Maiden, Mother, and Crone concept, fairytale witches, cunning women, and modern Wiccans, all are victims and heroes in Pratchett’s hilarious novels. ‘As the cauldron bubbled an eldritch voice shrieked: “When shall we three meet again?” There was a pause. Finally another voice said, in far more ordinary tones: “Well, I can do next Tuesday.”
Supernatural / Urban fantasy.
The Lives of the Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice - The Witching Hour, Lasher, Taltos. Anne Rice, master of gothic thrillers, spins for us a tale of the Mayfairs, a centuries old line of powerful witches, given to poetry, melancholy, and incest, haunted by a dark spirit hell-bent on attaining life. Though The Witching Hour is the strongest of the trilogy, Lasher and Taltos are definitely worth the read. Money, psychic powers, history, New Orleans, these books will have you wishing that you lived in a dilapidated old mansion in the Garden District seeing ghosts everywhere.
The Physic Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe - previously published as The Lost Book of Salem. A post grad Harvard student majoring in early colonial history is on the hunt for original source material for her doctorate whilst spending the summer cleaning up her late Grandmother’s old house for sale in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Going into too much detail will give away the ending, but suffice it to say any witch will be a fan of this book. It’s not going to win any awards, but it is a very enjoyable read, nonetheless.
Magical Realism (or as I like to call it, my new favourite genre)
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. The book, as always, is so much better than the movie, and boy did I love the movie. Sisters Sally and Gillian Owens could not be more different, one a diligent mother, homemaker, and member of the PTA, the other a notorious party girl with a new man every week, both seeking to escape the history of magic and tragedy that has dogged their family since the 1600s. The book provides rich detail that the movie glosses over, and Hoffman’s beautiful prose will leave you at times breathless.
The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman. Women in the Sparrow family are always born in March, and each inherit a unique power upon their 13th birthday. Not being able to feel pain, being able to spot a lie, and to foretell the manner of a person’s death are but three of the magical abilities possessed by the Sparrows of this small, New England town. But more than their powers, The Probable Future is about the relationships between Elinor, Jenny, and Stella, grandmother, mother, and daughter, respectively. Each daughter hates her mother, and each mother tries to mend the pieces of the tattered relationship. A definite favourite of mine.
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. Each woman in the Waverly family of Bascom, North Carolina, has a subtle magical gift, which sees them relegated as outsiders by townsfolk who paradoxically pay through the nose for their magic. Garden Spells is at its core about the strength of love, be family, friend, or lover. Most of Allen’s books touch on the same subjects, but Garden Spells for me is the original and the best, and I return to it at least once a year.
