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Charmed Life has a melancholy opening: Cat and Gwendolen have been orphaned after their parents were killed in a ferry disaster.  They come to live with Mrs Sharp, a witch of modest means who is keen to teach Gwendolen everything she knows. 

This is by no means remarkable in the world Cat and Gwendolen inhabit.  Theirs is a parallel world, adjacent to ours but with significant differences.  Amongst those differences is the widespread prevalence and acceptance of magic – real magic, not conjuring tricks.  And Gwendolen is a very gifted little girl, who is keen to become a powerful witch. 

Cat, on the other hand, has no magical skills whatsoever, a rather depressing fact in a world that places great importance on such powers.  But at least he has Gwendolen, and clings to her rather, although she is the centre of attention for everyone in their current circle.

Their lives take a curious twist when they are claimed and swept away by a rich and important relative.  This is Chrestomanci, the most powerful magician in the country and the possessor of nine lives.  It seems he is a distant cousin of theirs, although he lost touch with their late parents, and he takes them off to live with him, his wife and two children (Frank and Julia) in his grand house.

Everything in the garden is lovely, but not everything runs smoothly in their charmed new life.  Gwendolen finds it hard to settle down in her new home: when she is forbidden to do magic after being naughty she is furious.  Cat, on the other hand, rather takes to Frank and Julia.  His main problem is having to attend compulsory magic lessons, no matter how he tries to explain his lack of aptitude.  Also there are a series of spooky and mysterious incidents, for which Cat gets a share of the blame, despite having nothing to do with them.  Or did he?

Cat finds his loyalties torn between Gwendolen and his new life, and things come to a head when his exasperated guardian finally explains that Cat is in fact a powerful magician.  And that there are a couple of reasons why that has never been evident before: one innocent, and one sinister.  When Gwendolen snaps, her plans come to fruition, and Cat finds himself with a strangely familiar visitor from another world, and a showdown with Gwendolen and her powerful friends.  With the help of Chrestomanci and his new family, can Cat stand against Gwendolen, the sister who seems to be his enemy?

Charmed Life has a dreamlike quality: it is indeed otherworldly, with a surprise around every corner.  No-one is who you think they are, possibly including yourself.  One of Diana Wynne Jones’ very best novels for children, it is one of those which can be read without shame by any adult.  (Much more so than anything bearing the name of ‘Potter’.)