Customer Reviews

The Magicians of Caprona (A Chrestomanci Book)

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I've read all the Chrestomanci books, their the best. Perfect for someone who loves Harry Potter. I'm just a 13 year old who can't get enough of either. Diana Wynne Jones is a wonderful writer. As soon as i finish one of her books, I just have to pick up another. The Magicians of Caprona is an enchanted romance. In which Tonino Montana and Angelica Petrocchis are able to put their family diffrences aside to save Caprona.

I read this book over fifteen years ago and still remember the story very well. It is a Romeo & Juliet style story of friendship despite family feuds and the magic add more than a touch of excitement. It is a wonderful book which really fires the imagination of children and adults alike. I would not hesitate to recommend it to the children of my friends.

This is another book in the Chrstomanci Universe, but the story is this time set in Italy. In this universe just a little off from our own, magic is commonplace and spellcasters highly respected, and all of the practitioners of magic in the world are overseen by the legendary Chrestomanci, a nine-lived sorcerer and the only one in the world powerful enough to ensure that magic is never misused to the detriment of any normals. In the Italian city-state of Caprona, there are two major spellcasting families in the middle of a generations-long feud. In fact, they've been feuding so long that no one remembers why they are feuding (no, it's not a cheap Romeo-and-Juliet hack), and the favored occupation of the school-aged children is to invent terrible stories of the beginning of the feud to frighten their younger siblings. The story follows a young boy in one of the families, thought to be much slower at spellcasting than anyone in the family and privately a bit of a disappointment, who is chosen as the special pet of the head of the family's cats, Bevenuto, who is possibly the second-most-respected creature in the household. Definately reminiscent of The Lives of Christopher Chant.

The third book in the Chrestomanci series, this one takes place in Caprona, Italy, far away from Chrestomanci Castle in England. It is rather different from the other three books in the series, but I enjoyed it a lot. I found it impossible to put down, even after I had finished reading it. I read it through a second time and then settled down to think about the plot. The feuding houses of Casa Montana and Casa Petrochi are the two strongest spell houses in Italy. Yet, their virtue is fading. An enemy enchanter is helping other states nibble on and finally war against Caprona. The only thing that can save Caprona is for the words to the powerful spell, "The Angel" to be found. And no one knows where they could be! Matters get horribly worse when young Tonino from Casa Montana and Angelica from Casa Petrochi are kidnapped by ? (you have to read the book to find out)! Both casas are sure that the other one has kidnapped their child. But Tonino and Angelica have made their peace inside their prison and have even figured out where the words of the Angel are. But they can't get away from their powerful and horrifying captor. And to make matters worse, the rest of their families seem to have been enchanted by the enemy enchanter as well. How can two young children who are the least talented in their families, ever save themselves, let alone Caprona? Read the book and find out!

"The Magicians of Caprona" is part of the Chrestomanci quartet, a series of books with no particular chronological order and which are related only in regard to the presence of the magician known as the Chrestomanci. This wizard is no grey-bearded aged old man, but a young handsome character whose responsibility it is to keep in balance all magic in all the worlds.

All of the books except this one are set in a parallel version of Britain, and in a foreword to this story Diana Wynne Jones explains that here Italy never became a united country, and is still split up into states - one of which is Caprona. Caprona is a beautiful city, watched from above by the great Angel of Caprona atop the Cathedral, who long ago drove out the White Devil. The only blight upon the city is the ongoing feud between its two major families: the Montanas and the Petrocchis.

In case you haven't guessed by now, there are indeed hints of "Romeo and Juliet" at work. But in typical Wynne Jones style, the story is not told from the lovers' point of view, but rather from younger members of both families - predominantly Tonino and Paolo Montana. Like all the children of their family, they've been raised to hate the Petrocchis, and the rumours of a coming war against Caprona raises ill-will even higher.

But a visit from Chrestomanci reveals that he believes an evil enchanter is at work, though their identity is a mystery unknown even to him. The only way that they can save the city is to find the missing words to the Angel of Caprona song, and to do that it seems that the families will have to work together.

But then Tonino and Angelica Petrocchi disappear, the two most notoriously bad spell-casters of the families. While kept hostage, the two simultaneously discover the identity of the enchanter and the words to the song. But how can they get this information to their families, especially when the fighting has escalated?

"The Magician of Caprona" is probably the easiest to read of all the Chrestomanci books, and combines all of Wynne Jones's trademark features - zany magic, talking cats, clever twists and vivid characters who still act like normal people despite the magic happenings occurring around them. It moves between funny and somewhat scary, with a range of likeable characters throughout.

This second Chrestomanci book reads a bit like a cross between the author's far superior Charmed Life and Romeo and Juliet. All the typical Jones elements are here, but they never quite gel, and these characters are a bit too stupid and annoying to entirely please. It's of course a must-read if you're a Jones fan, but for anyone else, I'd say start with Charmed Life, Drowned Ammet, Howl's Moving Castle, or The Ogre Downstairs.

THE MAGICIANS OF CAPRONA , though having little to do with the enchanter Chrestomanci, is a thoroughly intriguing novel with the most suspenseful story yet. Tonino and a band of magicians -- the Magicians Of Caprona -- are the only ones who can save Caprona. The magic is wonderful, the characters -- particularly Tonino -- are aptly described and vivid. In this third very enchanting and deep novel of the Chrestomanci Quartet by Dianna Wynne Jones, readers will very much consider this a personal favorite, as I did -- for the story is even more suspenseful then THE LIVES OF CHRISTOPHER CHANT which I thoroughly enjoyed. Though it has littler to do with Chrestomanci, it is in no way an 'add on' to the quartet. This is a must read for all of Jones's fans, as well as fans of Harry Potter, Which Witch, and Half Magic.

I first borrowed and read this book from a friend in 1996 and found it really good and interesting. The characters were spunky and memorable. I remember going about for weeks imagining how fun it would be to have their kind of magic in our world.
I found myself thinking about it again recently and fortunately found it in my local bookstore in Malaysia. The book was as good as I remembered it....probably even more so now.

Though "Magicians of Caprona" is the weakest of the Chrestomanci books so far, it remains an excellent fantasy with a strong storyline and extremely sympathetic characters. Jones introduces her parallel Italy with depth and skill, with some winks at "Romeo and Juliet."

The spell-making Montanas and Petrocchis have been feuding for two hundred years, over a fight between two of their ancestors. Now they repeat hideous rumors about each other, cast disgusting spells at each other, and remain stubborn about the matter, even though they are now threatened by outside forces. The city-states are in conflict with each other, and the famed song "Angel of Caprona" is mostly forgotten, despite being the thing that can help protect them from harm.

Tonina Montana is apparently the only member of his household who is unable to cast spells. His talents lie in communicating with cats -- but he finds himself an unwilling ally to a Petrocchi girl, Angelina, when they are both captured by the Duchess of Caprona. He, Angelina, and a cat must find the words to the "Angel" song and ally their families before it's too late.

As Jones explains in the foreword, this is an alternate Italy, still divided into city-states with their own Dukes, laws, and conflicts with one another, as they had in the Middle-Ages of our world. Anyone with knowledge of Italian history knows that the city-states offer a great deal of potential conflict, and Jones doesn't waste that potential.

Though the conflict of feuding rival families is a mild cliche by now, Jones handles it with a comic twist that keeps it from becoming stale. The twist of lovers from those feuding families is highly enjoyable, even though it is quite obvious from the beginning of the book. Her dialogue and narrative are as witty and entertaining as ever. The only flaw with the book is that the plotline becomes slightly fragmented toward the middle, and I found it slightly difficult to keep up with. However, the climax is outstandingly written.

Tonino is the hero that Jones does best: a Charlie-Brown type, mild-mannered but courageous when called upon to be brave, and his counterpart Angelica is similarly realistic. They don't like each other, but becomes friends out of necessity, overcoming their pride and preconceptions. Of course, Chrestomanci is in it -- less than in other Chrestomanci books, but he is his usual dapper, delightful self, doing all that he can to alleviate the problems plaguing Caprona.

Except for a period of mild confusion in the middle of this book, Caprona is an enjoyable jaunt into the magic-saturated world of Chrestomanci. A must-read for fans of magic and wizardry.

This enchanting story takes place in a world parallel to ours where Italy is still divided into city states that are ruled by dukes. In Caprona the two best spell-writing families in the world live: the Montanas and the Petrocchis. And, of course, the two are bitter rivals ever since some long ago argument that no one really remembers.
But Caprona is in trouble from all sides, with other city-states chipping bits off of her all the time. Caprona is run by a rather silly yet lovable Duke and his downright evil Duchess.
When one misfit child from each of the fueding families turns up missing, of course the families blame each other, and end up having a havoc-wreaking fight in the down-town.
Then Caprona heads into war. It looks inevitable that she will fall, when the only possible solution would be to find the words to the Angel of Caprona, whom no one has sung properly for centuries. Then the two misfits miraculously save their state and re-uninte their fighting families.

This story was, like all of Jones' work, very well written. She has a marvelous and twisting plot that keeps your mind racing and your eyes glued to the page. She describes perfectly what it feels like to be left out of something that comes so natural to others.