The Lives of Christopher Chant
core novel 1988 Chrestomanci
Record
| First published | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.24 (24,292 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 240 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780688078065 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
Set generations before the events of Charmed Life, largely in the Victorian-inflected World Twelve A, this novel follows the childhood of Christopher Chant, a wealthy boy who discovers he can travel physically between the numbered parallel worlds of the multiverse through his dreams, unlike ordinary spirit-travelers who can only project themselves. His uncle Ralph takes a close interest in these journeys and sends him on a series of seemingly innocent errands between worlds, while a hired spirit guide named Tacroy accompanies him on the way. Brought eventually to Chrestomanci Castle to train under the elderly Gabriel De Witt as a candidate for the next Chrestomanci, Christopher also befriends a girl called the Living Asheth, later known as Millie, who has fled her own world.
Where it sits
- Universe: Chrestomanci
- Series: Chrestomanci core; position 4 of 7 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Notes
- From the series record (Chrestomanci): Listed in PUBLICATION order (1977-2006); internal chronology records the settled internal/story order instead (1. The Lives of Christopher Chant, 2. Conrad's Fate, 3. Charmed Life, 4. The Pinhoe Egg, 5. Witch Week, 6. The Magicians of Caprona), per HarperCollins' own 'Chronicles of Chrestomanci' recommended-reading-order reissues -- left null for Mixed Magics, a 4-story collection whose individual stories span multiple points in the internal timeline rather than occupying one slot. This is the first universe in this canon to actually populate `internal chronology` for a publication-vs-internal divergence (distinct from other cases in this canon with a genuinely *disputed* chronology -- here the order is well-documented and author-sanctioned, not contested) -- a usable precedent for Valdemar's own still-open equivalent.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Chrestomanci: position 4 of 7: previous Witch Week (1982) · next Mixed Magics (2000)
- Internal chronology, within Chrestomanci: position 1 of 6: next Conrad's Fate (2005)
Sources
← Chrestomanci dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.