The Pinhoe Egg
core novel 2006 Chrestomanci
Record
| First published | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.11 (9,584 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 515 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780007228560 |
| Internal chronology | 4 |
Synopsis
Set around Chrestomanci Castle and a nearby village, this novel follows Marianne Pinhoe, a young enchantress from a secretive magical family who is expected to one day lead her clan, though she does not yet fully understand the extent of her own abilities. The Pinhoes, led by the family matriarch Gammer, practice their own unconventional magic and have long gone to great lengths to keep it hidden from Chrestomanci's official oversight, viewing Christopher Chant and his household with wary suspicion. Meanwhile Cat Chant, an apprentice at the castle, forms new friendships with people both older and his own age, and acquires a horse along the way.
Where it sits
- Universe: Chrestomanci
- Series: Chrestomanci core; position 7 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 7 of 7: previous Conrad's Fate (2005)
- Internal chronology, within Chrestomanci: position 4 of 6: previous Charmed Life (1977) · next Witch Week (1982)
Sources
← Chrestomanci dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.