Chrestomanci
#3344.03 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 7 books Status Complete 1977–2006 Reading commitment High Diana Wynne Jones Last reviewed 2026-08-07
Overview
Diana Wynne Jones's second major fantasy sequence (Macmillan/Greenwillow, 1977-2006), set in a multiverse of parallel worlds called the Related Worlds, where magic is common in most, including World 12A, an Edwardian-flavored Britain reached through a divergence at the Battle of Agincourt, but rare or absent in others, policed by a government enchanter called the Chrestomanci, based at Chrestomanci Castle in southern England. Two of the seven books follow the childhood and adolescence of Christopher Chant before he assumes the Chrestomanci role, while the rest are set during his long tenure, with decades sometimes passing between installments. Confirmed a separate, unrelated continuity from Jones's own Howl's Moving Castle. Charmed Life won the 1978 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, and the final volume, The Pinhoe Egg, was a runner-up for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award in 2007.
Portal fantasy, Comic fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (7 works) counts toward ranking
Chrestomanci Diana Wynne Jones
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Charmed Life | 1977 | 3 | core | 3.97 (36,452 ratings) |
 | The Magicians of Caprona | 1980 | 6 | core | 3.92 (13,858 ratings) |
 | Witch Week | 1982 | 5 | core | 3.92 (15,478 ratings) |
 | The Lives of Christopher Chant | 1988 | 1 | core | 4.24 (24,292 ratings) |
 | Mixed Magics | 2000 | N/A | core | 3.85 (5,449 ratings) |
 | Conrad's Fate | 2005 | 2 | core | 4.09 (11,281 ratings) |
 | The Pinhoe Egg | 2006 | 4 | core | 4.11 (9,584 ratings) |
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.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Chrestomanci? Chrestomanci's Core Canon is 7 books.
- What is the reading order for Chrestomanci? Publication order, starting with Charmed Life. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Chrestomanci finished? Complete (1977–2006).
- How much reading does Chrestomanci take? High reading commitment (estimated from 7 Core Canon books · ~2,227 pages).
- How is Chrestomanci ranked? #334 in this site's official ranking, based on 116,394 reader ratings across 7 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #334?
Ranked #334 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.03 across 7 core books.
- Backed by 116k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #333, Ninth House (Alex Stern) (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 7 books · Complete · 116k ratings · Ranks #334 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (7 Core Canon books)
- Charmed Life (1977)
- The Magicians of Caprona (1980)
- Witch Week (1982)
- The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988)
- Mixed Magics (2000)
- Conrad's Fate (2005)
- The Pinhoe Egg (2006)
Documented internal/story order: 6 of 7 Core Canon books
- The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988)
- Conrad's Fate (2005)
- Charmed Life (1977)
- The Pinhoe Egg (2006)
- Witch Week (1982)
- The Magicians of Caprona (1980)
Internal chronology is documented for 6 of 7 Core Canon books, following HarperCollins' own author-sanctioned “Chronicles of Chrestomanci” omnibus reading order. Mixed Magics, a 4-story collection whose stories span multiple points in that order, is read last and is not assigned a single ordinal.
Awards (verified)
- No award recognition independently confirmed for this universe as of admission (2026-08-07).
Related universes
- Same author Howl's Moving Castle: Both by Diana Wynne Jones. Chrestomanci is confirmed a separate, unrelated continuity from Howl's Moving Castle, no shared characters, setting, or crossover found; the two are never marketed or sold as one continuity.
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Chrestomanci and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Dragonbreath Comic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.17
- The Chronicles of Narnia Portal fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.14
- Emily Windsnap Portal fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.02
- Septimus Heap Comic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.01
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.03 across 116,394 ratings on 7 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Chrestomanci admitted; Core Canon = all 7 books, publication order in the list with internal chronology recorded separately accepted 2026-08-07
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-07
Rule: Core = all 7 books, listed in publication order (this canon's standing default) with the settled internal/story order recorded separately via each book's internal chronology field, the first universe in this canon to actually populate that field for a publication-vs-internal divergence (see research notes).