The Magicians of Caprona

By: Diana Wynne Jones

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

From the Chrestomanci series comes book number three, The Magicians of Caprona. For years, the Montana family has feuded with the Petrocchi family. But Tonino Montana must seek help from the Petrocchis, and a special cat, to save the city of Caprona and prove he deserves to live among the spell-makers.

©2005 Diana Wynne Jones (P)2005 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Fantasy fans will enjoy listening to narrator Gerard Doyle make the characters come to life and present Jones' entertaining descriptions of the magical parallel universe in which this story takes place." (School Library Journal)

Another amazing performance!

Another amazing performance by Gerard Doyle brings Diana Wynne Jones’s beautiful writing to life! The story is complex, but very well crafted, and I loved how the narrator brought each of the many characters to life - especially my favorites, Tonino and Benvenuto. Highly recommended!

Engaging Story. Amazing Narrarator

Where does The Magicians of Caprona rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

By far one of the best. The story is great and the narrating was extremely well done.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Magicians of Caprona?

"Oh what a clever fellow"

Gerard Doyle captures the essence of Punch very well.

What does Gerard Doyle bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Brilliant singing, great voice acting, soothing voice

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Magically encouraged family feuds of Italia!

Any additional comments?

If there is ever a book you should have in your library...it's this one.

Fun story

Very good story. Couldn't stop listening... my phone died twice and I had to go charge it to continue the narrative. 😅

An excellent, magical book

"Magicians of Caprona", one of the original "Chrestomacni Quartet" before Jones went and wrote two more, is still one of my favorites. This audiobook version is an excellent substitute for reading it, as the narration is faithful and lively and quite enthralling. They also went to remarkable trouble to re-create the musical bits, which I found quite impressive. For fans of the series, this is a good one, and for newcomers it is an excellent insertion point.

Different yet the same

What did you love best about The Magicians of Caprona?

I liked the roll of the cats (especially benvenuto). I liked how the story was kind of different from the previous Chrestomanci books with the love story and the puppets.

What other book might you compare The Magicians of Caprona to and why?

Honestly it is a sort of telling of Romeo and Juliet but it's happy at the end.

What about Gerard Doyle’s performance did you like?

I love all of Gerard Doyle's performances. He is consistent with his pronunciations and the the voices he choices for each character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book made me laugh and it was less predictable than many books

I love Chrestomanci!

I love listening to these books while exercising. This is one of the best of them all!

Not my favorite book by this author.

Dare I say it lacked a little magic in a purely metaphorical sense? I did enjoy Punch and Judy.

Too violent

What would have made The Magicians of Caprona better?

I don't know, but this is absolutely not suitable for children as young as 8-10. In one scene person is said to be beating the brains out of a baby. It is a doll but he's not quite sure.

What could Diana Wynne Jones have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Well I think the story and characters aren't specially developed in this either. It was hard to stay interested. I love the other Chrestomanci books, but this was weaker. And I think they are all for a little older children. Some of them could be suitable for an ten year old, but not this. I would imagine 12 could be a better age or older.

Which character – as performed by Gerard Doyle – was your favorite?

He performed all characters well. He was a wonderful reader.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I do love all the other Chrestomanci books. I have found them as an adult, but I'm interested in children's literature and they have been very entertaining.

Any additional comments?

No.