Charmed Life is a 1977 novel by British childrens' author Dianna Wynne Jones . It is the first in the Chrestomanci series of novels, so named because their plots, some to greater degrees than others, involve a series of powerful enchanters who carry the title Chrestomanci. Carriers of the title are essentially government administrators who supervise the use of magic on Earth.
Charmed Life opens with the orphaned Eric and Gwendolen Chant, a brother and sister, being summoned to Chrestomanci's castle. Gwendolen is something of a magical virtuoso, but her brother Eric (nicknamed Cat) is rather a slouch in that department, preferring to play the violin (at which he is also lamentably mediocre).
