Witches Abroad (1991)
Witches Abroad is a 1991 english fantasy fiction book written by Terry Pratchett.
A fairy godmother with a good heart and terrible planning dies mid-task, leaving one last wish unsupervised. So Magrat Garlick, Granny Weatherwax, and Nanny Ogg mount their broomsticks and set off for far-distant Genua, determined to stop a servant girl named Emberella from marrying the prince. The road throws vampires, werewolves, and the occasional falling house at them, because this is a fairy tale after all. Waiting in Genua is a rival godmother who will force a happy ending by any means, even ruin. Pratchett turns storybook logic inside out with three of Discworld's finest witches.
Quick answers
What is Witches Abroad about?
A fairy godmother with a good heart and terrible planning dies mid-task, leaving one last wish unsupervised. So Magrat Garlick, Granny Weatherwax, and Nanny Ogg mount their broomsticks and set off for far-distant Genua, determined to stop a servant girl named Emberella from marrying the prince. The road throws vampires, werewolves, and the occasional falling house at them, because this is a fairy tale after all. Waiting in Genua is a rival godmother who will force a happy ending by any means, even ruin. Pratchett turns storybook logic inside out with three of Discworld's finest witches.
When was Witches Abroad published?
Witches Abroad was published in 1991.
Who made Witches Abroad?
Witches Abroad was written by Terry Pratchett.
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Witches Abroad in our writing
- Companion guide: Discworld: The Complete Guide to Terry Pratchett's Flat Planet
A few thoughts on Witches Abroad
Into the Woods works the same trick, letting fairy tales collide and curdle past their happy endings. Shrek shares the cheerful demolition of storybook cliche, while The Princess Bride matches the affectionate mockery and swashbuckling heart. Anyone who enjoys Granny Weatherwax bending a story to her own will should feel at home in all three.
Fairy tales that know they're fairy tales and rewrite the ending
Witches Abroad sends three witches to stop a rival fairy godmother from forcing a happy ending onto a girl who never asked for one. Shrek and The Princess Bride both turn classic fairy tale furniture, castles, curses, true love, into something wittier and more self-aware, while Into the Woods puts several fractured fairy tales and their meddling godmothers on one stage. Unico plays the same fairy tale sincerity straight.