In Charmed Life, the first Chrestomanci book, the orphaned Cat Chant and his sister Gwendolen are taken to live at Chrestomanci Castle. There they are under the guardianship and tutelage of the Chrestomanci—a nine-lived enchanter who polices the many worlds of the multiverse. Gwendolen thinks highly of herself and her magical skills, but it soons comes out that Cat is the more powerful. He himself is a nine-lived enchanter and will one day take up Chrestomanci’s job, if he and Chrestomanci can stop Gwendolen from wreaking havoc in multiple worlds. The Lives of Christopher Chant is the story of Chrestomanci’s own childhood and how he came to live at the Castle himself. With distracted parents, a nefarious uncle, and a severe guardian who was Chrestomanci before Christopher, it’s no wonder that Christopher keeps losing his lives.