In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter.</p>

After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark smoke from its four thin turrets, appeared on the horizon, everyone thought it was the Witch. The castle, however, belonged to Wizard Howl, who, it was said, liked to suck the souls of young girls.</p>

The Hatter sisters--Sophie, Lettie, and Martha--and all the other girls were warned not to venture into the streets alone. But that was only the beginning.</p>

In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?</p>

Diana Wynne Jones's entrancing fantasy is filled with surprises at every turn, but when the final stormy duel between the Witch and the Wizard is finished, all the pieces fall magically into place.</p>

戴安娜•韋恩•瓊斯

Diana Wynne Jones（1934－2011）

她纔華橫溢，想象力超群。

她深得托爾金（《魔戒》）和C.S.劉易斯（《納尼亞傳奇》）的精髓；

她筆下的故事激發瞭無數後起之秀的靈感，

無論是遠在東方的宮崎駿，還是風靡全球的J.K羅琳……

她的幻想作品被稱為《哈利•波特》的前身。

戴安娜•韋恩•瓊斯（1934－2011）是傑齣的幻想小說作傢，寫作齣色的幻想小說已有三十多個年頭。憑藉漫無邊際的想象力，她的故事糅閤瞭精彩的情節，熱情的幽默感，和動人的真理，為各年齡層的讀者所喜歡。她的作品受到國際褒奬並獲得瞭一係列榮譽，包括兩次“波士頓環球報號角書奬”以及英國幻想協會卡爾•愛德華•瓦格納奬——以肯定她在幻想文學領域的重大影響。著名導演動畫傢宮崎駿改編瞭《哈爾的移動城堡》，拍攝成一部齣色的電影，獲得瞭奧斯卡奬提名。