Bookish Bliss: The Worst Witch By Jill Murphy

The Worst Witch Series Is Wickedly Sweet

Reading The Worst Witch series is like scooping up a generous handful of rainbow sprinkles and confetti and tossing it up in the air! It’s a playful glee-inducing burst of dazzling colours that rains down  on us in candy and glittery showers.

Mildred Hubble is a hopeless witch in training at Miss Cackle’s Academy: a castle (what else?) planted amongst a thick wood  (where else?) and foggy mountains far from prying muggle eyes. She and her other witch peers board at the castle for Summer and Winter terms and are given an education in all things magical. Potions lab, broomstick flying, chanting and charms and of course, bonding with their familiar: each girl is given a regulation Black kitten in her first year, that becomes her flying partner and constant companion as she finishes her supernatural studies. The ultimate goal? Earning the Witches’ Higher Certificate!

The BBC's live action adaptation is currently on Netflix.

Mildred is so often a hopeless case that it becomes a running joke and the focal point in all 7 of the novellas. When it comes to spellwork Mildred is passable… That is when she’s not accidentally  screwing up flying demonstrations or turning herself invisible by sampling a poorly brewed potion. After much crashing into walls, trees, bushes and other assorted shrubs and obstacles her broom is held together by tons of glue and tape. Rotten luck seems to follow Mil wherever she goes. In year one, the school naturally runs out of regulation black kittens-- proud and broomstick ready as they are-- so Mildred is left with a skittish Tabby. One who doesn’t perch proudly on the broom, but instead clamps on to the back brush, yowling for dear life, Tabby is justifiably petrified by the idea of being at the mercy of Mildred piloting a skinny wood broomstick. Tabby and Mildred are both misfits, and I love them SO MUCH for it.

Like a cast of storybook characters the women and girls who make up the characters at Miss Cackle’s Academy aren’t especially layered or complex. They start from  tropes and are marked by their simple designs. Miss Cackle is plump and pleasant, and naturally her second in command Miss Hardbroom, or H.B. as Mildred and her friends call her, is Miss Cackle’s opposite. Lean and angular with tightly pulled back hair and habit of turning invisible to keep a keen eye on her young students, this  Form Mistress is so strict and uptight that she makes Gryffindor’s head of house Professor McGonagall seem downright indulgent.

Ethel Hallow is the cut and dry antagonist who always has it out for Mildred. If Carmelita Spats from A Series of Unfortunate Events was smooshed with Hermione Granger, Ethel Hallow would be the result. Ethel is bossy  and entitled with a very cutthroat way of pursuing her education. Eliminating competition and sucking up are two of her specialties. She always has to be the best... Anyone who threatens her reign as teacher's pet and top witch better watch themselves. Ethel  isn’t shy about casting transfiguration spells or other enchantments on her classmates to trip them up and keep them out of the way.

Ethel’s negative and petulant character is balanced out by  Mildred’s two closest girl friends. Mil’s BFF is a chubby, chatty and glasses wearing  witch named Maud Spellbody. Maud always has something kind to say and is unfailingly loyal to Mildred. In the second novella The Worst Witch Strikes Again Mildred and Maud meet new girl Enid Nightshade and quickly form a kinship with  her. For the duration of The Worst Witch series this trio of friends sticks together and takes on whatever madness and mayhem comes their way with their senses of humor and determination.

When it comes to the world building,  a lot of stereotypical witch culture is  part of The Worst Witch, but it doesn’t feel tired or cliche. We’re shown that Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom emphasize traditional values and customs. Not, “newfangled nonsense”. And, well…  It’s actually quite cute and clever. It must come down to Jill Murphy’s voice: It’s so genuine and has such verve that I can’t resist smiling and laughing, eagerly turning each new page. Each book is a speedy read that hooks us from page one and can be finished in one sitting, not just for adults but even children. The novellas are so enchanting that it’s nearly impossible to put them down before you’ve made it to the last page!    

Even though the first Worst Witch book  was published in 1974 it’s in no danger of going out of style. There’s something timeless about the way it’s written. Much like Harry Potter, the year this isn’t mentioned because it doesn’t need to be. We’re engrossed in the world enough from reading about the magical mayhem and goings on at Miss Cackle’s academy.

I may be 25 now (shhhh) but I cannot get enough of this whimsical, cute and uplifting series. The Worst Witch’s universe is G-rated Harry Potter meets Discworld. Mildred’s character is Tiffany Aching from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, meets Neville Longbottom with a generous pinch of something uniquely her own. And there's a feminist spunk to her that despite all her mistakes and "worst witching" makes her a spectacular character and role model.

The Worst Witch is the perfect breezy read after the darker and more emotionally trying books I’ve been reading lately. It’s a charming and escapist middle grade that’s not just a pure joy for adult readers but it’s also perfect for children who are reluctant readers. Murphy’s voice is powerful and clear and she uses language that is just the right amount of simple and detailed. It’s also SO SO SO British. That if you’re pining for more Potter this is one soul soothing way to get that vibe. In The Worst Witch there’s no shortage of description and although it doesn’t  get to the rich and complex extent of illustrating the world for us like other fantasy authors J.K. Rowling or Diana Wynn Jones, Murphy still has a way of making her words magic and she trusts our imagination to fill in the blanks.

Almost every page of The Worst Witch has a pen and ink illustration of Mildred, Maud, Enid, Tabby, Ethel or Miss Hardbroom and the mischievous and catastrophic goings on each of them is confronted with.

The characters and their expressions and their actions are so lovingly and carefully drawn it makes them feel even closer to us as readers. It’s especially motivating for young readers who may be reluctant to read chapter books or who are more visual and are turned off by pages just full of words alone.  The abundance of art really does add so much joy and energy to the pages and I was so taken by it that after I finished each Worst Witch book I flipped through them again just see  every drawing a second time.

The Worst Witch holds its own alongside other children's fantasy classics that I adored like Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, and to state the obvious Harry Potter. I’m absolutely flabbergasted that 9 or  10 or 11 year old me never discovered this series but I am thrilled to have found it now! Mildred and her best friends Maud and Enid really have  such vivid personalities that they hits us from page one in book one and sticks with us through all seven books. And each plot and storyline is punchy and memorable even if they are somewhat simple. 

The Worst Witch is like a little chocolate truffle filled with airy chocolate mousse; it’s sweet and light bite of insta-happiness and a sugar rush of fantastic fun!

Highly recommended.  

Cover art and illustrations from The Worst Witch novels.

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