“Women are the real architects of society.”

Diana Wynne Jones was a towering figure in the realm of fantasy literature. Revered by contemporaries and successors alike, her influence can be seen in the works of celebrated authors such as Robin McKinley, Philip Pullman, Terry Pratchett, Megan Whalen Turner, and Neil Gaiman. Gaiman hailed her as “quite simply the best writer for children of her generation.” Some even speculate that her enchanting tales may have sparked the creation of a certain famous Boy Wizard, a claim his creator has vehemently denied. Jones’ legacy continues to inspire and enchant readers and writers around the world.

Born in 1934 in London, England, Diana Wynne Jones’ early years were marked by the turbulence of World War II. Displaced by the war, her childhood remained far from idyllic when her family eventually settled in Essex in 1943. She and her two sisters grew up in a dilapidated shack, 100 yards from the main house, largely unsupervised and left to their own devices. Jones frequently spoke of the harsh verbal abuse she endured, recalling that her father could “beat Scrooge in a meanness contest,” while her mother once cruelly remarked that she was “ugly, semi-delinquent, but bright.”

The sisters had access to only a narrow selection of books, primarily those about children “getting together to Do Good,” which they never touched. Fantasy literature, deemed “silly” by their mother, was strictly forbidden. Despite these constraints, Jones’ desire to write ignited early. “I sat up from reading in the middle of one afternoon and knew that I was going to be a writer one day…In calm certainty, I went and told my parents. ‘You haven’t got it in you,’ my mother said. My father bellowed with laughter.”

These challenging experiences profoundly influenced Jones’ writing. “It dawned on me that I was going to have to write fantasy … because I was not able to believe in most people’s version of normal life.” She broke new ground in children’s literature by challenging the notion of infallible adults. “When I started writing, there was an absolute rule in children’s books that ‘good’ adults were not to be questioned or criticised. I was out to abolish that rule.” She saw her writing as “an exercise in how to slip sideways through the gaps,” subverting the established norms and infusing her stories with the complexity and authenticity she found lacking in the books from her own childhood.

As a result, Jones’ books are realistic and relatable to children and adults alike. The young characters in her stories face big problems and imperfect, sometimes cruel authority figures, although they typically find a happy ending. “I do think books are there to encourage you to be positive and to win, and also to comfort you when things are going wrong.”

One of Jones’ most popular works is the Worlds of Chrestomanci, an epic multiverse spanning across 7 books. Many readers have drawn parallels between Charmed Life, the first novel in the Chrestomanci series and Harry Potter. In a 2000 article in the New Statesmen, Sean French says “we’ve just finished reading a very enjoyable book to the children. It’s about a boy, an orphan, who knows there is something unusual about him. He isn’t sure what, but suspects it has something to do with the legacy of his dead parents. It turns out that it has to do with magic, and he moves to a boarding school that, although it has a normal sort of curriculum, is also an academy for apprentice witches and magi. He gets caught up in a terrible cosmic battle involving dragons and suchlike, but through his own endurance — and his relationship with the head of the school — finally (although barely) survives. This is not the first Harry Potter book, which we read to the children a couple of years ago, but Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones, which was published in 1977 and is the first in her sequence of children’s books, The Worlds of Chrestomanci.” 

French goes on to surmise what the elder author must feel about the JKR’s popularity, stating “ I’m sure that Wynne Jones is a person of great wisdom and stoicism. I hope so anyway, because it must have been pretty galling to see J K Rowling become the most successful children’s writer in the world, with books that were so similar (although, in my view, inferior) to her own, virtually forgotten sequence. It has now been reissued, by Collins (which, incidentally, rejected the first Harry Potter book), with strikingly Potter-like covers, no doubt in the hope that it may be dragged along in Harry Potter’s slipstream.”

Jones had a more gracious response to the comparison, however. “”I think it is likely that J. K. Rowling read my books as a child and felt this is how children’s books should be. There are so many strong similarities and she is just the sort of age to have read them the first time round. If she didn’t, it is very, very strange.” Very strange indeed, as Rowling claims never to have read any of Jones’ books. Whatever the truth, The popularity of Harry Potter directly lead to Jones’ works being reissued, helping new generations to discover and fall in love with her worlds. 

Perhaps Jones’ most well-known work, (and a Lit Witch personal favorite), Howl’s Moving Castle tells the story of Sophie, a young woman working in her family’s hat shop. Sophie believes herself destined for a dull and uneventful life, overshadowed by her more charismatic siblings. Sophie’s initial self-image is one of resignation and low self-esteem, convinced that she is unremarkable and undeserving of adventure. However, Sophie’s transformation into an elderly woman becomes a turning point in her life. Stripped of her youth and beauty, she gains a newfound sense of freedom and assertiveness. As an old woman, Sophie is no longer constrained by societal expectations or her own insecurities. This dramatic change allows her true personality to emerge; resourceful, determined, and sharp-witted. Her practicality and no-nonsense attitude endear her to readers, who appreciate her growth from a self-doubting girl to a confident and capable woman.

Howl Jenkins Pendragon, the enigmatic wizard at the center of the story, is far from the typical dreamy lead character found in many fantasy novels. He is portrayed as vain, self-absorbed, and often cowardly, with a penchant for dramatic mood swings and a tendency to avoid responsibility. Yet, despite these flaws, Howl wins the heart of both Sophie and many of the novel’s readers, becoming a beloved character. Jones told the Telegraph in 2005 “Almost from the minute the book was published, “I began getting letters asking ‘Is Howl real? I want to marry him.’ There’s now a queue for his hand that must stretch twice around the world.”

“Howl’s Moving Castle” delves into themes of identity, power and self-reliance. The novel suggests that real strength lies in compassion, understanding, and self-acceptance rather than in traditional notions of magical or physical might. Howl’s greatest acts of bravery are motivated by his love and concern for others, and Sophie’s transformation reveals her inner resilience and capability.

The Studio Ghibli adaptation of Howl’s Moving Castle, was an international hit. Although the film’s story has many notable differences from her book, Jones was pleased with Hayao Miyazaki’s interpretation of her work; “It’s fantastic. No, I have no input—I write books, not films. Yes, it will be different from the book—in fact it’s likely to be very different, but that’s as it should be. It will still be a fantastic film.” Audiences worldwide agreed, making Howl’s Moving Castle one of the most commercially successful Japanese films of all time.

Diana Wynne Jones died on March 26, 2011, leaving behind a rich legacy. On his blog, Neil Gaiman eulogized her beautifully, writing “I have some wonderful friends. I have people in my life who are brilliant, and people who are colourful, and people who are absolutely wonderful, and who make the world better for their being in it. But there was only one Diana Wynne Jones, and the world was a finer one for having her in it.” In a touching tribute written for the Guardian in 2023, Katherine Rundell said “There are some writers whose voices are so vividly their own that you can detect the distinctive ring of it 10 miles off in a headwind: Jones is one of them.” Her stories continue to enchant and inspire, offering comfort, adventure, and a reminder of the transformative power of imagination. In the realm of fantasy literature, her legacy is immortal, a testament to her extraordinary talent and the enduring magic of her words.