"The Witches of Cambridge" by Alice Hoffman

The Witches of Cambridge (Sept. 8, 2026) by Alice Hoffman.

<This is the first book in a series.>

We Fly Together. In 1950s Cambridge, Massachusetts, the town seems far removed from the legendary witch trials of the late 1600s. Ava Abbot is a red-haired young woman from Genesis, Maine, and she’s arrived for her first year at Radcliffe College. Her assigned roommate is Lauren Bell, the brazen daughter of a well-to-do Cambridge family. Both are so opposite, yet are connected. Lauren knows she’s imbued with magic, and she knows they’ve both been recruited as that year’s two Lilith Society initiates. It’s a clandestine organization of witches at Radcliffe that dates back to colonial times, and only those who are legacy witches can be recruited. Ava is convinced there is a mistake. She knows who her parents are, and there isn’t anything minutely witchy about them. Ava grew up in strictness and solitude, but she flourishes at Radcliffe and falls for the wrong young man. Jamie Mather is a descendant of those Mathers that were around for the Salem Witch Trials. Where Ava practically glows red with love, Lauren wends down the Crooked Path (of left-handed magic), aiming to make black her heart. When a few of their Lilith Society cohort go missing, they know that witch hunters are not a thing of the past.

            From the author of Practical Magic comes the first in a new, adult fiction series. It blends historical fiction, magical realism and mystery against a backdrop of dark academia. The era of McCarthyism, the Red Scare and the Lavender Scare run parallel to the overall patriarchal system of the 1950s where women have limited rights. Fortunately, Hoffman creates a rich story that lifts up feminism in spite of the misogyny, gives magic a foundation despite the discrimination surrounding witches and provides lore amidst struggles. I’m impressed that her supporting characters shine as brightly as her main characters. For example, there’s Carrick, who’s called Goliath, but is the type to secretly care for the stray cats near him, and there’s Maureen, a working-class witch whom Lauren looks down upon. This witchy series opener is smart and is a searing story of history as well as a twisting tale of the paranormal.