Books Like The Witches of Cambridge
by Alice Hoffman
The Witches of Cambridge opens with a collision of place and possibility: 1950s Cambridge, Massachusetts, as seen through a newcomer’s wide eyes. Ava, a bright young woman from small-town Maine, arrives at Radcliffe and is pulled into the Lilith Society, a secret sisterhood where ritual and rumor sit beside study halls and debutante balls. Alice Hoffman stages the novel around close-knit female bonds, the slow accrual of supernatural practice, and the grinding realities of misogyny in midcentury academic and social life.
Readers will come away remembering different things: the specificity of a Radcliffe campus in the 1950s, the way female friendship becomes both sanctuary and battleground, or the tense, sometimes forbidden intimacies that complicate allegiance. Some will have loved the folkloric rituals and subtle magic; others the historical texture and the book’s quieter forms of resistance. Below are nine carefully chosen books that echo one or more of those elements — sisterhood and witchcraft, period atmosphere, campus secrecy, and the moral costs of keeping (or breaking) rules — with notes to help you pick the closest next read for what you loved most.
Recommended for fans of The Witches of Cambridge
Practical Magic
Alice Hoffman
Classic Hoffman blend of sisterhood, witchcraft, and New England atmosphere.
Pick this if you loved Hoffman's particular blend of women-bound-by-magic in a New England setting — this is the closest tonal and thematic match.
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
Katherine Howe
Historical New England witchcraft mystery with rooted academic setting and feminist questions.
Pick this if you want another story that ties academic inquiry to colonial witchcraft and feminist reclamation — it mirrors the historical-research dimension of Hoffman's novel.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Elizabeth George Speare
Young woman at odds with Puritan society; atmosphere of suspicion and moral courage.
Pick this if you were drawn to a young woman at odds with a restrictive moral community and the courage required to resist — note this is a younger-protagonist, historical coming-of-age fit.
The Secret History
Donna Tartt
Ivy-league set, secretive clique, intellectual intensity and moral transgression.
Pick this if the secret-society dynamics and moral ambiguity around elite students are what gripped you — this is more psychological and less supernatural than Hoffman's book.
The Little Stranger
Sarah Waters
Slow-building Gothic unease, postwar setting, class tensions and intimate dread.
Pick this if you appreciated the midcentury setting and a mood of quiet dread layered over class and family pressure — expect a creeping atmosphere rather than overt magic.
The Night Watchman
Louise Erdrich
Midcentury setting, strong female perspectives, and quiet resistance against oppressive forces.
Pick this if you wanted strong female perspectives in a midcentury setting that confronts institutional power — the novel shares the theme of quiet, principled resistance.
The Distant Hours
Kate Morton
Family secrets, a moody estate, and layered female relationships across decades.
Pick this if family mysteries and layered female relationships across time were what you loved — this leans more on family legacy than campus life or explicit witchcraft.
The Golem and the Jinni
Helene Wecker
Magical realism set in historical American cities with outsider women and intimate friendships.
Pick this if you want magical-realist, immigrant-city textures and intimate friendships between outsider women — this is a looser, mood-based match rather than a plot or period twin.
The House of the Spirits
Isabel Allende
Multigenerational magic realism centered on women, power, and social change.
Pick this if you were drawn to sweeping, multigenerational takes on women, power and social change — this shares the broad, women-centered magical-realism scope but is the loosest fit here.
At a glance
Matches were chosen by which elements of Hoffman's book they reflect most closely: intimate female networks and witchcraft, midcentury New England or academic settings, and novels that layer social pressure with moral or supernatural stakes. Percentages indicate how many of those dimensions a title shares with The Witches of Cambridge.
| Book | First published | Pages | Closest match on | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Practical Magic Alice Hoffman | 1995 | 288 | Sisterhood & witchcraft | 94% |
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane Katherine Howe | 2009 | 384 | Academic witchcraft mystery | 88% |
The Witch of Blackbird Pond Elizabeth George Speare | 1958 | 249 | Outsider vs. Puritan society | 82% |
The Secret History Donna Tartt | 1992 | 608 | Ivy-clique secrecy | 78% |
The Little Stranger Sarah Waters | 2009 | 512 | Slow-building Gothic tension | 76% |
The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich | 2020 | 464 | Midcentury women’s resistance | 72% |
The Distant Hours Kate Morton | 2010 | 531 | Secrets across generations | 70% |
The Golem and the Jinni Helene Wecker | 2013 | 502 | Historical magical realism in cities | 68% |
The House of the Spirits Isabel Allende | — | — | Multigenerational magic & power | 66% |
About The Witches of Cambridge
Published 8 September 2026 by Simon & Schuster, The Witches of Cambridge is a new series from Alice Hoffman, author of Practical Magic. Set in 1950s Cambridge, Massachusetts, it follows Ava, a young Radcliffe student who meets Lauren and is drawn into the Lilith Society; themes include New England history, magic, misogyny, female friendship and forbidden love. It was a Read with Jenna book club selection.
Frequently asked questions
If I loved the female friendships in The Witches of Cambridge, what should I read next?+
Start with Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman — it’s Hoffman's signature illustration of sisterhood entwined with witchcraft and New England atmosphere.
I want more historical New England witchcraft mysteries. Any recommendations?+
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane explores academic research into colonial witchcraft and centers feminist questions in a New England setting, making it the closest match for that strand.
Are there campus-set novels with secret societies like the Lilith Society?+
Yes. The Secret History shares the Ivy-league, secretive-clique framework and its moral transgressions, though it emphasizes intellectual obsession over magic.
Which pick captures postwar social pressures and creeping dread?+
The Little Stranger is the best fit here: a postwar setting that builds Gothic unease around class tensions and intimate dread, resonant with midcentury anxieties in Hoffman's novel.
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