Witches Abroad

First published in November 1991 by Victor Gollancz. It is the twelfth Discworld novel and the third Witches book.

The novel parodies Cinderella most directly, but also incorporates Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, and several other fairy tale frameworks. The city of Genua is a version of New Orleans, and the novel also satirizes the American South.

Pratchett argues that stories have their own narrative gravity — they pull events toward their expected endings. The antagonist weaponizes this by forcing real people into story roles. The witches' job is to resist the story and give people back their agency.

It works well as a standalone — the witches' dynamic is fully established by this point, but the novel explains enough that new readers are not lost. However, reading Wyrd Sisters first makes the characters richer.

While this is the third book featuring the Lancre witches, it can be enjoyed as a standalone story because the narrative provides necessary context for new readers. If you prefer to follow the character development of the witches in order, you may choose to start with Wyrd Sisters.

The story continues in the next book in the witches subseries, titled Lords and Ladies, which directly follows the events and character arcs established here.

The narrative serves as a satirical exploration of fairy tales and folklore, incorporating recognizable elements and tropes from stories like Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz, and Dracula.