Lives of the Mayfair Witches is a trilogy of Gothic supernatural horror fantasy novels by American author Anne Rice. It centers on a family of witches whose fortunes have been guided for generations by a spirit named Lasher. The series began in 1990 with The Witching Hour, which was followed by the sequels Lasher (1993) and Taltos (1994). All three novels debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Some characters from the trilogy cross over to Rice's The Vampire Chronicles, a series of gothic horror novels featuring the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, specifically in Merrick (2000), Blackwood Farm (2002), and Blood Canticle (2003).

A television series adaptation, Mayfair Witches, debuted on AMC in 2023.

Overview

Susan Ferraro of The New York Times described The Witching Hour as "a ghost story about an evil spirit called Lasher who is so permeated with foreboding and evil that themes like abortion and incest are merely secondary. There is Christian symbolism straight and skewed, rough sex and necrophilia." Publishers Weekly wrote that "Rice plumbs a rich vein of witchcraft lore, conjuring ... the decayed antebellum mansion where incest rules, dolls are made of human bone and hair, and violent storms sweep the skies each time a witch dies and the power passes on." The publication called Lasher "another vast, transcontinental saga of witchcraft and demonism in the tradition of Gothic melodrama." The Mary Sue described the series as "half narrative, half exposition of the entire family tree". The website also noted the "overuse of incest" and casual treatment of horror and violence, which "permeates the Gothic atmosphere." Alexander Theroux of the Chicago Tribune called Taltos "a dark and intimidating mystery" and wrote that Rice "continues the dark epic of the Mayfair witches, her saga of the occult ... that takes us on temporal and spatial journeys back through the centuries, probing plots of corruption and innocence, mortality and immortality, good and evil. The genre goes back to the Gothic novels of Ann Radcliffe and Horace Walpole, the kind of books, with their creaking armor, salivating monks and thunderstorms, satirized by Thomas Love Peacock in his Crotchet Castle."

Characters

Upon the death of her estranged biological mother Deirdre, California neurosurgeon Rowan Mayfair is shocked to find herself named the new designee of the Mayfair family fortune. Lasher, whom Publishers Weekly describes as "devil, seducer, spirit", The Mayfairs' First Street house is based on Rice's own antebellum mansion in New Orleans, with fictional events written as if taking place in specific locations in the real-world house. Rice bought the mansion with the advance for The Witching Hour. She called The Witching Hour "a Gothic epic", and said, "The Turn of the Screw is a wonderful haunting novel [but it is] just the beginning. I want The Witching Hour to be as great or greater than Henry James." and remained in that position for four weeks, spending a total of 22 weeks on the list. Writing for The New York Times, Patrick McGrath found Lasher's origins "intriguing", and described the many characters in the extended Mayfair family as "all vividly sketched, all gloriously weird." He noted the novel's "tireless narrative energy" and "relentless inventiveness", but also called it "bloated" with repetitive storytelling. McGrath also criticized the characterization of central human characters Rowan and Michael, writing that "they have both been so constructed that they hardly for a moment live or breathe except as structural elements serving specific design functions in the grand scheme." and remained in that position for three weeks, spending a total of 17 weeks on the list. Publishers Weekly noted of the novel, "Long sections ramble without a compelling point of view, and are dampened by stock elements: clichéd wind storms, sexy witches, the endless supply of money the Talamasca has at its disposal. At times, Lasher is too much in evidence (rattling the china, gnashing his teeth) to be frightening. But embedded in this antique demonism is a contemporary tale of incest and family abuse that achieves resonance." The publication added that "Rice's characters rise above the more wooden plot machinations with an ironic and modern complexity", and that "the novel is compelling through its exhaustive monumentality. and remained in that position for five weeks, spending a total of 16 weeks on the list. Publishers Weekly wrote, "Pulsing with a persistent sense of foreboding, the novel is soggy with meandering, atmospheric prose that verges on softcore porn." The Vampire Chronicles is a series of gothic horror novels featuring the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. In the crossover novels, former Talamasca leader David Talbot seeks out Merrick Mayfair, an octoroon descendant of Julien Mayfair, on behalf of the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac. Mona and Rowan Mayfair are later brought into the narrative.

Published on October 17, 2000, Merrick debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Blackwood Farm (2002)

Tarquin "Quinn" Blackwood, heir to a powerful old family in New Orleans, asks for Lestat's help to get rid of Goblin, an increasingly malevolent spirit who has plagued Quinn for his entire life. Quinn recalls his youth, his family, and his forced transformation into a vampire by Petronia. His stories allow Lestat to better understand the reach and power of Goblin, and clue in Lestat to the fact that Quinn is connected to the Mayfair family of witches. After his own failure defeating Goblin, Lestat asks Merrick for assistance. Meanwhile, Quinn has fallen in love with heiress Mona Mayfair, and the ghost of their mutual ancestor Julien Mayfair warns him against making Mona a vampire. Goblin is revealed to be the spirit of Quinn's twin Gawain, who died days after being born. He is bound to Quinn, and is relentlessly jealous to experience whatever Quinn does. Merrick performs a ritual using Gawain's corpse to exorcise Goblin. She sacrifices herself by carrying the child's spirit into the hereafter with her, and Lestat is heartbroken.

The novel brings Mayfair Witches character Mona Mayfair into The Vampire Chronicles.

Published on October 29, 2002, Blackwood Farm debuted at No. 4 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Blood Canticle (2003)

Mona is slowly dying, afflicted with a mysterious disease brought on by the birth of Morrigan. Over time, Mona and Rowan reveal more and more about the powerful genetic plague that has haunted the Mayfairs for generations: their connection to the Taltos, an advanced species of human to which both women have given birth. Lestat turns a dying Mona into a vampire so that she and Quinn can be together forever. While trying to prevent Mona's family from discovering her transformation, Lestat falls in love with the married Rowan, and she secretly pines for him as well. Mona adjusts to her new power. Lestat, Quinn and Mona arrive at the remote island colony of the Taltos, but instead of finding a secluded utopia, they discover that years of criminal intrigue and civil war have taken their toll. The remaining Taltos join the Mayfair clan in New Orleans. Mona and Quinn are instructed in the proper ways of vampirism by the ancient vampire Maharet and her twin Mekare. Rowan seeks out Lestat, half in love with him but torn by her love for her husband Michael. Exhausted by her life, she requests that he make her a vampire. Lestat declines, pained though he is, because she is a guiding force for the Mayfair family and he cannot take her away from it.

Rowan and Mona are major characters in the novel, and Publishers Weekly called Blood Canticle "the complete unification of the Mayfair witch saga with that of the Vampire Chronicles". The publication added that "the vampirization of young Mona, a true child of our times, gives Rice a dynamic new vampire personality with whom to play."

Published on October 28, 2003, Blood Canticle debuted at No. 5 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Adaptations

Audiobooks

Random House Audio originally released abridged audiobook adaptations of all three Mayfair Witches novels on audio cassette, with narrators Lindsay Crouse (The Witching Hour), Joe Morton (Lasher), and Tim Curry (Taltos). They were re-released as a three-book "Value Collection" on CD in 2005, and digitally in 2013. In 2015, new unabridged audiobook adaptations were released digitally by Random House Audio for all three novels in the trilogy, performed by Kate Reading.

Television

Development rights to The Lives of the Mayfair Witches were still held by Warner Bros in December 2019, when Rice began shopping a package combining film and TV rights to both The Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches. Rice was reportedly asking around $30 to $40 million, plus a $2.5 million buyout of Warner Bros.' rights, and the new owner would hold the rights in perpetuity, not just as an option. Anne and Christopher Rice serve as executive producers on any projects developed. Rice said, "It's always been my dream to see the worlds of my two biggest series united under a single roof so that filmmakers could explore the expansive and interconnected universe of my vampires and witches. That dream is now a reality, and the result is one of the most significant and thrilling deals of my long career." The series stars Alexandra Daddario as Rowan Mayfair, Harry Hamlin as Cortland Mayfair, Tongayi Chirisa as Ciprien Grieve, and Jack Huston as Lasher. Recurring roles include Annabeth Gish as Deirdre Mayfair, Beth Grant as Carlotta Mayfair, Erica Gimpel as Ellie Mayfair and Jen Richards as Jojo Mayfair.

References

  • Mayfair Witches at AnneRice.com
  • Anne Rice's Mayfair Family Tree – Part 1
  • Anne Rice's Mayfair Family Tree – Part 2
  • Anne Rice's Vampire Tree