Book description
What if half the world's population (the female half) practiced
witchcraft and kept it a secret from men? Norman Saylor, a professor of
ethnology, discovers his wife Tansy has put his research in the field of
"Negro Conjure Magic" into practice for the sake of protecting
him from other spell-casting faculty wives who wish to further their own
husbands careers. A man of science, Norman has only an academic interest
in the subject of magic and superstition and forces Tansy to cease all
her workings and to burn all her charms. As soon as Norman burns the
last charm, things start to fall apart. He has a run-in with a former
student, his student-secretary accuses him of having seduced her, and he
is passed over for a promotion that had seemed certain. Norman begins to
have more than his fair share of small accidents: cutting himself while
shaving, stepping on carpet tacks, cutting his hand with a letter
opener, and more. He begins to imagine that there is a dark presence
exploiting his fear of trucks. Tansy takes his curse upon herself
forcing him to overcome his disbelief and use witchcraft to save his
wife's body-and her soul. Originally published in 1953, Conjure Wife is
considered a modern classic of horror-fantasy and has been adapted for
film three times: 'Burn, Witch Burn' (1962); 'Weird Woman' (1944); and
'Witch's Brew' (1980). Yet another film remake is in the works. Fritz
Leiber is considered one of science fiction's legends. Author of a
prodigious number of stories and novels, many of which were made into
films, he is best known as creator of the classic Lankhmar fantasy
series. Fritz Leiber has won awards too numerous to count including the
coveted Hugo and Nebula, and was honored as a lifetime Grand Master by
the Science Fiction Writers of America. He died in 1992.
