Conjure Wife
core novel 1943 Conjure Wife
Record
| First published | 1943 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.79 (2,913 ratings, collected 2026-09-13) |
| Page count | 210 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9781258129590 |
Synopsis
Conjure Wife, published in 1943, is premised on the idea that witchcraft flourishes as an open secret practiced by women, hidden in plain sight from the men around them. The novel is told from the perspective of Norman Saylor, a rational, skeptical small-town college professor who prides himself on his scientific worldview, until he discovers by accident that his own wife, Tansy, has been secretly practicing protective magic on his behalf throughout their marriage. Alarmed and dismissive of what he considers superstition, Norman insists that Tansy destroy her charms and abandon her magical practices, a decision that quickly exposes just how much of his academic success and personal safety had been quietly shielded by her unacknowledged witchcraft, and how vulnerable he becomes once that protection is stripped away.
Where it sits
- Universe: Conjure Wife
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Fritz Leiber
Awards (verified)
- Retro Hugo Award (Best Novel), 1944: won; Awarded retroactively in 2019 for the 1944 Hugo year (covering works first published in 1943), verified directly against the Hugo Award's own official announcement, not a secondary summary.
Notes
- First published as a novella in Unknown Worlds (April 1943); expanded and published as a standalone book by Twayne Publishers in 1953, the edition now generally read. Per this project's print-edition-first convention, the true first PRINT edition (the 1953 Twayne book) is the recorded first edition; the 1943 magazine publication is the recorded original-publication year.
Sources
← Conjure Wife dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.