Conjure Wife
#5523.79 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1943 Reading commitment Low Fritz Leiber Last reviewed 2026-09-05
Overview
A standalone dark-fantasy novel: a small-college sociology professor discovers that his wife has secretly been protecting his career with witchcraft -- and that every faculty wife on campus is quietly doing the same. First published as a novella in Unknown Worlds in April 1943, then expanded for its first standalone book edition a decade later.
Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Conjure Wife (1943) core · 3.79 (2,906 ratings); 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.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Conjure Wife? Conjure Wife's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Conjure Wife finished? Complete (1943).
- How much reading does Conjure Wife take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~210 pages).
- How is Conjure Wife ranked? #552 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 2,906 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #552?
Ranked #552 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.79 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (2,906 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #551, The Well-Built City (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 1 book · Complete · 3k ratings · Ranks #552 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment dark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Retro Hugo Award (Best Novel), 1944: won: Conjure Wife; 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.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.79 across 2,906 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Conjure Wife (Fritz Leiber) accepted 2026-09-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05
Rule: Core Canon = the single novel; a complete, self-contained work with no sequel or further installments.