Lives of the Mayfair Witches
#4553.97 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 1990–1994 Reading commitment Medium Anne Rice Last reviewed 2026-08-30
Overview
Lives of the Mayfair Witches follows generations of the wealthy Mayfair family and Lasher, the ancestral spirit summoned centuries earlier by a Scottish witch who manipulates the family's rise to power while pursuing his own goal of achieving human form, in a family-saga trilogy by Anne Rice, already in this canon for The Vampire Chronicles. The Witching Hour (1990), Lasher (1993), and Taltos (1994), published by Knopf, form the self-contained original trilogy; each debuted at number two on the New York Times bestseller list, and the family later crosses over into three Vampire Chronicles novels published between 2000 and 2003. AMC adapted the trilogy as the television series Mayfair Witches, which premiered in January 2023 with Alexandra Daddario as neurosurgeon Rowan Mayfair, the family heir who becomes Lasher's chief target.
Dark fantasy, Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Lives of the Mayfair Witches Anne Rice
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Witching Hour | 1990 | 1 | core | 4.09 (126,919 ratings) |
 | Lasher | 1993 | 2 | core | 3.88 (66,635 ratings) |
 | Taltos | 1994 | 3 | core | 3.82 (57,450 ratings) |
Core Canon = the original trilogy (1990-1994) centered on the Mayfair family.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Lives of the Mayfair Witches? Lives of the Mayfair Witches's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Lives of the Mayfair Witches? Publication order, starting with The Witching Hour. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Lives of the Mayfair Witches finished? Complete (1990–1994).
- How much reading does Lives of the Mayfair Witches take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books · ~2,645 pages).
- How is Lives of the Mayfair Witches ranked? #455 in this site's official ranking, based on 251,004 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #455?
Ranked #455 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.97 across 3 core books.
- Backed by 251k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #454, The Southern Vampire Mysteries (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Complete · 251k ratings · Ranks #455 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length dark fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Witching Hour (1990)
- Lasher (1993)
- Taltos (1994)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No verified awards found for this trilogy.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.97 across 251,004 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Garrett P.I. (Glen Cook), The Corean Chronicles (L.E. Modesitt Jr.), Lives of the Mayfair Witches (Anne Rice) accepted 2026-08-30
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30
Rule: Core Canon = the original trilogy (The Witching Hour, Lasher, Taltos, 1990-1994). Three later novels (Merrick, Blackwood Farm, Blood Canticle) cross this family over into The Vampire Chronicles and are already catalogued under that universe, not duplicated here.