Lives of the Mayfair Witches
#3733.97 of 664 ranked universes · 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 Mayfair family and their ancestral spirit companion across New Orleans, 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) form the self-contained original trilogy.
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? #373 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 251,004 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #373?
Ranked #373 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.97 across 3 core books.
- Backed by 251k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #372, 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 #373 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.