A mother and daughter with a shared talent for healingand for the conjuring of cursesare at the heart of this dazzling first novel

WINNER OF THE SOCIETY OF AMERICAN HISTORIANS PRIZE NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYThe New York Times NPR ParadeBook RiotPopMatters

Lush, irresistible . . . It took me into the hearts of women I could otherwise never know. I was transported.Amy Bloom,New York Timesbestselling author ofWhite HousesandAway

Conjure Womenis a sweeping story that brings the world of the South before and after the Civil War vividly to life. Spanning eras and generations, it tells of the lives of three unforgettable women: Miss May Belle, a wise healing woman; her precocious and observant daughter Rue, who is reluctant to follow in her mothers footsteps as a midwife; and their masters daughter Varina. The secrets and bonds among these women and their community come to a head at the beginning of a war and at the birth of an accursed child, who sets the townspeople alight with fear and a spreading superstition that threatens their newly won, tenuous freedom.