The Witching Hour
by Anne Rice
★ Top 5 book of 1990 · #4 on Best Books of 1990
The first Mayfair Witches novel follows a New Orleans family of witches bound to a mysterious spirit named Lasher. Neurosurgeon Rowan and the man she rescues, Michael, are drawn into centuries of the family's history.
Best for: Readers who enjoy supernatural family sagas with witches and deep history
The Witching Hour is #4 on BookWard's Best Books of 1990, out of 39 1990 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Witching Hour is about
Anne Rice opens the Mayfair Witches series with a family whose witches have lived in New Orleans for generations. In each generation, one Mayfair is chosen to receive the powers of a spirit called Lasher, who gives gifts and protection and who the family sees in many ways: guardian, god, lover, even the face of death. His current witch, Deirdre, lies catatonic after psychological shock treatments.
Her daughter Rowan was taken from the family long ago and grew up to be a neurosurgeon, with a gift for healing cells and a private fear that she has caused several deaths. When she rescues a man named Michael from drowning, he wakes with extraordinary powers that draw him toward New Orleans, and toward her. Dark, lush and atmospheric, the novel explores inheritance, obsession and the pull between good and evil. It is a good fit for readers who like Gothic storytelling with a deep family history.
The Witching Hour on the Best Books of 1990
The Witching Hour came out in 1990. Of the 39 books first published in 1990 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #4 on our Best Books of 1990 list.
Why it made the list: 617 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.3 out of 5 (29 ratings); 22 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 1990 list
- Jurassic Park Michael Crichton, #2
- The Eye of the World Robert Jordan, #3
- Flow Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, #5
- The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien, #6
See all Best Books of 1990 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1991.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 551 want to read it, 22 are reading it now and 44 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.3 out of 5 from 29 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 90 | 55% |
| Reader love | 90 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 77 | 20% |
Questions about The Witching Hour
When was The Witching Hour published?
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice was first published in 1990.
Was The Witching Hour one of the best books of 1990?
The Witching Hour is #4 on BookWard's Best Books of 1990, out of 39 1990 books that cleared our data bar. 617 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.3 out of 5 (29 ratings); 22 are reading it right now.
Why is The Witching Hour on the Best Books of 1990 list?
617 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.3 out of 5 (29 ratings); 22 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 1990
- Good Omens Terry Pratchett, #1
- Jurassic Park Michael Crichton, #2
- The Eye of the World Robert Jordan, #3
- Flow Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, #5
- The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien, #6
- Little Girl Lost Drew Barrymore, #7
See the full Best Books of 1990, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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