The Hours
The first in the Mayfair Witches series, The Witching Hour introduces the fictional Mayfair family of New Orleans, generations of male and female witches. This tight-knit and deeply connected family, where a death of one strengthens the others with his/her knowledge. One Mayfair witch per generation is also designated to receive the powers of "the man," known as Lasher. Lasher gives the witches gifts, excites them, and protects them. Unsure as to exactly what this spirit is, the Mayfair clan knows him variously as a protector, a god-like figure, a sexual being, and the image of death. Lasher's current witch is Deirdre, who lies catatonic from psycological shock treatments. Deirdre's daughter, Rowan, has been spirited away from this "evil" and has happily become a neurosurgeon and has an uncanny gift to see the intent behind the facade. Rowan also has a gift few doctors possess--she can heal cells. Yet, though she uses it to save lives, she also fears that she hs caused several deaths. She rescues Michael from drowning. Michael then develops some extraordinary powers that compel him to seek New Orleans and to seek Rowan. He finds both, and pulls the tale closer together by meetin
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Two of our editors' lists feature this novel.
Also by Anne Rice
What you might want to know about The Hours
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
On one June day, Virginia Woolf in 1923 Richmond starts to draft Mrs. Dalloway, Laura Brown reads Mrs. Dalloway in a 1949 Los Angeles suburb while baking her husband's birthday cake, and Clarissa Vaughan in 1990s New York walks out for flowers to throw a party for an old friend dying of AIDS.
The Hours was written by Michael Cunningham and published in 1998. It won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award. The metadata above lists Anne Rice in error.
Yes. Stephen Daldry directed a 2002 film adaptation starring Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman. Kidman won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf.
The Hours is 965 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Hours takes most readers 14 to 21 hours to finish.
The Hours is a standalone novel by Anne Rice, not part of a series.
The Hours is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
