The Conjure Woman

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chesnutt, Charles W. (Charles Waddell), 1858-1932.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"The Conjure Woman" by Charles W. Chesnutt is a collection of short stories written during the late 19th century. The narratives, set in the post-Civil War South, revolve around the experiences of former enslaved individuals and their interactions with both their white neighbors and the complexities of their new social status. The primary character introduced in the opening story is Uncle Julius McAdoo, a former enslaved man who uses folklore and superstition to navigate life, particularly through his storytelling, which blends humor and social commentary. At the start of the book, the narrator recounts his move to a Southern state for grape cultivation due to his wife's ill health. He meets Uncle Julius while inspecting a neglected vineyard, where Julius warns him that the land is "goophered" or bewitched, leading to the narrator's curiosity about the vineyard's history and the folk tales surrounding it. Julius then shares a detailed and enchanting story about the vineyard's original owner, Mars Dugal', and the superstitions surrounding his grapevines, encapsulating themes of magic, belief, and the legacy of slavery. This sets the stage for a series of stories that explore the lives and traditions of African Americans in the South, emphasizing the interplay of folklore and reality. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

The goophered grapevine

Po' Sandy

Mars Jeems's nightmare

The conjurer's revenge

Sis' Becky's pickaninny

The gray wolf's ha'nt

Hot-foot Hannibal.

Credits:

Produced by Suzanne Shell, Sjaani and PG Distributed Proofreaders

Notes:

Reading ease score: 80.8 (6th grade). Easy to read.

Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conjure_Woman

Release date is 2004-03-01