Lives of the Mayfair Witches
The Lives of the Mayfair Witches is a series of novels written by the horror author Anne Rice. They feature the Mayfairs, a New Orleans family of witches and their connection to a spirit named Lasher, spanning several generations. The primary novels of the series are The Witching Hour, Lasher, and Taltos, though characters and plot lines continue into other novels, most notably Blood Canticle. The house featured in the novels as the home of the "legacy family" is an actual home in The Garden District of New Orleans, LA; and is located at 1239 1st Street. The house was purchased and restored by Anne Rice and her husband, the artist Stan Rice in 1989 after returning to live in New Orleans. The "legacy house" features prominently in the Mayfair story, and was described by the author nearly exactly as it appeared in real life.
The Mayfair Witches
The Family History
The origin of the Mayfair Witches saga goes back to Suzanne Mayfair (a simpleton and an ancestor of Rowan) who was the first Mayfair witch to 'command' Lasher after waking his spirit in Donnelaith, Scotland. Lasher had promised the Mayfair family wealth and power in exchange for assistance in making him flesh. Lasher believed that the Mayfair witches had the ability to bring him into the world, and secretly hoped to populate and subdue the world with his offspring. The entire history of the family is narrated in "The Witching Hour".
Lasher
Lasher is first introduced in The Witching Hour as a familiar spirit tied to the Mayfair family for generations. Although intangible, he is capable of many impossible feats, from mind-reading, possession, to even sexual intercourse or murder. He draws powers from the attention people give him, especially when the said persons are witches. The wealth and power of the Mayfair family are founded upon their witches' abilities and how well they can manipulate Lasher to their service. He always claims to the witch of each generation that he will serve her and bring her wealth, while asking in exchange that she brings forth at least one witch daughter to be the witch of the next generation. The readers soon learn, however, that Lasher, although subservient on the surface, is a conniving liar who always works subversively towards his own goal: to become flesh again. He seduces or deludes anyone he wishes to use, and frightens or disposes of anyone who stands in his way. By the end of the story, it becomes clear that it is Lasher who truly controls this family all along.
It is revealed when Lasher regains the flesh, that he belongs to the Taltos, a near-extinct superhuman race that once occupied the Highlands of Scotland. When the Romans overran the country, they sought to breed with them, believing they would achieve military might if they could father powerful sons who would grow to manhood within hours. But when they failed to breed with the Taltos, they decided to destroy them. Later on, when Christianity came to Scotland, Ashlar, then leader of the Taltos, converted to the new religion and condemned those who did not convert, including his own wife, whom he had burned at the stake.
Lasher was a Taltos, believed to be St. Ashlar reborn and, after a 23 year stay in Italy learning to be a priest, he returns to Scotland to defend Donnelaith against the Protestants. He was burnt at the stake and existed as a bodiless, senseless spirit until called up by Suzanne Mayfair.
The Witches
In Chronological order, these are the fourteen Witches:
- 1 - Suzanne Mayfair (?-1664) - Red haired with a rather wild nature, Suzanne is the witch responsible for calling Lasher for the first time. She's a somewhat ignorant country girl and she ends up being persecuted by the town for being a witch.
- 2 - Deborah Mayfair (1652–1689) - Black haired and blue eyed. Rescued by Petyr Van Abel (blonde haired, grey eyed) because people assume that Deborah will turn out just like her mother, twelve-year-old Deborah quietly falls in love with and later seduces her rescuer the evening before her marriage to another man.
- 3 - Charlotte Mayfair (1667–1743) - Described as looking rather like Deborah only blond, Charlotte is probably the most powerful witch until Marie Claudette. Charlotte's twins Jeanne Louise and Peter were fathered by her biological father Petyr Van Abel.
- 4 - Jeanne-Louise Mayfair (1690–1771) - Her daughter Angelique was fathered by her twin brother Peter. Very little else is known of the life of Jeanne Louise.
- 5 - Angélique Mayfair (1725-?) - Angelique is one of the few Mayfair witches not known to have had an incestuous relationship. She's also described as pretty but less pretty than her mother Jeanne Louise or her grandmother Charlotte. Little else is known about her.
- 6 - Marie-Claudette Mayfair (1760–1831) - Marie Claudette is the first of the Mayfair witches to come to America. She's also the first of the witches to not choose the eldest daughter to be the Mayfair designee. Her eldest Marie Claire suffers from mental illness and is implied to be clairvoyant but unstable. Marie Claire often sleepwalks and speaks in riddles. Marie Claudette chooses Marguerite to be the designee because she has a stronger personality and seems like she'd be better able to control Lasher. Marie Claudette also lives long enough to make an impression on her grandson Julien Mayfair.
- 7 - Marguerite Mayfair (1799–1891) - A beautiful woman like all of the Mayfair witches, Marguerite suffers from a streak of madness that intensifies as she gets older. She's the first of the witches who really tries to find a way to get Lasher into human form. She conducts numerous grisly experiments and frightens her neighbors, family, and slaves. When she dies a huge storm occurs unnerving Katherine while thrilling Julien.
- 8 - Katherine Mayfair (1830–1905), but the real witch was Julien Mayfair (1828–1914) - Katherine is generally thought to be one of the weakest of the Mayfair witches. Unlike many of the witches who came before her, Katherine wanted to break away from her family. She married an outsider named Darcy and Julian becomes mad with jealousy. Katherine's marriage is described as being wonderful at first. She and Darcy frequently throw parties at First Street and they manage to have two healthy boys. Katherine was content for a few years and really did think that she'd found happiness with the man she loved. However a series of stillbirths and miscarriages did disturb her and she does begin to wonder if this is some sort of judgment from God for rejecting her family. Darcy comforts her and continues to have faith that his love for her will be worth the sacrifice of her family. Unfortunately, Darcy dies of yellow fever and a distraught Katherine turns to her family for comfort. She begs Julien to come to her, to forgive her and Julian immediately comes to her having never reconciled himself with his jealousy. Sometime after Darcy's funeral, Julien comes to his sister Katherine's room and rapes her repeatedly by his own admission even though she begs him to stop. He's furious that Darcy still has a hold over her even in death and seems to want to do his best to make her forget about him. After these encounters Katherine becomes pregnant with Mary Beth the next Mayfair witch. Katherine becomes mentally unhinged after the rape and is never the same afterward. She convinces herself that Mary Beth is Darcy's child and her faith in Catholicism is intensified. Once so close, Julien and Katherine can now barely stand to be in the same room with each other. While she is described as being beautiful after Mary Beth's birth and, like Julien, her hair becomes prematurely white. As an old woman she becomes a religious fanatic. Katherine and Antha are the only two Mayfair witches who manage to break away and purposely live apart from the family for a significant length of time. (Rowan's time away from the family wasn't deliberate on Rowan's part.)
- 9 - Mary Beth Mayfair (1872–1925) - Mary Beth is arguably the strongest of all of the Mayfair witches with the possible exception of Julien or Rowan. She is largely responsible for building the Mayfair financial empire and she takes it upon herself to become the head of the family in the sense that she distributes the money to any family members, including distant extended family members, who are in need or who want to expand their businesses or any other reason. She and Julian also make it a point to do research on the Mayfair family, traveling to Europe together to learn more about the family's origins and possibly more about Lasher. It is during this trip to Europe that they conceive Belle Mayfair. Unfortunately Belle Mayfair showed signs of learning difficulties and mental illness: symptoms of incest, therefore Mary Beth knew that this daughter couldn't be the next designee to the Mayfair Emerald. Eventually Mary Beth was introduced to a friend/lover of Julien and with whom she fell in love and finally married. From this union came two children, first a daughter, Carlotta Mayfair and then a son, Lionel Mayfair. After a while another daughter was born: Stella Mayfair, the next designee to inherit the legacy. The father of Stella has been of some debate and was agreed that she was not fathered by her mother's husband. The most popular and likely candidate is Cortland, eldest son of Julien.
- 10 - Stella Mayfair (1901–1929) - Black hair and black eyes. Stella marks the beginning of Lasher wreaking havoc on the lives of the modern witches. Stella was unable to control Lasher and unlike Mary Beth, she seems apathetic to such matters including the running of the Mayfair Empire. Stella was the opposite of her mother in many aspects yet they adored each other, Mary Beth stated that Stella was how she would have liked to be if she could have start her life over again. Stella was a true 20's child and her life was one long party and while she's generally a delight to most people she knows, she was completely detested by her sister Carlotta. (Carlotta was always resentful that Mary Beth loved Stella more.) At the age of 19 Stella became pregnant with her first and only child Antha. It's unclear who fathered Antha but the most likely candidate is Julien's eldest son Cortland. One night in 1929 during a drunken jealous rage, Stella's brother Lionel shoots her to death during a party, in front of Antha. A storm occurs immediately after Stella's death.
- 11 - Antha Mayfair (1921–1941) - Of all of the lives of the Mayfair witches, Antha's just might be the most tragic. Antha loses her mother Stella when she is just eight years old and actually witnesses her uncle Lionel shooting her mother. She is never really sure about who her father is. At school she scares the nuns, staff, and other children because of Lasher's presence and consequently goes from school to school. She lives with Stella's family and is regularly bullied by her Aunt Carlotta. Unable to take life at home anymore, Antha runs away at 17 and eventually meets a young artist. They marry and she enjoys about two years of happiness before in quick succession she finds out that she is pregnant and that her husband has died in a mysterious car crash. (A car crash likely caused by Lasher.) She returns to her family to have her child and gives birth to her daughter Deirdre. At some point during her return she discovers that she is in fact the Mayfair designee. (She'd mistakenly been under the impression that Carlotta was in control of the Mayfair finances.) Upon finding out that she had the financial freedom to do as she liked, Antha decided to take control of her life including naming her new daughter her heir. Both furious and afraid or what Antha may do (under Lasher's influence) Carlotta completely snaps and begins to claw at Antha's eyes. She succeeds in pulling out one of Antha's eyes and as Antha is screaming she either mistakenly jumps or is pushed out of a third story window by Carlotta. She dies instantly and it begins to rain.
- 12 - Deirdre Mayfair (1941–1989) - Black hair and blue eyes. Like Antha, Deirdre had a very lonely childhood. In addition to having similar problems at school and at home due to the presence of Lasher, she doesn't have a mother or father to turn to for comfort. She attempts to get help from school priests and becomes distressed when she feels that no one can help her. Carlotta convinces her that she's the latest product of an evil chain in the family and Deirdre attempts to both runaway and later commit suicide at the age of 13. Eventually, Deirdre is allowed to attend college in Texas. It is here that she meets Aaron Lightner of the Talamasca. Deirdre later becomes pregnant and the child's father is initially thought to be a college professor of Deirdre's. We later learn that the father of Deirdre's child is none other than Cortland her uncle and grandfather. Carlotta insists that Deirdre give up the child and Deirdre pleads with Cortland to get him to help her convince Carlotta that she should be allowed to raise her child. Cortland's efforts are thwarted and baby Rowan is taken away from Deirdre as soon as she gives birth to some distant Mayfairs who legally adopted her. For the remainder of her life, Deirdre is kept controlled by Carlotta with daily sedative injections in addition to sometimes getting electroschock therapy. Deirdre spends most of her days silently sitting in a rocking chair on an enclosed porch staring out at the street and at any passersby. Deirdre was said to resemble Deborah Mayfair with her dark hair and contrasting eyes and premature adolescence.
- 13 - Rowan Mayfair (1959-) Blonde hair and grey eyes.
- 14 - Mona Mayfair (1983–2003) (transformed into a vampire). Red hair and green eyes.
The Mayfair Legacy
The Mayfair Legacy is a complex affair, composed of quasi-legal arrangements made between an international network of banks and investments. The legacy was created by Marie-Claudette Mayfair in 1789 just prior to the slave uprising in Saint Domingue (Haiti) which forced her to immigrate to New Orleans. It was greatly expanded by Marie-Claudette's great granddaughter Mary-Beth Mayfair into a massive financial empire which by the present day need only continue to exist in order to grow. The owner of this legacy (or designee) inherits the whole of it, as well as the famed Mayfair Emerald which has been passed down from mother to daughter since Comtesse Deborah Mayfair de Montcleve. Into each generation a witch is born (though there are many powerful, and not-so-powerful, witches scattered throughout the branches of the family) that is chosen as a future Designee by the present Designee. The present Designee (always a woman to date) usually chooses her daughter, which may or may not be her first-born daughter; this decision can be changed at any time, as with Mary Beth choosing her younger daughter Stella over the elder, Carlotta. Marie Claudette also chooses younger daughter Marguerite over older daughter Marie Claire. Because they could never be sure if the descendants of the male really had Mayfair blood, a male could only be chosen as designee if there were no surviving female siblings at the time of the current designee's death. The strength of the witch does not matter, Julien (referred to lovingly by the family as Oncle Julien) was considerably stronger than his sister Katharine who may not have been a witch at all. If the designee has no surviving children then the legacy passes to the closest female relative in the following generation as was the case with Mona Mayfair being named designee by Rowan Mayfair due to infertility.
The Designee
Until Mona Mayfair, the Designee of the Mayfair family has always been a daughter of the current Designee, regardless of whether or not she is powerful. The process of chosing the next heir is as follows. 1. If any daughters of the current designee survive her, one of them must be chosen. 2. Of those daughters, the one to whom Lasher attaches himself is selected. Mary-Beth commented on this once saying that her eldest daughter by Daniel McIntyre, Carlotta, was not the "chosen one" Because it was Stella who had seen "The Man." 3. The designee cannot be feeble minded unless no other females siblings survive their mother. (As with Bella Mayfair, who was Mary-Beth's true firstborn, by her Uncle/Father Julien.)
Upon the creation of Mayfair and Mayfair, the law firm founded by Julien and his sons Cortland, Barclay, and Garland, and after the passing of Mary Beth, the Legacy came under the control of the law firm and the descendants of Julien as Stella's behest, who had no interest in it whatsoever as long as her escapades could be funded.
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