The Conjure Woman is a collection of short stories by African-American
fiction writer, essayist, and activist Charles W. Chesnutt. First
published in 1899, it is considered a seminal work of African-American
literature. Written in the late nineteenth century, a time of enormous
growth and change for a country only recently reunited in peace, these
stories act as the uneasy meeting ground for the culture of northern
capitalism, professionalism, and Christianity and the underdeveloped
southern economy, a kind of colonial Third World whose power is manifest
in life charms and magic spells, all embodied by the ruling figure of
the conjure woman. Charles Waddell Chesnutt was an author, essayist and
political activist, best known for his novels and short stories
exploring complex issues of racial and social identity.