The Conjure Woman

"The Conjure Woman" by Charles W. Chesnutt is a series of tales that transport us to the South after the Civil War, where we meet former enslaved people trying to find their way in a changing world. Uncle Julius McAdoo, a clever man who was once enslaved, uses his storytelling skills to share old folk tales filled with magic and deep meanings about society, especially in how he deals with white people around him. The book starts with a man moving south to grow grapes and improve his wife’s health where he then meets Uncle Julius, while checking out his vineyard, who warns him about the land of "goopher" that leads to the man becoming curious about it's history and the folk stories around it. Julius spins a captivating yarn about Mars Dugal', the vineyard's first owner, and the weird beliefs connected to his grapes. This tale introduces the book's main ideas: magic, belief, and the long-lasting effects of slavery. Overall, the book uses folklore to look closely at the lives and customs of African Americans in the South during that time.