A Spotlight on Anne Rice on Her Birthday

Anne Rice was born on the 4th of October 1941 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. News that she had died at 80 broke in December 2021.

Anne was best known for her popular novel series, The Vampire Chronicles, and the inimitable vampire character, Lestat. Two of the books were adapted for screen: Interview with the Vampire in 1994, and Queen of the Damned in 2002.

We would like to take this opportunity to have a deeper look at the writer who became an inspiration to many people, for many reasons.

Anne’s website (annerice.com) shows us how she was so much more than just Lestat’s creator, with her involvement in charitable works for humanity. Anne supports the World Food Programme (WFP), a charitable organisation that helps more than 80 million people in over 80 countries. Through education, support, and aid, the WFP aims to improve nutrition and helps prevent future hunger.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated many places including New Orleans and Anne immediately reached out to help, offering information on her website about how fans can donate.

Anne had a life occasionally touched by sorrow, losing her daughter to granulocytic leukemia in 1972 was a tremendous blow. Her admirable strength and dedication to her son, born in 1978, helped ensure Anne’s longevity. After much healing and some inspired writing, Anne completed Interview with the Vampire in 1973 and it was finally published in 1976.

While many enjoy Anne’s writing style with its lyricism and philosophical leanings, there were many critics of her first novel. This negativity may have prompted her retreat from the genre for nearly a decade. The sequels to Interview with the Vampire were released in 1985 (The Vampire Lestat), and 1988 (The Queen of the Damned) to thankfully more positive reviews. The Queen of the Damned was received very well and reached the number one on The New York Times Best Seller list, staying there for over four months. Anne couldn’t stay away from the gothic world she created for too long, and Prince Lestat was published in 2014, adding to The Vampire Chronicles.

Anne Rice’s vampire legends gained fans who were offered the opportunity to relate to the monster, for the first time seeing the story from inside the vampire’s mind. The novel’s themes of being ‘othered’ in society, feeling apart from the norm, appealed to many including the LGBTQ community. Despite Anne not setting out to include gay allegorical symbols, she is, like many other writers, supportive of anyone’s interpretation of the characters and themes. Most authors realise that once a book is out there to be read, it belongs to the people, we can’t control what people see and nor should we want to.

Anne Rice has also written a trilogy of The Mayfair Witches novels surrounding generations of witches in New Orleans that fans of The Vampire Chronicles would also appreciate. Dipping into Hungarian folklore, ancient British tribes, and more, Anne created a supernatural world full of horror and intrigue.

Buy the trilogy here:

Anne has continued writing throughout the years with her latest in the vampire chronicles, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis, is ready to pre-order now for release on the 29th of November 2016. “In my dreams, I saw a city fall into the sea. I heard the cries of thousands. I saw flames that outshone the lamps of heaven. And all the world was shaken . . .”

Pre-order here:

Keep you eyes open in December for a Reading Addict Review!