Anne Rice, author of “Interview with the Vampire,” dies at the age of 80 | Anne Rice

[ad_1]

Anne Rice, the best-selling author of “Interview with the Vampire,” has died at the age of 80.

Gothic novelist Christopher Rice’s son said in a statement Sunday morning that Rice “passed away from complications arising from a stroke,” adding: “The grief of our family cannot be overstated.”

Rice wrote more than 30 books, but is best known for her first novel, Interview with the Vampire, which introduced the world to the vampire saga Lestat and moved from Louisiana in the 18th century for the next two hundred years. Published in 1976, it was made into a 1994 movie starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Kirsten Dunst. Audrey Niveniger called it Rice’s “masterpiece.”

Rice has written 12 other novels in the Vampire Chronicles series, dismissing the illustrious vegan version of vampire popularized in Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series, saying that she felt “sorry for vampires that shine in the sun” and that Lestat “never” would hurt immortals who They choose to spend an eternity going to high school over and over in a small town.”

Horror legend Ramsay Campbell said that Rice wrote “in the great tradition of Gothic, both in subject matter and in its prose.” “I would argue that it is a specifically female lineage that extends from the Classical Goths but in particular from Mary Shelley, in humanizing the beast and in the way that it gives him a fully educated voice,” Campbell said.

Bestselling horror author Sarah Benborough, whose movie Behind Her Eyes was recently adapted for Netflix, has praised the way Rice has changed the genre. “I’ve been fascinated with vampires since early childhood, and when I found Rice’s work, I absolutely loved the way she took the genre and created a vibrant world and characters within, and most importantly, made them feel very contemporary and relevant,” he said.

Rice is also known for her fantasy thriller series Sleeping Beauty, and her novels about the life of Christ and about angels, written after she reverted to her childhood Catholic faith in 1998 after decades of atheism. Rice said at the time that she “dedicated her writing entirely to Christ, vowing to write for him or for him.”

But she later “left” Christianity, writing on her Facebook page: “In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial contraceptives. I refuse to be anti-democratic. I refuse to Being humane is anti-secular. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I left Christianity and being a Christian. Amen.”

Rice’s husband, poet Stan Rice, died in 2002. As well as Christopher, the couple had a daughter, Michelle, who died of leukemia in 1972 at the age of six. Rice began writing in the years after Michelle’s death, telling the Guardian in 2010: “It was a really desperate attempt to be someone. I looked around after my daughter died and realized I was nobody and nothing. I wasn’t even a mother anymore. I had nothing.” ”

Interview with the Vampire was published in 1976, and Christopher, also a writer, was born two years later. His mother, he said, “taught me to challenge the boundaries of gender and to give in to obsessive feelings.”

In her final hours, he said, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and bravery, mired in memories of the life that took us from the misty hills of the San Francisco Bay Area to the magical streets of New Orleans to the shimmering skylines of Southern California.

As Anne was kissing goodbye, her younger sister Karen said, “What a journey you have taken upon us, boy.” I believe we can all agree. Let us take comfort in the shared hope that Ann is now experiencing firsthand the glorious answers to many great spiritual and cosmic questions. , which defined her life and career in her pursuit.”

He said a public celebration of Rice’s life will be held next year in New Orleans, where the author was born and raised.

[ad_2]