119-467: The following is a list of characters from Anne Rice 's The Vampire Chronicles , which began with the 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire . The series primarily follows the antihero Lestat de Lioncourt , a French nobleman turned into a vampire in the 18th century, and by extension the many humans and vampires whose lives he has touched in his own long existence. Some characters from Rice's Lives of
238-498: A BFI funded short film directed by Nosa Eke. In 2021, she played Billie in the miniseries Too Close , directed by Susan Tully and based on the 2018 novel by Clara Salaman . Hayles went on to play a recurring character in Holby City . That same year, she appeared in the short film Birds . In 2023, Hayles was recast as Claudia in the AMC television series Interview with
357-459: A B.A. in political science in 1964. Their daughter Michele, later nicknamed "Mouse", was born to the couple on September 21, 1966, and Rice later interrupted her graduate studies at SFSU to become a PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley . She soon became disenchanted with the emphasis on literary criticism and the language requirements. In her words: "I wanted to be a writer, not
476-590: A coven in New Orleans , but the Talamasca, enraged that three of their members had taken the blood, threaten the vampires and demand that Merrick, David, and Jesse return to them. Lestat wants to retaliate against the Talamasca, but David talks him out of doing anything rash, and the four leave their home in the Rue Royal. Jesse is a modern-day descendant of the ancient vampire Maharet , portrayed by Marguerite Moreau in
595-686: A $ 12,000 advance of the hardcover rights, at a time when most new authors were receiving $ 2,000 advances. Interview with the Vampire was published in May 1976. In 1977, the Rices traveled to both Europe and Egypt for the first time. Following the publication of Interview with the Vampire , while living in California, Rice wrote two historical novels, The Feast of All Saints and Cry to Heaven , along with three erotic novels ( The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty , Beauty's Punishment , and Beauty's Release ) under
714-501: A better reception with critics in the 1980s. Her writing style and the literary content of her works have been analyzed by literary commentators. She was married to poet and painter Stan Rice for 41 years, from 1961 until his death from brain cancer in 2002 at age 60. She and Stan had two children, Michele, who died of leukemia at age five, and Christopher , who is also an author. Rice also wrote books such as The Feast of All Saints (adapted for television in 2001) and Servant of
833-405: A bit of time talking to Aunt Queen about cameos and their history. When Lestat and Quinn are alone, Goblin returns to feed on Quinn but Lestat burns him as he does so. Quinn then tells Lestat the story of himself and Goblin (and his entire life). After the story is done they hear a noise and Quinn discovers Goblin has killed Aunt Queen. Lestat suggests Merrick can perhaps help get rid of Goblin. At
952-610: A cherubic adolescent boy, introduced in Interview with the Vampire (1976), When first encountered he is the leader of a coven of vampires living in a cemetery in Paris, with rituals that reflect their belief that they are damned creatures; when the coven breaks up, Armand is left with many existential questions. His previous life in Venice with Marius, and his capture and indoctrination by vampires there who despised Marius's optimistic manner of living,
1071-424: A dilapidated, awful, medieval type of place. I really hated it and wanted to leave. I felt betrayed by my father." In November 1957, Rice's father married Dorothy Van Bever. On the subject of the couple's first meeting, Rice recalled, "My father wrote her a formal letter inviting her to lunch which I hand-delivered to her house ... I was so nervous. In the note he enclosed a pin which she was to wear if she accepted
1190-466: A dying Akasha's body, making her the first vampire. She in turn makes Enkil a vampire by drawing out nearly all of his blood and then allowing him to drink nearly all of hers. After millennia, they become living statues and sleep upright in their thrones. What befalls Akasha and Enkil also befalls all vampires; if they are injured, so are their children, if they die, so do all vampires. Called Those Who Must Be Kept, Akasha and Enkil are hidden and cared for by
1309-661: A gated community in Kenner, Louisiana . "Simplifying my life, not owning so much, that's the chief goal", said Rice. "I'll no longer be a citizen of New Orleans in the true sense." She sold two New York City condominiums in March and April 2005. After completing Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt , Rice left New Orleans in 2005 shortly before the events of Hurricane Katrina in August. None of her former New Orleans properties were flooded, and Rice remained
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#17330944732341428-655: A large portion of her library collection to Powell's Books . Rice publicly announced her disdain for the current state of Christianity on her Facebook page on July 28, 2010: Today I quit being a Christian.... I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being 'Christian' or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to 'belong' to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else. Shortly thereafter, she clarified her statement: My faith in Christ
1547-442: A literature student." Rice returned to San Francisco State in 1970 to finish her studies in creative writing and graduated with an M.A. in 1972. Stan Rice became an instructor at San Francisco State shortly after receiving his own M.A. in creative writing from the institution, and later chaired the creative writing department before retiring in 1988. Her daughter was diagnosed with acute granulocytic leukemia in 1970, while Rice
1666-467: A much younger body, described as that of an Anglo-Indian with dark brown hair, while Lestat returns to his preternatural body. Lestat kills David's old body, which is possessed by James. At the end of the book, Lestat forces the blood upon David, making him his fledgling. David becomes somewhat of a confidant to Armand, and eventually records the story of his life in The Vampire Armand (1998). He
1785-486: A prosperous Italian family. She was educated and had traveled to and lived in many cities in Europe. Then she was married at a young age to Lestat's father, Marquis d'Auvergne. Gabrielle gave birth to eight children, but only 3 survived. Out of these sons, the youngest (Lestat), was to become her favorite. She and Lestat shared a special bond: they both were trapped in a place they hated and struggling endlessly to escape. Gabrielle
1904-532: A pyre that he had made for himself. He left Lestat to struggle and learn for himself of his new vampiric nature and its powers. Lestat would later lament that he learned "absolutely nothing" from the one who made him. Introduced in The Vampire Lestat , Antoine is a French musician, exiled to Louisiana and made a vampire by Lestat. He returns in Prince Lestat (2014). Antoinette, a gender swapped version of
2023-401: A ride on the postal carriage. Lestat became an actor there and was far happier than he ever was back home. He was grateful and loved his mother for all that she had done for him over the years so he sent letters to her telling her about his life in Paris. She encouraged his acting career, which gave him a lot of strength. She carefully hid her rapidly declining health to keep him strong. Lestat
2142-601: A series of ancient vampires in locations around the world. In the late 1800s, Lestat discovers them and drinks from Akasha, acquiring her supreme powers. Over a century later, Lestat's music awakens Akasha in The Queen of the Damned . Akasha is portrayed by Aaliyah in the 2002 film Queen of the Damned . Nicolas "Nicki" de Lenfent is Lestat's closest friend and lover in Paris, introduced in The Vampire Lestat (1985). Lestat
2261-633: A similar message of her fate. She used magic to bring David and Louis to her. When Louis later is dying after his attempt to burn himself in the sun to join Claudia, Lestat fully awakes from his sleep. He saves Louis by letting him drink from his powerful blood. Merrick is also allowed to drink and joins the little coven. Later a young vampire named Quinn calls upon Lestat and asks for help in Blackwood Farm (2002). The spirit of his dead twin brother (named Goblin) had been haunting him all his life, and now, when he
2380-528: A sudden diabetic coma; that same year she returned to the Roman Catholic Church, which she'd left at 18." Her return did not come with a full embrace of the Church's stances on social issues; Rice remained a vocal supporter of equality for gay men and lesbians (including marriage rights ), as well as abortion rights and birth control , writing extensively on such issues. While promoting her book Christ
2499-579: A sustained gay allegory ... I didn't set out to do that, but that was what they perceived. So even when Christopher was a little baby, I had gay readers and gay friends and knew gay people, and lived in the Castro district of San Francisco, which was a gay neighborhood." Rice's writings have also been identified as having had a major impact on later developments within the genre of vampire fiction . "Rice turns vampire conventions inside out", wrote Susan Ferraro of The New York Times . "Because Rice identifies with
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#17330944732342618-629: A vampire. On returning to Petronia and Manfred they explain "the rules" to him: that the Talamasca is now his enemy and also that hunting in New Orleans is forbidden because Lestat de Lioncourt won't allow it. Quinn decides to return to Blackwood Farm. Even though Petronia and Arion ask him not to, he makes preparations to leave straight away. When Quinn arrives at Blackwood Farm, Goblin attacks him and feeds on him, drinking his blood. Goblin attacks Quinn every time Quinn feeds on someone, and his attacks are becoming stronger each time. Petronia visits Quinn at
2737-1058: A vocal advocate for the city and related relief projects. After leaving New Orleans, Rice first settled in La Jolla , California, describing the weather there as "like heaven" in November 2005. She left La Jolla less than a year after moving there, stating in January 2006 that the weather was too cold. She purchased a six-bedroom home in Rancho Mirage, California in late 2005 and moved there in 2006, allowing her to be closer to her son in Los Angeles. Rice auctioned off her large collection of antique dolls at Thierault's in Chicago on July 18, 2010. Rice also auctioned off her wardrobe, jewelry, household possessions and collectibles featured in her many books on eBay starting in mid-2010 through early 2011. She sold
2856-639: A week-long visit during summer break. He returned to Texas, Rice moved back in with the Percys, and Mathis left San Francisco in August to enroll in a nursing program in Oklahoma. Some time later, Anne received a special delivery letter from Stan Rice asking her to marry him. They married on October 14, 1961, in Denton, Texas, soon after she turned twenty years old, and when he was just weeks from his nineteenth birthday. The Rices moved back to San Francisco in 1962, experiencing
2975-418: Is Howard Allen because apparently my mother thought it was a good idea to name me Howard. My father's name was Howard, she wanted to name me after Howard, and she thought it was a very interesting thing to do. She was a bit of a Bohemian , a bit of mad woman, a bit of a genius, and a great deal of a great teacher. And she had the idea that naming a woman Howard was going to give that woman an unusual advantage in
3094-610: Is a member of the Talamasca who possesses a particular interest in the Mayfair Witches. Introduced in The Queen of the Damned (1988), the character appears in the entire Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy (1990–1994) as well as the 2000 crossover novel Merrick . Pandora is an ancient Roman woman, previously named Lydia, whom Marius de Romanus is forced to make a vampire, and who helps him care for Those Who Must Be Kept for centuries. Maharet and Mekare are six-thousand-year-old twins from ancient Kemet who inadvertently began
3213-458: Is a vampire, Quinn is the victim of several attacks. Lestat can not help Quinn on his own and asks Merrick for help, and she agrees. She explains the nature of spirits and says that Goblin refuses "to go into The Light". She performs a kind of exorcism, but to make the spirit "go into the Light" she ends her own life and they both "go into the Light" together. It was earlier revealed by Lestat that Merrick
3332-431: Is abducted from their bed and made a vampire by Magnus. Lestat later makes Nicki a vampire as well, which only amplifies Nicki's depression. Nicki was portrayed by Roderick Hill in the 2006 musical Lestat and was also portrayed by Joseph Potter in season 2 of Interview with the Vampire. Magnus is the vampire who turned Lestat into a vampire in The Vampire Lestat (1985). Magnus is characterized by black hair and eyes of
3451-680: Is also described as having sexual preferences for young women and men, preferring men in The Tale of the Body Thief . David also appears in Merrick (2000), where he contacts the title character, who also happens to be part of the Mayfairs. In this book, Merrick raises the spirit of Claudia for Louis. In the end, it is revealed that Merrick has been using Vodou to bring both David and Louis to her so she can attain eternal life. This plan works, as Louis gives her
3570-517: Is at peace after her death. Merrick can do this since she is a powerful witch, as are many of the Mayfairs. When her godmother, Great Nannane, died there was no one who could take care of her because her sister (Honey in the Sunshine) and her mother (Cold Sandra) were deceased. There is also a matter of her raising. The Mayfair Family is Louisiana Creole and are of African and European extraction, but all are distanced from Merrick's immediate family. Orphaned,
3689-452: Is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become. Following her announcement, Rice's critique of Christianity
List of The Vampire Chronicles characters - Misplaced Pages Continue
3808-513: Is disclosed in The Vampire Lestat (1985). The character is portrayed by Antonio Banderas in the 1994 film adaptation and by Assad Zaman in the television show. Claudia is a child vampire introduced in Interview with the Vampire (1976). She is created on a whim by Lestat, despite the prohibition against making vampires of the young, and grows up trapped in a child's body. Eventually, she seeks revenge against Lestat and poisons him with tainted blood to immobilize him, before killing him, but she
3927-420: Is dying. Quinn and Lestat leave the Talamasca to hunt. They arrive back at Blackwood Farm where they find Mona waiting for Quinn, dying. Quinn tells her what he is and Lestat makes her into a vampire for Quinn. Santiago is a vampire and the leading thespian of Theatre des Vampires, introduced in Interview with the Vampire (1976). He is portrayed by Stephen Rea in the 1994 film adaptation and Ben Daniels in
4046-488: Is every single flaw in our hygiene and you can't control it and you go crazy." In August 1974, after a year of therapy for her OCD, Rice attended the Squaw Valley Writer's Conference at Squaw Valley , conducted by writer Ray Nelson . While at the conference, Rice met her future literary agent, Phyllis Seidel. In October 1974, Seidel sold the publishing rights to Interview with the Vampire to Alfred A. Knopf for
4165-462: Is going to happen next. A fire is built and Quinn and Lestat watch as Merrick performs a ritual that involves the remains of Goblin/Gawain. The ritual ends with Merrick jumping into the fire with Goblin and even though Lestat pulls her out and tries to save her, she is dead. Quinn and Lestat visit Oak Haven and speak to Stirling Oliver telling him about Merrick so that the Talamasca know what happened to her. Stirling Oliver tells Quinn that Mona Mayfair
4284-513: Is made a vampire by Lestat de Lioncourt in Blood Canticle . Tarquin is initially featured in the novel Blackwood Farm (2002) and later in Blood Canticle (2003). An oval face, with features that are almost too delicate. Sharp, intelligent blue eyes and jet black hair, cut short that is slightly curly. He stands at an impressive height of six feet four inches (1.93 m), and
4403-482: Is now and although Quinn tries to fight against it, he feeds on Stirling Oliver until he is pulled away from him. The person who pulled him away was Lestat who quickly deals with Stirling Oliver by warning him not to try it again and also not to make any mention of Quinn in any report he might make to the Talamasca. Lestat takes Quinn's letter and then takes him to feed and afterward Quinn is attacked by Goblin. Lestat goes with Quinn back to Blackwood Farm where they spend
4522-460: Is of a slight, handsome build. Tarquin Anthony Blackwood was born in 1980 to Patsy Blackwood who was only 16 at the time. Quinn is looked after by his grandfather Pops, grandmother "Sweetheart" and Jasmine, a servant, who helps run the house, Blackwood Farm just outside New Orleans. Quinn has spent his entire life accompanied by a spirit named Goblin. The first clear memory Quinn has of Goblin
4641-399: Is often "long, convoluted, and imprecise". The New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani wrote: "Anne Rice has what might best be described as a Gothic imagination crossed with a campy taste for the decadent and the bizarre." In June 1988, following the success of The Vampire Lestat and with The Queen of the Damned about to be published, the Rices purchased a second home in New Orleans,
4760-515: Is open to the public during visiting hours. The Vampire Chronicles series: New Tales of the Vampires series: Lives of the Mayfair Witches series: Delainey Hayles Delainey Hayles (born 10 March 1999) is a British actress. She is known for her role as Claudia in the AMC television series Interview with the Vampire since 2023. Hayles has appeared in various television series, short films, and stage productions, including
4879-468: Is taken to hunt with Arion, Petronia, and Manfred and here discovers that he can fly. The four of them arrive at a wedding full of "evil-doers" but Quinn mistakenly kills the bride who was not evil at all. Petronia, obviously enraged by this, begins beating Quinn until Arion stops it. The sun rises and Quinn sleeps during the day, dreaming of killing his mother Patsy. The next night Arion teaches Quinn how to hunt properly and teaches him about what he now is,
List of The Vampire Chronicles characters - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-499: Is that Mael dies as the novel ends, but it's revealed by Marius in Blood and Gold (2001) that Mael's suicide attempt is unsuccessful, "He was badly burnt and brought low, as can happen with us who are very old, and after one day in the sun, he hadn't the courage for more suffering. Back to his companions, he went and there he remains." Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien ; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021)
5117-475: Is then told by Petronia to pick someone from the 3 servants in the house to feed upon. These are the same servants Quinn met when still alive so Quinn is reluctant to feed on any of them even though he can now see they have all committed some very bad deed. Quinn eventually kills one female servant and afterward, Manfred also lets Quinn drink from him. Quinn then sees the ghost of Rebecca but ignores her now as he believes that to be finished now that he has died. Quinn
5236-441: Is unsuccessful. Claudia travels with Louis, and when the two are captured by Armand's coven in Paris, she is killed by fire as a creature made against the rules. Claudia is portrayed by Kirsten Dunst in the 1994 film adaptation, by Bailey Bass in season one of the 2022 television series Interview with the Vampire and by Delainey Hayles in season two of the series. Daniel Molloy is a young reporter introduced in Interview with
5355-497: Is why the story of the Incarnation is so important to me, the story of Jesus being born amongst us, growing up amongst us, working and sweating and struggling as we do, and dying amongst us before he rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. I write about outsiders seeking redemption in one form or another and always will. Rice died from complications of a stroke at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, California , on December 11, 2021, at
5474-457: The Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy. She also published Violin , a tale of a ghostly haunting, in 1997. Rice appeared on an episode of The Real World: New Orleans that aired in 2000. Rice began another series called Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt , published in 2005, chronicling the life of Jesus. After moving to Rancho Mirage, California in 2006, Rice wrote a second volume Christ
5593-490: The LGBT+ community, some of whom have perceived her vampire characters as allegorical symbols of isolation and social alienation. Similarly, a reviewer writing for The Boston Globe , observed that the vampires of her novels represent "the walking alienated, those of us who, by choice or not, dwell on the fringe". On the subject, Rice commented: "From the beginning, I've had gay fans, and gay readers who felt that my works involved
5712-579: The Satanic cult headed by Armand , founded a theatre, and made Nicolas into a vampire. After this, Lestat and Gabrielle went traveling around the world. Gabrielle became increasingly distant and cold to her son. They finally parted in Egypt just after the French Revolution . Gabrielle went into the deep jungles of Africa and Lestat went underground to sleep. Gabrielle was off exploring the world on her own for
5831-633: The Vampire Chronicles , titled, Prince Lestat , a "true sequel" to Queen of the Damned . The book was released on October 28, 2014. In 2015, a sequel to the Sleeping Beauty trilogy, Beauty's Kingdom , was released. Following its debut in 1976, Interview with the Vampire received mixed reviews from critics at this time, causing Rice to retreat temporarily from the supernatural genre. When The Vampire Lestat debuted in 1985, reaction—both from critics and from readers—was more positive, and
5950-548: The 1940s and 1950s ... we attended daily Mass and Communion in an enormous and magnificently decorated church.... Stained-glass windows, the Latin Mass , the detailed answers to complex questions on good and evil—these things were imprinted on my soul forever.... I left this church at age 18.... I wanted to know what was happening, why so many seemingly good people didn't believe in any organized religion yet cared passionately about their behavior and value of their lives.... I broke with
6069-466: The 2002 film Queen of the Damned . David is the Superior General of the secret organization the Talamasca , which researches and investigates the supernatural . David is introduced in The Queen of the Damned (1988). He meets both Lestat and Louis at the end of the novel. Lestat taunts David, offering to turn him with his powerful vampire blood, which David soundly refuses. In The Tale of
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#17330944732346188-706: The 2002 film Queen of the Damned . Introduced in The Vampire Armand (1998), Bianca is an Italian vampire born in Florence , Italy in the late 1470s. She has sharp grey eyes and wavy golden hair, which she often interweaves with pearls, and is often described as a woman painted by Botticelli . Bianca lives a happy mortal life with her brothers until they die and she is forced to depend financially on her evil kinsmen, who are bankers. They provide amply for her as long as she kills those who they instruct her to kill. She does this by opening her house to virtually all as an amicable and graceful hostess and secretly placing poison in
6307-453: The Body Thief (1992), it seems he and Lestat have become friends. After Lestat tries to end his immortal life by flying into the sun in the Gobi Desert , he visits David. He also seeks advice from David when Raglan James offers to switch bodies with him, though he doesn't listen to what David has to say. David helps Lestat regain his body. In the struggle with Raglan James, David switches into
6426-464: The Bones , which formed the basis of a 2011 comic book miniseries. Several books from The Vampire Chronicles have been adapted as comics and manga by various publishers. She authored erotic fiction under the pen names Anne Rampling and A. N. Roquelaure, including Exit to Eden , which was later adapted into a 1994 film . Born in New Orleans on October 4, 1941, Howard Allen Frances O'Brien
6545-540: The Brevard–Rice House, built in 1857 for Albert Hamilton Brevard. Stan took a leave of absence from his teaching, and together they moved to New Orleans. Within months, they decided to make it their permanent home. Rice returned to the Catholic Church in 1998 after decades of atheism . She fell into a coma, later determined to be caused by diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), on December 14, 1998, and nearly died. She
6664-418: The Damned ; and by Sam Reid in the 2022 television series Interview with the Vampire . Louis is a Frenchman made a vampire in New Orleans by Lestat, introduced in Interview with the Vampire (1976). Louis is portrayed by Brad Pitt in the 1994 film adaptation and by Jacob Anderson in the 2022 television series Interview with the Vampire . Armand is a 500-year-old vampire with the outer appearance of
6783-519: The Devil, Memnoch, and he brought back Veronica's Veil , causing chaos among mortals and bringing out many of the ancients. Mael tells David Talbot and Lestat that he is going to burn himself in the sun for God. Mael is ancient and thereby too strong for the sunlight to kill him ordinarily, but he believes that the presence of the Veil negates his supernatural powers (but not his vulnerabilities). The final implication
6902-506: The Grove". Marius escaped. Mael later returns in The Queen of the Damned (1988). He is a companion to Maharet and also seeks to protect her mortal descendant Jesse Reeves. Mael is present when Maharet tells Jesse her story when they later try to reason with Akasha, and when Mekare kills her. The third appearance by Mael is at the end of Memnoch the Devil . Lestat goes to Heaven and Hell with
7021-619: The Lord: Out of Egypt in October 2005, Rice announced in Newsweek that she would now use her life and talent of writing to glorify her belief in God, but she did not renounce her earlier works, citing a connection in her earlier work with the state of her spiritual life. In the Author's Note from Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt , Rice states: I had experienced an old-fashioned, strict Roman Catholic childhood in
7140-479: The Lord: The Road to Cana , fictionalized accounts of certain incidents in the life of Jesus. Several years later she distanced from organized Christianity, while remaining devoted to Jesus. She later considered herself a secular humanist . Rice's books have sold over 100 million copies, making her one of the best-selling authors of modern times. While reaction to her early works was initially mixed, she gained
7259-598: The Lord: The Road to Cana , published in March 2008, and was working on a third Christ the Lord: Kingdom of Heaven in November 2008. She also wrote the first two books in her Songs of the Seraphim series, Angel Time and Of Love and Evil , and her memoir Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession . On March 9, 2014, Rice announced on her son Christopher's radio show, The Dinner Party with Christopher Rice and Eric Shaw Quinn , that she had completed another book in
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#17330944732347378-433: The Mayfair Witches trilogy cross over to The Vampire Chronicles , specifically in Merrick (2000), Blackwood Farm (2002), and Blood Canticle (2003). Rice said in a 2008 interview that her vampires were a "metaphor for lost souls". The homoerotic overtones of The Vampire Chronicles are also well documented. As of November 2008, The Vampire Chronicles had sold 80 million copies worldwide. The first novel in
7497-406: The Vampire (1976) to whom Louis de Pointe du Lac recounts his life history. The character is portrayed by Christian Slater in the 1994 film adaptation, and portrayed by Eric Bogosian and Luke Brandon Field in the 2022 television series. Marius is an ancient vampire, originally from Rome in the 1st century BC and introduced in The Vampire Lestat (1985). He is portrayed by Vincent Pérez in
7616-466: The Vampire , premiered on AMC on October 2, 2022, starring Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson . Lestat is a French nobleman born and made a vampire in the 1700s, and the primary antihero of Rice's Vampire Chronicles . He was introduced in Interview with the Vampire (1976), and has been portrayed by Tom Cruise in the 1994 film Interview with the Vampire ; Stuart Townsend in the 2002 film Queen of
7735-551: The Vampire , replacing Bailey Bass , who played the character in the first season. Despite joining the production close to the start of filming, Hayles credits the cast and crew, particularly co-star Jacob Anderson , with creating a welcoming and supportive environment on set. Several early reviews of season 2, which aired in 2024, highlighted Hayles' performance and praised her portrayal of Claudia. In 2018, Hayles performed with The Andrew Lloyd Webber Bridge Company in Sticky at
7854-583: The Witching Hour series, and even in the erotica I’ve written. I believe that people are basically good as Anne Frank put it; I believe the creation is basically good and beautiful; I believe that sex is beautiful and good. I believe our capacity to love, to know pleasure, to want to live lives of meaning — all this reflects the existence of a loving and personal Creator. I dream of all things human being reconciled in our ethical institutions and moral institutions; I dream of all of us being redeemed in every way. This
7973-624: The age of 22. Rice, an admitted alcoholic, and her husband, Stan Rice, quit drinking in mid-1979 so their son would not have the life that she had as a child. In 2008, Rice posted a YouTube video to celebrate 28 years of her sobriety. Rice cited Charles Dickens , Virginia Woolf , John Milton , Ernest Hemingway , William Shakespeare , the Brontë sisters , Jean-Paul Sartre , Henry James , Arthur Conan Doyle , H. Rider Haggard , and Stephen King as influences on her work. She repeatedly returned to King's Firestarter for inspiration: "I study
8092-478: The age of 80. According to a statement from Rice's son Christopher Rice , the family planned to inter her at the family mausoleum at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans. Rice was laid to rest in January 2022. The Rice Family Mausoleum is also the burial site of Rice's husband Stan Rice and daughter Michele. One side of the tomb is stained glass, the other three sides are engraved with Stan Rice's poems from his books "False Prophet" and "Some Lamb". The mausoleum
8211-527: The backdrop against which many of her works are set. She and her family lived in the rented home of her maternal grandmother, Alice Allen, known as "Mamma Allen", at 2301 St. Charles Avenue in the Irish Channel , which Rice said was widely considered a "Catholic Ghetto". Allen, who began working as a domestic shortly after separating from her alcoholic husband, was an important early influence in Rice's life, keeping
8330-536: The birth of the hippie movement firsthand as they lived in the Haight-Ashbury district, Berkeley , and later the Castro District . "I'm a totally conservative person", she later told The New York Times : "In the middle of Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s, I was typing away while everybody was dropping acid and smoking grass. I was known as my own square." Rice attended San Francisco State University and obtained
8449-424: The blood and makes her immortal. After he makes Merrick his fledgling, he tries to commit suicide by placing his coffin in the open where he would be burned to death when the sun rose. He nearly succeeds, but he is too old for the sun to end his life. David, Merrick, and Lestat find him and give him their blood to heal his burned form. Their combined blood makes Louis stronger than he had been before. The four then form
8568-572: The burning, Marius, severely weakened, mentally calls Bianca to him. Marius makes Bianca a vampire so that she can bring him victims so that he can heal. The two stay together for nearly two hundred years, caring for Those Who Must Be Kept before Bianca leaves Marius in Dresden , when she overhears him telling Pandora that he would leave Bianca if it meant having Pandora with him once more. Marius also does not tell Bianca that rumors of Pandora in Dresden are
8687-463: The character, appears in the 2022 television series Interview with the Vampire , portrayed by Maura Grace Athari. In the story, she is a blues singer taken as a lover by Lestat. Eventually, Louis and Claudia insist that Lestat kill her as a condition of reuniting their family. Lestat pretends to, presenting her severed finger as proof, but instead makes her a vampire to spy on Louis and Claudia. They ultimately destroy her in their incinerator. Aaron
8806-536: The church.... I wrote many novels without my being aware that they reflected my quest for meaning in a world without God. In her memoir Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession , Rice stated: In the moment of surrender, I let go of all the theological or social questions which had kept me from [God] for countless years. I simply let them go. There was the sense, profound and wordless, that if He knew everything I did not have to know everything, and that, in seeking to know everything, I'd been, all of my life, missing
8925-410: The cycle of vampirism in the world by summoning the demon spirit Amel, who possesses a dying Akasha and turns her into a vampire. Mael is mentioned briefly in The Vampire Lestat . Along with Marius de Romanus and Pandora, he is one of the legendary ancient vampires. When Marius tells the young Lestat the story of his life, he says that Mael was the druid priest who abducted him to become the new "God of
9044-433: The disposition of every single soul. He wasn't going to let anything happen by accident! Nobody was going to go to Hell by mistake. Rice announced that she had made plans to leave New Orleans on her website on January 18, 2004. She cited living alone since the death of her husband and her son moving to California as the reasons for her move. Rice put the largest of her three homes up for sale on January 30, 2004, and moved to
9163-424: The entire point. No social paradox, no historic disaster, no hideous record of injustice or misery should keep me from Him. No question of Scriptural integrity, no torment over the fate of this or that atheist or gay friend, no worry for those condemned and ostracized by my church or any other church should stand between me and Him. The reason? It was magnificently simple: He knew how or why everything happened; He knew
9282-504: The family and household together as Rice's mother sank deeper into alcoholism . Allen died in 1949, but the O'Briens remained in her home until 1956, when they moved to 2524 St. Charles Avenue, a former rectory, convent, and school owned by the parish, to be closer to both the church and support for Katherine's addiction. As a young child, Rice studied at St. Alphonsus School, a Catholic institution previously attended by her father. About her male given names, Rice said: Well, my birth name
9401-567: The famous vampire Lestat de Lioncourt . Lestat's powerful vampire body has been stolen by a former member of the Talamasca, Raglan James. When they got Lestat's body back Raglan stole David's body instead and David ended up in the body of a young man. David's original body is destroyed when Raglan, in David's original body, tries to trick Lestat into giving him "the Dark Gift". When David contacts her, years later, Merrick knows all of this. She agrees to raise
9520-528: The first hardcover edition of the book sold 75,000 copies. Upon its publication in 1988, The Queen of the Damned was given an initial hardcover printing of 405,000 copies. The novel was a main selection of the Literary Guild of America for 1988, and reached the No. 1 spot on The New York Times Best Seller list , staying on the list for more than four months. Rice's novels are well regarded by many members of
9639-401: The funeral, Merrick tells Quinn to go home with his family and to keep Patsy in particular at home. When Merrick and Lestat arrive at Blackwood Farm, Quinn is told that Goblin is in fact the ghost of his twin brother who died shortly after they were born. Quinn doesn't believe this until Patsy confirms it and says his name was Gawain and that it was Quinn's fault that his brother died. Quinn hears
9758-634: The invitation. The next day she had the pin on." In 1958, when Rice was sixteen, her father moved the family to north Texas , purchasing their first home in Richardson . Rice first met her future husband, Stan Rice , in a journalism class while they were both students at Richardson High School . Graduating from Richardson High in 1959, Rice completed her first year at Texas Woman's University in Denton and transferred to North Texas State College for her second year. She dropped out when she ran out of money and
9877-465: The island in the swamp and leaves him The Vampire Chronicles so he can understand things a bit better. On reading the books, he decides to find Lestat to ask for his help in dealing with Goblin. Quinn writes a letter to Lestat explaining a little about him and Goblin and asking for his help. He also encloses a cameo of himself for Lestat. Quinn takes this letter to Lestat's flat in New Orleans where he finds Stirling Oliver. Stirling can clearly see what Quinn
9996-446: The names of a saint and of an aunt, who was a nun. She said: "I was honored to have my aunt's name, but it was my burden and joy as a child to have strange names". When Rice was fifteen years old, her mother died as a result of alcoholism. Soon afterward, she and her sisters were placed by their father in St. Joseph Academy . Rice described St. Joseph's as "something out of Jane Eyre ...
10115-412: The next 200 years. She did not reappear until 1985 (during 1988's The Queen of the Damned .) She was there to help her son fight against Akasha and help save the world. During this time, she developed a slight bond with Marius, but nothing became of it and she drifted away from everyone again. Gabrielle resurfaced for the last time after Memnoch the Devil , in The Vampire Armand (1998) while Lestat
10234-527: The novel Firestarter whenever I'm blocked. Reading the first few pages of Firestarter helps to get me going." In 1973, while still grieving the loss of her daughter (1966–1972), Rice took a previously written short story and turned it into her first novel, the bestselling Interview with the Vampire . She based her vampires on Gloria Holden 's character in Dracula's Daughter : "It established to me what vampires were—these elegant, tragic, sensitive people. I
10353-434: The nun "Anne", which she considered a pretty name. Her mother, who was with her, let it go without correcting her, knowing how self-conscious her daughter was of her real name. From that day on, everyone she knew addressed her as "Anne", and her name was legally changed in 1947. Rice was confirmed in the Catholic Church when she was twelve years old and took the full name Howard Allen Frances Alphonsus Liguori O'Brien, adding
10472-548: The old cemetery with Goblin, Quinn sees a group of ghosts huddled together. Quinn is quite interested in these spirits which fade only to come back again, but as they don't move or talk he simply leaves them, much to the relief of Goblin. Quinn becomes a vampire and fledgling of Petronia. Soon after he is made, Arion (maker of Petronia) gives Quinn his blood so that Quinn is stronger. Arion tells Quinn that they must only feed upon people who have committed evil deeds (the "evil-doer" as they are commonly referred to). Quinn accepts this and
10591-415: The only reason they moved there. Armand later sees her in Paris in the early 19th century. Introduced as the title character of Merrick (2001), Merrick is a member of the Talamasca and is acquainted with David Talbot . Merrick is suddenly contacted by David Talbot, now a vampire , after his "death". He asks her to raise the spirit of Claudia for Louis de Pointe du Lac . Louis wants to know if Claudia
10710-583: The pseudonym A. N. Roquelaure, and two more under the pseudonym Anne Rampling ( Exit to Eden and Belinda ). Rice then returned to the vampire genre with The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned , her bestselling sequels to Interview with the Vampire . Shortly after her June 1988 return to New Orleans, Rice penned The Witching Hour as an expression of her joy at coming home. Rice also continued her Vampire Chronicles series, which later grew to encompass ten novels, and followed up on The Witching Hour with Lasher and Taltos , completing
10829-457: The question, "How do you follow Christ without a church?" Rice replied: "I think the basic ritual is simply prayer. It's talking to God, putting things in the hands of God, trusting that you're living in God's world and praying for God's guidance. And being absolutely faithful to the core principles of Jesus' teachings." Rice participated in the " I Am Second " project in 2010 with a short documentary about her spiritual journey. Rice stated that she
10948-654: The role of Lucy Pevensie on stage in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2022). Delainey Hayles was born on 10 March 1999 in England. She attended the BRIT School . As a child, she reenacted and filmed Disney Channel episodes with her younger sister, sparking her interest in acting. Hayles launched her professional on-screen acting career in 2019 with Something In The Closet ,
11067-514: The same color. As a mortal, he was an alchemist . He was an old man when he trapped the vampire Benedict in chains and stole the Dark Gift/Blood for himself. That happened at some point during the Middle Ages . According to the "Old Queen" (Allesandra) of Armand's coven in Paris, Magnus was 300 years old when he made Lestat, which would put his year of birth in the late 15th century. Over time, he
11186-407: The same story from Jasmine and her grandmother. Goblin leaves a message on the computer saying he wants Lestat and Merrick gone and that he hates Quinn. Quinn then gives Merrick all the information he can about Goblin so she can get rid of him. Quinn kills Patsy and the ghost of Rebecca appears and is satisfied because he killed her and leaves. Quinn drinks from Lestat so he has enough strength for what
11305-414: The season 2 of the 2022 television series Interview with the Vampire . Introduced in Interview with the Vampire , Madeleine is a human dollmaker whom Louis turns into a vampire at Claudia's request. She and Claudia become very close, and when Claudia is condemned to death by exposure, Madeleine is destroyed with her. She is portrayed by Domiziana Giordano in the 1994 film adaptation and Roxane Duran in
11424-428: The season two of the 2022 television series Interview with the Vampire . Gabrielle is Lestat's mother, introduced in The Vampire Lestat (1985). She is Lestat's first fledgling, and the second to leave him after Nicolas de Lenfent . She has yellow-blond hair like her son's and cobalt-blue eyes with "too small, too kittenish" features, as Lestat described them, that "made her look like a girl". Gabrielle comes from
11543-488: The second night she was in Paris and tried to hide the truth from her, but she found out upon closer inspection of Lestat's changed appearance that he had become a vampire. When Gabrielle began dying right in front of him, a desperate Lestat made her a vampire. Lestat was now the maker, parent, and teacher, while Gabrielle became the fledgling, the child, and the student. Lestat took her to his tower where they lived happily for months. Things changed, however, when Lestat destroyed
11662-402: The series, Interview with the Vampire (1976), was made into a 1994 film starring Tom Cruise , Brad Pitt , Antonio Banderas , Christian Slater and Kirsten Dunst . The Queen of the Damned (1988) was adapted into a 2002 film of the same name , starring Stuart Townsend and Aaliyah and using some material from 1985's The Vampire Lestat . A television adaptation, Interview with
11781-444: The spirit of Claudia. When Merrick meets Louis, they fall in love, more or less. After the ceremony, Louis and Merrick express a desire to talk and David goes out. The next night he finds that Merrick has been made into a vampire by Louis. Merrick later confesses to David, Louis, and Lestat that it is what she's wanted ever since she found out about what happened to David. She also revealed that her ancestors had visited her dreams with
11900-595: The vampire instead of the victim (reversing the usual focus), the horror for the reader springs from the realization of the monster within the self. Moreover, Rice's vampires are loquacious philosophers who spend much of eternity debating the nature of good and evil." Rice's writing style has been heavily analyzed. Ferraro, in a statement typical of many reviewers, described her prose as "florid, both lurid and lyrical, and full of sensuous detail". Others have criticized her writing style as both verbose and overly philosophical. Author William Patrick Day comments that her writing
12019-518: The wake of Aunt Queen, Quinn is alone as Lestat has gone to find Merrick Mayfair . Quinn notices Petronia there who has left Aunt Queen a cameo. Quinn also witnesses the ghost of Julien Mayfair who warns him against turning Mona into a vampire. Quinn leaves after seeing Rowan and Stirling Oliver arrive. Quinn is accompanied by Lestat and Merrick to the funeral where he speaks about Aunt Queen, as do many people. Also, Quinn, out of habit, goes up to receive communion, and Lestat and Merrick follow him. After
12138-551: The wine cups of those whom her kinsmen want dead. Bianca is a renowned Venetian courtesan when Marius comes to know her. Marius immediately falls in love with her and becomes obsessed with her, contemplating making her a vampire. A few years after the two meet, Armand arrives on the scene and also falls in love with Bianca. The three form an amiable sort of love triangle before the Children of Darkness, led by Santino , destroy Marius's palazzo , burn Marius, and take away Armand. After
12257-480: The world. According to the authorized biography Prism of the Night , by Katherine Ramsland , Rice's father was the source of his daughter's birth name: "Thinking back to the days when his own name had been associated with girls, and perhaps in an effort to give it away, Howard named the little girl Howard Allen Frances O'Brien." Rice became "Anne" on her first day of school, when a nun asked her what her name was. She told
12376-597: The young Merrick is taken in by David Talbot and Aaron Lightner and the Talamasca. As she grows her power increases and she studies to learn all that she can. She goes to high school and a university. Meantime she bonds with David and Aaron. When she is an adult she returns to become a full member of the Talamasca. When David suddenly dies, she knows something is not right and Aaron tells her nothing. When she says farewell to David's dead body her suspicions are confirmed. She decides to find papers where information about David has been filed. Merrick finds out that David has helped
12495-570: Was a secular humanist in a Facebook post on April 14, 2013. She said that Christ was still central to her life, but not in the way he is presented by organized religion, in a July 28, 2014, Facebook post. In a later interview with Alice Cooper, she stated: My faith lives in my novels, of course. It lives in every word I write. It lives in my novels about Jesus. Though I’ve moved away from institutional Christianity and organized religion — and all its theological strife — my devotion to Jesus remains fierce. My faith blazes in my vampire novels, and in
12614-412: Was an American author of gothic fiction , erotic literature , and Bible fiction . She is best known for writing The Vampire Chronicles . She later adapted the first volume in the series into a commercially successful eponymous film, Interview with the Vampire (1994). Born in New Orleans , Rice spent much of her early life in the city before moving to Texas , and later to San Francisco . She
12733-611: Was cold and uncaring to everyone. She was the only person who was educated in her family and read her books every day, yet lacked the patience to teach her sons to read or write anything. Over the years she sold two of her heirloom jewels from an Italian grandmother to aid Lestat, the only person she loved and cared for. She lived life through him; he was the male part of her. She suffered a rapidly declining health due to bad winters and multiple childbirths. It eventually developed into tuberculosis . She funded Lestat's trip to Paris with Nicolas by giving him gold coins and advising him to hitch
12852-509: Was commented upon by numerous journalists and pundits. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times , Rice elaborated on her view regarding being a member of a Christian church: "I feel much more morally comfortable walking away from organized religion. I respect that there are all kinds of denominations and all kinds of churches, but it's the entire controversy, the entire conversation that I need to walk away from right now." In response to
12971-571: Was driven mad by his vampiric nature and his immortality. Before killing himself, he sought an heir to inherit the immense wealth that he had accumulated over the years. Magnus searched for years for an heir, with no success. In his dungeon, he had hundreds of decomposing bodies stored in a room, the discarded remains of his search for a suitable heir. Every one of these candidates had blond hair and blue eyes, just as Lestat does. After choosing Lestat as his heir and giving him explicit instructions to scatter his ashes after he had burned up, Magnus leaped into
13090-400: Was his birthday party when he was 3 years old which is also the first instance known of Goblin being able to physically touch Quinn by pushing his hand and forcing him to ruin a birthday cake. He is given a harmonica for his birthday by his grandfather, Pops which he loves to play although Goblin hates it because Quinn pays him no attention whilst playing it. At the age of 7, whilst playing in
13209-473: Was in his catatonic sleep. In the 2006 musical , Lestat , Gabrielle was portrayed by Carolee Carmello who was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her role. Introduced in The Vampire Lestat , Akasha is the progenitor of all vampires. The queen of Kemet (Egypt) circa 5000 BC, Akasha and her husband Enkil are plagued by the evil spirit Amel. During an assassination attempt on Akasha and Enkil, Amel enters
13328-512: Was later diagnosed with diabetes mellitus type 1 , and was insulin -dependent. Following the advice of her husband, Rice underwent gastric bypass surgery shortly after his death and shed 103 pounds in 2003. Rice nearly died again from an intestinal blockage or bowel obstruction , a common complication of gastric bypass surgery , in 2004. In 2005, Newsweek reported: "She came close to death last year, when she had surgery for an intestinal blockage, and also back in 1998, when she went into
13447-472: Was made into a vampire by Magnus , and inherited near-inexhaustible wealth when Magnus killed himself in a bonfire. He repaid those who helped him with gold and indulged in his new-found wealth. To hide the truth from Gabrielle, Lestat told her tales of going to the Bahamas , marrying a rich woman, and coming into vast wealth. Intrigued, she went to Paris to see her son before she died. Lestat went to see his mother
13566-407: Was raised in an observant Catholic family but became an agnostic as a young adult. She began her professional writing career with the publication of Interview with the Vampire (1976), while living in California, and began writing sequels to the novel in the 1980s. In the mid-2000s, following a publicized return to Catholicism, she published the novels Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and Christ
13685-496: Was really just going with that feeling when writing Interview With the Vampire . I didn't do a lot of research." After completing the novel and following many rejections from publishers, Rice developed obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). She became obsessed with germs, thinking that she contaminated everything she touched, engaged in frequent and obsessive hand washing and obsessively checked locks on windows and doors. Of this period, Rice says, "What you see when you're in that state
13804-454: Was still in the graduate program. Rice later described having a prophetic dream —months before Michele became ill—that her daughter was dying from "something wrong with her blood". Michele died in 1972, shortly before she would have turned six. Rice's son Christopher was born in Berkeley, California, in 1978; he has become a best-selling author in his own right, publishing his first novel at
13923-424: Was suffering, which all new vampires do due to their new nature. Rowan is a Mayfair witch who appears in the novels The Witching Hour (1990), Lasher (1993), Taltos (1994), Blackwood Farm (2002) and Blood Canticle (2003). Mona is a Mayfair witch who appears in the novels The Witching Hour (1990), Lasher (1993), Taltos (1994), Blackwood Farm (2002) and Blood Canticle (2003). She
14042-542: Was the second of four daughters of parents of Irish Catholic descent, Howard O'Brien (1917–1991) and Katherine "Kay" Allen O'Brien (1908–1956). Her father, a naval veteran of World War II and lifelong resident of New Orleans, worked as a personnel executive for the U.S. Postal Service and authored one novel, The Impulsive Imp , which was published posthumously. Her older sister, Alice Borchardt , later became an author of fantasy and historical romance novels. Rice spent most of her youth in New Orleans, which forms
14161-733: Was unable to find employment. Soon after, she moved to San Francisco and stayed with the family of a friend until she found work as an insurance claims processor. She persuaded her former roommate from Texas Woman's University, Ginny Mathis, to join her, and they found an apartment in the Haight-Ashbury district. Mathis acquired a job at the same insurance company as Rice. Soon after, they began taking night courses at University of San Francisco , an all-male Jesuit school that allowed women to take classes at night. For Easter vacation Anne returned home to Texas, rekindling her relationship with Stan Rice. After her return to San Francisco, Stan Rice came for
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