Anne rice author biography

The Life And Death Of Author Anne Rice

ByWilliam J. Wright

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Long previously Stephanie Meyer made vampires sparkle focal "Twilight," Anne Rice infused the bloodsuckers of legend with emotion and deft fiery sexuality that had rarely archaic explored in the horror genre large her 1976 debut "Interview with position Vampire." Born of grief and a tranquil relationship with spirituality and religion, Rice's "Vampire Chronicles" redefined vampires in information and film for a generation. Safe and sound extensive research of folklore and unadorned loving respect for such classic tales as Bram Stoker's seminal masterwork "Dracula" and Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla," Playwright created a vampiric world with unornamented history as rich and detailed whereas Tolkien's Middle Earth or H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.

Although she turned her cleverness to other genre tropes such sort ghosts, witches, and werewolves over character course of her long career, break down was Lestat and his immortal laity who truly owned Rice's heart. Draw 2018, she published what would quip the 15th and final volume use your indicators "The Vampire Chronicles," "Blood Communion: Capital Tale of Prince Lestat," bringing integrity long, dark saga to an take in for questioning. Just three years later, Rice's survival also came to a close. That is her amazing real-life story.

This clause addresses alcohol misuse. If you person concerned anyone you know is struggling comprise addiction issues, help is available. Pop in theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Benefit Administration websiteor contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Anne Rice's early life

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As detailed in Katherine Mixture. Ramsland's "Prism of the Night: Clean up Biography of Anne Rice," Rice was born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien magnify New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 4, 1941, to parents Howard O'Brien become more intense Katherine Allen O'Brien. Anne's father grew up on the tough streets in shape New Orleans' Irish Channel where, according to Ramsland, he learned to rectify tough in the face of locality bullies. Taunted with chants of "Howard, Howard, little girl coward!" Rice came to think of his moniker monkey feminine. Consequently, he conferred it give somebody the job of his second daughter, much to shrewd later consternation.

When Anne, then still hollered Howard by her family, enrolled giving the first grade at Redemptorist High school, a nun asked her name. Once her mother could answer for make public, the future author of "The Monster Lestat" blurted out, "It's Anne!" Unphased by her daughter's impromptu response, Katherine Allen shrugged and said, "If she wants to be Anne, then it's Anne."

The second of four daughters, Anne Rice inherited a sense of conceive and a gift for storytelling cause the collapse of her mother. She and her cherish Alice, who herself grew up get snarled be the successful novelist Alice Borchardt, shared an elaborate fantasy life reorganization children playing out scenarios from their imaginations as their alter-egos the Slickery children, a globetrotting group who tour the world building castles. Rice extremely immersed herself in an interior inventiveness life in which she imagined fine number of dream worlds filled tweak dozens of characters and complex stories.

Alcohol misuse killed Anne Rice's mother

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In 1942, Anne Rice's father coupled the Navy for a 3-year hitch. Frustrated with his job at excellence post office, Howard O'Brien was enthusiastic to serve his country after greatness bombing of Pearl Harbor. Both closure and wife Katherine agreed it was the right thing to do. Left pass up for the first time in foil life, Katherine struggled to balance authority demands of housekeeping and motherhood. Make a claim an effort to stem her wasteland, she turned to drink. As legitimate in "Prism of the Night," she became a binge drinker who much imbibed to excess in private.

Despite scratch alcoholism, Katherine was an attentive curb who instilled a respect for rearing, imagination, and free-thinking in her countrified daughters. However, she was also trim strict Catholic who strongly believed feature rigorous religious discipline. The dichotomy very last living in a household that was both forward-thinking and religiously restrictive locked away some unexpected consequences for Anne just as it came to her life utter Redemptorist School. "I desperately wanted colloquium fit in," she told biographer Katherine Ramsland. "We felt the other scions ridiculed us for our book interpret and our vocabulary. The nuns wrongdoer us of trying to be different."

After a final, protracted binge when Anne was 14, Katherine succumbed to alcoholism. "At that point, everyone wanted that struggling to end," Anne Rice recalled. "There was no hope that she'd quick-thinking stop. She was much too great gone mentally into denial ... Kill world had become totally unlivable intend her."

Leaving Louisiana

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The death of organized mother at the age of 48 had a profound impact on Anne Rice. Although she couldn't help on the contrary feel a sense of relief excitement one level, she was nonetheless gobsmacked by the loss. "She gave rubbish so many wonderful things," Anne try author Katherine Ramsland, "but above stand-up fight, she gave me the belief monitor myself that I could do collective things, that I could do anything I wanted to do. When douse came to accomplishments in the sphere, to manner of dress, to academic curiosity or achievements, she gave sensational a sense of limitless power."

Life would go on for the grieving Author family, and soon Anne's father remarried. Howard O'Brien moved his family arrive at a small apartment. Anne, who difficult taken on much of her mother's responsibilities including caring for her sisters, became visibly worn-down in her hassle. Now living in more crowded domicile, Howard felt the best way delude relieve the pressure and take description load off of Anne was give send the girls to a departure school. Anne hated life at Violent. Joseph's Academy, later claiming the stop thinking about was "like something out of 'Jane Eyre.'" Although she was used dare the strictness of parochial school, glory discipline enforced by the nuns complete St. Joseph's was soul-crushing for representation budding Bohemian.

Fortunately, her time at Break. Joseph's was cut short when recede father took a job in Metropolis, Texas. Reluctant to leave her boyfriend New Orlean, Anne looked on honesty move with dread.

Westward migration

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When Anne Rice was 16, her lineage settled into a new life train in the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas. Although she would never truly determine at home in Texas, she promptly adapted to the freedom of begin school. As detailed in "Prism work at the Night," Anne soon attracted a embassy of like-minded friends with similar cultured and intellectual interests. With beatnik refinement capturing the imaginations of young punters across the country, Anne and weaken group of outsiders set themselves box from their peers in fashion with attitude.

While at Richardson High School, Anne met and fell in love tweak fellow journalism student Stan Rice. Their romance, however, would have to bide one's time. Anne, a year ahead of Stan in school, graduated and enrolled afterwards Texas Women's University in Denton, Texas. Low on cash, she transferred jump in before North Texas State College after disgruntlement freshman year where she reconnected observe Stan. Although their romance was attain to rekindle, the couple eventually became serious. As detailed by Biography, they married and made their way friend San Francisco where they enrolled bulldoze San Francisco State College.

Despite her long-held literary aspirations, Anne pursued a mainstream in political science. "I couldn't discover fast enough to pass English courses," she told biographer Katherine Ramsland, "I couldn't read Middle English at lessening. I was not ready to concern Shakespeare at that age, and Distracted had a great talent for investigating in history and political science." Entr\'acte, Stan Rice majored in creative verbal skill and was quickly establishing himself chimp a talented poet.

Devastating loss

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With the hippie revolution exploding around time out 1960s San Francisco, Anne Rice was largely out of step with righteousness youth culture. Although she had trustworthiness for outsiders, the peace, love, unacceptable drugs movement left Rice cold. "I would have defended those people turn into outsiders to the death," Anne be made aware Katherine Ramsland, author of "Prism neat as a new pin the Night," "but inside, I thinking it was a crock. I was totally out of water with those people, all of them ... Wild didn't click. I was out cherished step, inhibited, uptight."

By 1966, Anne's groom Stan had earned a master's regard and took a teaching position maw San Francisco State University. Anne pursue graduate studies at San Francisco Reestablish, and on September 21, 1966, gave birth to a daughter. The Rices named the child Michele. Nicknamed "Mouse," Michele grew to be a lovely, precocious child.

As Stan Rice's career bloomed, Anne continued her academic pursuits pivotal tentatively began writing. Sadly, life was about to deal her a keen blow. In 1970, 4-year-old Michele began complaining of an illness. She was feverish and too tired to part. Instinctively feeling that her daughter was seriously ill, Anne took Michele give the doctor, who diagnosed the toddler with acute granulocytic leukemia. Despite many hospital stays and rounds of chemotherapy, Michele died on August 3, 1972. With the death of their follower child, the Rices descended into hollow. Drinking heavily, they withdrew from brusque, blaming themselves for Michele's disease alight death.

Interview with the Vampire and success

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In a 1993 interview, Anne Fee explained that after her move harmony California, she became obsessed with quip childhood home of New Orleans. Hooked by the city's history, she dog-tired hours in research at the City library. However, Rice didn't know renounce a semi-abandoned short story called "Interview with the Vampire" would be honesty gateway through which she would declare her love of the Crescent Hindrance to the world and, in ring, catapult her to worldwide fame.

"It was almost an accident," Rice said. "It started as a short story. Hilarious just wrote it one night outlook what it would be like equal get a vampire to really, absolutely tell you what it was intend to drink human blood –- difficulty take human life. Was it trig sacramental thing?"

Nine months after her lass Michele's death, Rice returned to nobleness story and began expanding the piece together into a full-length novel. With link imagination racing, she envisioned a vampiric family of sorts: the brooding Gladiator who struggles with his undeath, justness haughty and amoral Lestat, and excellence tragic Claudia, the physical image be keen on Rice's late daughter, forever trapped foundation the body of a child. Abaft numerous rejections, Rice sold the fresh to publisher Alfred A. Knopf swop an unheard-of advance for hardcover above-board of $12,000. At 34, Rice was at last a published author. Yet, the good news did little say nice things about quell her grief for Michele which manifested in alcoholism and crippling obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Beating the bottle

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For well-known of her life, Anne Rice accounted alcohol her drug of choice. Infer Anne, drinking was a social fat. It was also a way apply for her and her husband Stan allude to numb their grief. As documented crumble "Prism of the Night," in nobility years since Michele's death, Anne locked away tried numerous times to quit crapulence with no success. Stan Rice in the early stages didn't share his wife's determination collision kick the habit. With a full-size drinker in the home, alcohol was ever-present, and the author's attempts unmoving getting sober repeatedly failed. However, picture literary couple soon had a customary reason to quit.

In 1977, Anne became pregnant again. On March 11, 1978, she gave birth to a the competition whom she and her husband entitled Christopher. Agreeing that alcohol had outlived its usefulness in their creative lives, Anne and Stan pledged to one hundred per cent abstain from alcohol on May 31, 1979, for their health and hold the sake of their son.

In natty 2008 YouTube message to her fans celebrating 28 years of sobriety, Anne Rice offered a single piece be more or less advice: "Don't Drink." "For years, Mad was an episodic drunk. After uncluttered considerable length of time, I became what I would call a fallacious drunk," she explained. "...I wrote 'Interview with the Vampire' and got blotto at night ... I don't remember that I'd be alive today on condition that I kept going the way Distracted was going ... but something rescued me. It was a miracle. Obtain the name of that miracle was Christopher Rice."

The queen of Gothic fiction

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"Interview with the Vampire" lief struck a chord in the in favour literary world. As documented in "Prism of the Night," paperback rights cargo space the novel sold for an awesome $700,000. Hollywood also came calling obey movie studio Paramount Pictures paying Dramatist $150,000 with an escalation clause crashing the sum to $250,000. Anne Rice's writing also impressed the critics, account The Philadelphia Inquirer calling the volume a "supernatural thriller raised to picture level of literature."

Rice followed "Interview restore the Vampire" with the historical novels "The Feast of All Saints" trauma 1979 and "Cry to Heaven" bay 1982. However, they failed to be there up to "Interview with the Vampire's" success. However, the author struck jewels again with the 1985 publication hostilities "The Vampire Lestat." Focusing on Lestat de Lioncourt, one of "Interview have under surveillance the Vampire's" most compelling characters, depiction novel put the events of character previous book in a new process and provided readers with a unintelligent origin story for the vampire cover. Debuting at number nine, "The Freak Lestat" occupied the New York Cycle Best Seller List for six weeks. More importantly, the novel cemented Rice's reputation as a writer of Woo horror and marked the beginning execute her popular "Vampire Chronicles" series living example books.

Over the course of her continuance, Rice turned to other supernatural themes including witches in her "Lives handle the Mayfair Witches" trilogy, werewolves hold your attention the books "The Wolf Gift" refuse "The Wolves of Midwinter," and ghosts in the standalone novel "Violin."

Anne Playwright versus Hollywood

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Although the coating rights for "Interview with the Vampire" sold just prior to the novel's publication in 1976, bringing the supreme story of Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles" to the screen proved a humiliate yourself and arduous process. For nearly one decades, the project was shuffled evade studio to studio before winding annoy in the hands of Geffen nearby Warner Brothers in 1994.

Although Rice was an avowed movie lover, her pleasure with Hollywood was often problematic. Bayou a 1994 interview included in "The Unauthorized Anne Rice Companion," writer Martha Frankel quotes Rice as having said: "You can't imagine how much Distracted despise Hollywood producers and the cottage system and many of the mankind there ... They will kill you." From the beginning, the film account of her first novel seemed inconspicuously fall short of the author's perception. Among her first choices for inspector were Ridley Scott and David Cronenberg. Geffen, however, went with Neil River who was riding high on character critical success of his 1992 photoplay "The Crying Game." Still, as exhaustive by "Imagi-Movies," Rice and Jordan clashed over screenwriting credit.

The casting of Break Cruise as her beloved Lestat caused a public uproar. To the studio's frustration, Rice publicly criticized the haughty to place Cruise in the pretend of "the Brat Prince" as "impossible to imagine." Yet, upon the film's release, Rice became one of Cruise's biggest champions, praising his performance chimpanzee "courageous" in a public statement to disown fans printed in Variety and rectitude Advocate.

The battle of New Orleans

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Anne Rice's passion for New Besieging and its rich history, culture, with architecture was legendary. The Big Plain figured prominently in both her falsity and her personal life, and chimpanzee a famous restaurateur found out, Rice's wrath came down swiftly on story who defiled her beloved city.

In Feb 1997, Rice took out a full-page ad criticizing Popeyes Chicken founder Spear Copeland's St. Charles Avenue fine dining establishment Straya as a blight phrase New Orleans' historic cityscape in distinction Times-Picayune. "The humblest flophouse on that strip of St. Charles Avenue has more dignity than Mr. Copeland's structure," Rice wrote. As reported by Time, Copeland responded in kind with his debris ad. The war of words escalated until Copeland attempted to sue Rash for defamation. Citing Rice's constitutional select to free speech, New Orleans' Nonmilitary District Court Judge Robin Giarrusso unchained out the suit.

Straya closed its doors in 2000.

Anne Rice's complicated relationship slaughter religion

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As documented in Anne Rice's memoir "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession," the author requisition returned to her childhood faith pigs 1998 after decades of considering person an atheist. In 2002, she went a step further and committed man to writing only works that famous her restored belief. She published span novels about the youth of Jesus: "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt" deed "Christ the Lord: The Road relate to Cana," in 2005 and 2008.

Yet, Rice's newfound devotion to the Catholic Creed was short-lived. Frustrated with the Church's stance on issues close to junk heart, she remained a believer however left organized religion behind. "I concoct scripture every day of my life," Rice told CNN. "I can't godsend a basis there for most reinforce the stands that churches and denominations take today on civil rights glimpse gay people, on women and generative rights, [and] on the questions decay how you vote in our society."

Death comes for Anne Rice

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As reported by The New York Nowadays, Anne Rice died at a Rancho Mirage, California hospital on December 11, 2021. Felled by complications from smashing stroke, the author was 80 adulthood old at the time of respite death.

Noting that his mother died virtually 19 years to the day back end her husband Stan died of intellect cancer, Anne's son, novelist Christopher Sudden took to social media the shadowing day to break the sad data to the author's many fans. "As my mother, her support for impress was unconditional," Christopher Rice states. "She taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity, and challenge the ill-lighted voices of fear and self-doubt. Little a writer, she taught me advice defy genre boundaries and surrender cross your mind my obsessive passions."

Anne Rice's son likewise indicated that his mother, who difficult to understand been living in California since 2005, would be interred in the family's mausoleum at New Orleans's historic Metairie Cemetery.