By Javier Cisneros
The world of literature is mourning. The iconic novelist, Anne Rice, author of Interview with a Vampire and the famous Vampire Chronicles saga, died yesterday at the age of 80, her son Cristopher reported on his Twitter account.
‘I am heartbroken to inform you that tonight Anne passed away due to complications from a stroke.’
Who was Anne Rice?
Born Howard Allen O’Brien in New Orleans, she moved to San Francisco, where she met her husband Stan Rice and attended college. She lived in Berkley until 1988, where she lived through the hippie movement of the 1970s.
Much has been written about vampires throughout time; however, Rice, who from a very early age showed a fantastic devotion to the world of witches and vampires, knew how to give a twist to the subject, and then her saga Vampire Chronicles became one of the most emblematic of these times on the vampire theme.
The central character of the aforementioned chronicles is Lestat de Lioncourt, a young Frenchman and son of a marquis who was born in the middle of the 18th century in France and who becomes a vampire due to various circumstances.
Her most successful novel was Interview with the Vampire, published in 1976, a book that was later made into a film by director Neil Jordan starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. The Queen of the Damned, was also adapted to the cinema, although with less success.
She wrote more than 28 novels that have sold some 100 million copies worldwide. Anne Rice’s vampire novels portray a secret vampire society focusing on the personal relationships of the characters, always with a strong erotic charge.
Her phenomenal contribution is undoubtedly unforgettable, and this made her one of the favorite and most-read authors by fans of vampire stories.
Translated by María Isabel Carrasco Cara Chards
Photos from IG: @annericeauthor
