Anne Rice Biography
Summary
"Anne Rice" (born on October 4, 1941) is a best-selling American author of gothic and later religious themed books. Best known for her Vampire Chronicles, her prevailing thematical focus is on love, death, immortality, existentialism, and the human condition. She was married to poet Stan Rice for 41 years until his death in 2002. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history.
Biography
Early years
Rice was born and spent most of her early life in New Orleans, Louisiana, which forms the background against which most of her stories take place. She was the second daughter in a Catholic Irish-American family; Rice's sister, Alice Borchardt, also became a noted genre author. She lives in East Haven, Connecticut.
About her unusual given name, Rice said: 'My birth name 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 the world.'
Rice became 'Anne' on her first day of school, when a nun asked her what her name was. She blurted out 'Anne' immediately, and her mother, who was with her, let it go without correcting her, knowing how self-conscious her daughter was of her real name.
Writing career
In 1958, when Rice was 17, her father moved the family to north Texas, taking up residence in Richardson. She attended Richardson High School, and while a student, met Stan Rice, a man whom she would later marry. She began college at Texas Woman's University in Denton, but relocated with Stan to California, where the couple put down roots in San Francisco, where Anne attended San Francisco State University and obtained a Master of Arts degree in creative writing. 'I'm a totally conservative person', she later told the "New York Times" (November 7, 1988). '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.' She would not return to New Orleans until 1989. (... more) //_v
Rice and her husband had a daughter Michele, who was born on September 21, 1966 and died of leukemia on August 5, 1972. Their son Christopher Rice, now a novelist, was born March 11, 1978.
She completed her first book, "Interview with the Vampire", in 1973 and published it in 1976. This book would be the first in Rice's popular "Vampire Chronicles" series, which includes 1985's "The Vampire Lestat" and 1988's "The Queen of the Damned". Rice has also published adult-oriented fiction under the pen name "Anne Rampling", and has written explicit sado-masochistic erotica as "A.N. Roquelaure".
Her fiction is often described as lush and descriptive, and her characters' sexuality is fluid, often displaying homoerotic feelings towards each other. Rice said that the bisexuality was what she was looking for in her characters; a love beyond gender especially with the Vampire Chronicles because the vampires were not of human society, therefore did not go by the expectations of that society. She also weaves philosophical and historic themes into the dense pattern of her books. To her admirers, Rice's books are among the best in modern popular fiction, possessing those elements that create a lasting presence in the literary canon. To her critics, her novels are baroque, 'low-brow pulp' and redundant. A critical analysis of Rice's work can be found in S. T. Joshi's book "The Modern Weird Tale" (2001).
Return to Catholicism
In 1996, after spending most of her adult life as a self-described atheist, Rice returned to her Roman Catholic faith, which she had not practiced since she was 15. In October 2004, as she reaffirmed her Catholic faith, Rice announced in a "Newsweek" article that she would 'write only for the Lord.' She called "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt", her first novel in this genre, the beginning of a trilogy that will chronicle the life of Jesus.
In an interview with "Christianity Today", headlined ('Interview with a Penitent') , Rice declared that she will never again write another vampire novel, saying; 'I would never go back, not even if they say, 'You will be financially ruined; you've got to write another vampire book.' I would say no. I have no choice. I would be a fool for all eternity to turn my back on God like that.'
Some of her fans reacted with shock to the news of her religious and literary conversion, admonishing her in magazine articles, internet weblogs and reader reviews found on the web. Rice responded in a post on Amazon.com (see below) that stated: 'And yes, the Chronicles are no more! Thank God!'
Whether Rice would continue to be a supporter of causes like gay rights (her son Christopher is openly gay) was much debated; she has said that Christianity's stance on it was something she wrestled with as she considered converting. She remains a passionate supporter of the rights of homosexuals and their right to participate in religious worship. She was adamant about all her convictions.
She also remains a supporter of the Democratic Party and opposes the War in Iraq.
Leaving New Orleans
Rice discovered she had Type 1 diabetes when she went into a diabetic coma in December 1998.
In 2002, Stan Rice died after a long illness. In her subsequent depression, Rice's weight rose to 254 pounds (115 kg). In response to sleep apnea and other weight-related problems, Rice had gastric bypass surgery in 2003.
On January 30, 2004, having already put the largest of her three homes up for sale, Rice announced her plans to leave New Orleans. She cited living alone since the death of her husband and her son's moving out of state as the reasons. '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.' Though she left New Orleans prior to the disaster of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, and none of her former New Orleans properties took on water, she remained an advocate for relief for the city.
Rice may also have wished for more privacy from the constant attentions of her fans, who were known to camp out in front of her house; up to 200 or more would gather to see her leave for church on Sundays.
In spring 2005 Rice moved to La Jolla, California, to be nearer her son, Christopher. She moved less than a year later to Rancho Mirage for a warmer climate and a 'simpler life.'
Amazon.com incident
On September 6, 2004, Rice posted a reply to a number of negative reviews that had appeared on Amazon.com regarding "Blood Canticle". She titled her reply, ('From the Author to the Some of the Negative Voices Here.') This post generated a great deal of publicity online - partly because authors rarely post or respond to reviews on Amazon, and partly because of the tone and nature of her text, which was very bitter, angry and aggressive; for example, she ends the article by saying, Seldom do I really answer those who criticize my work. In fact, the entire development of my career has been fueled by my ability to ignore denigrating and trivializing criticism as I realize my dreams and my goals. However there is something compelling about Amazon's willingness to publish just about anything, and the sheer outrageous stupidity of many things you've said here that actually touches my proletarian and Democratic soul. Also I use and enjoy Amazon and I do read the reviews of other people's books in many fields. In sum, I believe in what happens here. And so, I speak. First off, let me say that this is addressed only to some of you, who have posted outrageously negative comments here, and not to all. You are interrogating this text from the wrong perspective. Indeed, you aren't even reading it. You are projecting your own limitations on it. And you are giving a whole new meaning to the words 'wide readership.' And you have strained my Dickensean principles to the max. I'm justifiably proud of being read by intellectual giants and waitresses in trailer parks,in fact, I love it, but who in the world are you? Now to the book. Allow me to point out: nowhere in this text are you told that this is the last of the chronicles, nowhere are you promised curtain calls or a finale, nowhere are you told there will be a wrap-up of all the earlier material. The text tells you exactly what to expect. And it warns you specifically that if you did not enjoy Memnoch the Devil, you may not enjoy this book. This book is by and about a hero whom many of you have already rejected. And he tells you that you are likely to reject him again. And this book is most certainly written -- every word of it -- by me. If and when I can't write a book on my own, you'll know about it. And no, I have no intention of allowing any editor ever to distort, cut, or otherwise mutilate sentences that I have edited and re-edited, and organized and polished myself. I fought a great battle to achieve a status where I did not have to put up with editors making demands on me, and I will never relinquish that status. For me, novel writing is a virtuoso performance. It is not a collaborative art. Back to the novel itself: the character who tells the tale is my Lestat. I was with him more closely than I have ever been in this novel; his voice was as powerful for me as I've ever heard it. I experienced break through after break through as I walked with him, moved with him, saw through his eyes. What I ask of Lestat, Lestat unfailingly gives. For me, three hunting scenes, two which take place in hotels -- the lone woman waiting for the hit man, the slaughter at the pimp's party -- and the late night foray into the slums --stand with any similar scenes in all of the chronicles. They can be read aloud without a single hitch. Every word is in perfect place. The short chapter in which Lestat describes his love for Rowan Mayfair was for me a totally realized poem. There are other such scenes in this book. You don't get all this? Fine. But I experienced an intimacy with the character in those scenes that shattered all prior restraints, and when one is writing one does have to continuously and courageously fight a destructive tendency to inhibition and restraint. Getting really close to the subject matter is the achievement of only great art. Now, if it doesn't appeal to you, fine. You don't enjoy it? Read somebody else. But your stupid arrogant assumptions about me and what I am doing are slander. And you have used this site as if it were a public urinal to publish falsehood and lies. I'll never challenge your democratic freedom to do so, and yes, I'm answering you, but for what it's worth, be assured of the utter contempt I feel for you, especially those of you who post anonymously (and perhaps repeatedly?) and how glad I am that this book is the last one in a series that has invited your hateful and ugly responses. Now, to return to the narrative in question: Lestat's wanting to be a saint is a vision larded through and through with his characteristic vanity. It connects perfectly with his earlier ambitions to be an actor in Paris, a rock star in the modern age. If you can't see that, you aren't reading my work. In his conversation with the Pope he makes observations on the times which are in continuity with his observations on the late twentieth century in The Vampire Lestat, and in continuity with Marius' observations in that book and later in Queen of the Damned. The state of the world has always been an important theme in the chronicles. Lestat's comments matter. Every word he speaks is part of the achievement of this book. That Lestat renounced this saintly ambition within a matter of pages is plain enough for you to see. That he reverts to his old self is obvious, and that he intends to complete the tale of Blackwood Farm is also quite clear. There are many other themes and patterns in this work that I might mention -- the interplay between St.Juan Diago and Lestat, the invisible creature who doesn't 'exist' in the eyes of the world is a case in point. There is also the theme of the snare of Blackwood Farm, the place where a human existence becomes so beguiling that Lestat relinquishes his power as if to a spell. The entire relationship between Lestat and Uncle Julien is carefully worked out. But I leave it to readers to discover how this complex and intricate novel establishes itself within a unique, if not unrivalled series of book. There are things to be said. And there is pleasure to be had. And readers will say wonderful things about Blood Canticle and they already are. There are readers out there and plenty of them who cherish the individuality of each of the chronicles which you so flippantly condemn. They can and do talk circles around you. And I am warmed by their response. Their letters, the papers they write in school, our face to face exchanges on the road -- these things sustain me when I read the utter trash that you post. But I feel I have said enough. If this reaches one reader who is curious about my work and shocked by the ugly reviews here, I've served my goals. And Yo, you dude, the slang police! Lestat talks like I do. He always has and he always will. You really wouldn't much like being around either one of us. And you don't have to be. If any of you want to say anything about all this by all means Email me at Anneobrienrice@mac.com. And if you want your money back for the book, send it to 1239 First Street, New Orleans, La, 70130. I'm not a coward about my real name or where I live. And yes, the Chronicles are no more! Thank God! Many previous reviews had criticized the quality of writing in "Blood Canticle" as lazy or shoddy; so when Rice replied by writing an article, the incident became fodder for weblogs and Internet sites.
Adaptations
Film
In 1994, Neil Jordan directed a relatively faithful motion picture adaptation of "Interview with the Vampire", from Rice's own screenplay. The movie starred Tom Cruise as Lestat, Brad Pitt as the guilt-ridden Louis and was a breakout role for young Kirsten Dunst as the deceitful little Claudia.
A second film adaptation of the "Vampire Chronicles" came out in 2002. Starring Stuart Townsend as the infamous Lestat, the movie combined incidents from the second and third books in the series but released under the title of the third book, "The Queen of the Damned". The plot was substantially altered from that of the book, and the film was poorly received by fans and critics alike.
A 1994 film titled "Exit to Eden", based loosely on the book Rice published as Anne Rampling, starred Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Aykroyd. The work transformed from a love story into a police comedy, possibly due to the explicit S&M themes of the book.
"The Feast of All Saints" was made into a miniseries in 2001 by director Peter Medak..
Plans to adapt Rice's 'Lives of the Mayfair Witches' trilogy into a twelve hour miniseries to be aired on NBC were dropped after a change of studio head and subsequent loss of interest in the project.
Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt starts shooting in October in Israel for a fall of 2008 release.
Theatre
On April 25, 2006, the musical "Lestat", based on Rice's Vampire Chronicles books, opened at the Palace Theatre on Broadway after having its world premiere in San Francisco, California in December 2005. With music by Elton John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin, it was the inaugural production of the newly established Warner Brothers Theatre Ventures.
Despite Rice's own overwhelming approval and praise, the show received mostly poor reviews by critics and disappointing attendance. "Lestat" closed a month later on May 28, 2006, after just 33 previews and 39 regular performances.
Fan fiction
Rice has an adamant stance against fan fiction based on her work, releasing a statement on April 7, 2000 that prohibited all such efforts. (... more) This caused the removal of thousands of fanfics from the popular FanFiction.Net website.
Music inspired by Rice's novels
Cradle of Filth briefly includes Lestat in the song 'Libertina Grimm' as 'Count Lestats'.
Sting got the inspiration for his song 'Moon over Bourbon Street' from "Interview with the Vampire".
Alternative rock band Concrete Blonde's song 'Bloodletting (the Vampire Song)', the title track from the Bloodletting CD, is based on Rice's "The Vampire Lestat."
The Australian pop band Savage Garden found their name in "The Vampire Lestat", in which Lestat describes the world as 'the savage garden'.
The Metalcore band Atreyu declares in the song 'The Crimson', 'I'm an Anne Rice novel come to life.'
Punk/goth band The Damned recorded a song called 'The Dog' about the child vampire Claudia from "Interview with the Vampire" on their 1982 album "Strawberries".
The Italian band Theatres des Vampires is named after a location featured in several books of The Vampire Chronicles. Their 1999 album is called "The Vampire Chronicles".
Bibliography
"Novels: (Chronological)"
"Interview With The Vampire" (1976)
"The Feast of All Saints" (1979)
"Cry To Heaven" (1982)
"The Vampire Lestat" (1985)
"The Queen of the Damned" (1988)
"The Mummy" (1989)
"The Witching Hour" (1990)
"The Tale of the Body Thief" (1992)
"Lasher" (1993)
"Taltos" (1994)
"Memnoch The Devil" (1995)
"Servant of the Bones" (1996)
"Violin" (1997)
"Pandora" (1998)
"Armand" (1998)
"Vittorio the Vampire" (1999)
"Merrick (2000)"
"Blood and Gold" (2001)
"Blackwood Farm" (2002)
"Blood Canticle" (2003)
"Christ The Lord: Out of Egypt" (2005)
"Under the pseudonym Anne Rampling:"
"Exit to Eden" (1985)
"Belinda" (1986)
"Under the pseudonym A. N. Roquelaure:"
"The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty" (1983)
"Beauty's Punishment" (1984)
"Beauty's Release" (1985)
"Short fiction:"
"October 4th, 1948" (1965)
"Nicholas and Jean" (first ch. 1966)
"The Master of Rampling Gate" (Vampire Novel) (1982)
References
Rice, Anne (2005), 'Author's Note' in "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt", Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0-375-41201-8
External links
(Anne Rice's official website)
(Reviews written by Anne Rice on amazon.com)
(InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Anne Rice) (TV Interview)
(Anne Rice: Do You Know What It Means to Lose New Orleans?) (regarding Hurricane Katrina)
(BBC News: 'Disappointing start for Elton musical')
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Anne Rice.
