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In this installment of The Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice summons up dazzling worlds to bring us the story of Armand -- eternally young, with the face of a Botticelli angel. We travel with Armand across the centuries to the Kiev Rus of his boyhood -- a ruined city under Mongol dominion -- and to ancient Constantinople, where Tartar raiders sell him into slavery. And in a magnificent palazzo in the Venice of the Renaissance we see him emotionally and intellectually in thrall to the great vampire Marius, who masquerades among humankind as a mysterious, reclusive painter and who will bestow upon Armand the gift of vampiric blood. As the novel races to its climax, moving through scenes of luxury and elegance, of ambush, fire, and devil worship, to nineteenth-century Paris and today's New Orleans, we see its eternally vulnerable and romantic hero forced to choose between his twilight immortality and the salvation of his immortal soul.

About Anne Rice

One of America's most read and celebrated authors, Anne Rice is known for weaving the visible and supernatural worlds together in epic stories that both entertain and challenge readers. Her books are rich tapestries of history, belief, philosophy, religion, and compelling characters that examine and extend our physical world beyond the limits we perceive.

Anne lives and works in California. Anne's life experiences and intellectual inquisitiveness provide her with constant inspiration for her work.

Born Howard Allen O’Brien on October 4, 1941, Anne chose the name “Anne” when she entered the first grade at St. Alphonsus Grammar School. She attended Catholic schools until 1958 when her family moved from New Orleans to Richardson, Texas.

After graduating from Richardson High School, in 1959, Anne attended Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas and later North Texas State College.

After a year’s stay in San Francisco, during which she worked as an insurance claims examiner, Anne returned to Denton, Texas to marry Stan Rice, her childhood sweetheart.

Stan and Anne lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1962 to 1988, experiencing the birth of Hippie Revolution first hand as they lived in the soon to be fabled Haight Ashbury. Both attended and graduated from San Francisco State University.

Anne wrote Interview with the Vampire while the couple still lived in Berkeley, California, just before Christopher’s birth, and has written over 28 novels.

In New Orleans in 1989, Stan and Anne bought the Garden District Greek Revival house that would become the setting for five or six of Anne’s novels. This house would also house Stan’s attic painting studio. It was here that Christopher wrote his first novel. This home was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for Anne, who had passed the beautiful house frequently in her early years, going to and from her parish church of St. Alphonsus from her home on St. Charles Avenue. During the 1990’s, Anne owned many buildings in New Orleans, including St. Elizabeth’s Orphanage, her childhood home on St. Charles Avenue, and other restoration projects. The family enjoyed apartments in Florida and New York, and traveled frequently to Europe. Anne and Stan also traveled to Israel. Anne made a second visit in 2005. The 1990’s also saw Anne’s first novel, Interview with the Vampire made into a motion picture, starring Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Cruise. Anne’s screenplay was the basis for the adaptation, directed by Neil Jordan. Years later, Anne’s novel, The Feast of All Saints, about the free people of color of Lousiana, would be made into a Showtime mini-series, scripted by John Wilder. Please see the page devoted to the book and the series on this site. A Broadway musical, Lestat, was also developed in 2004 by Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Linda Woolverton and Rob Roth. Though the play closed, there are rumors of a New Orleans revival.

Anne returned to the Catholic Church in 1998, and in 2002 consecrated her writing entirely to Christ, vowing to write for Him or about Him. She remains passionately loyal to the readers of her earlier works. Please see the Essay on this site devoted to that subject.

In 2005, after completing Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt, Anne left Louisiana and her beloved city of New Orleans to live in California. Within months of her departure, Hurricane Katrina devastated the area.

Anne now lives and works in the California desert, a few hours drive from her son, Christopher, who lives and works in West Hollywood.

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