Anne Rice, the famous author of the best-selling Vampire Chronicles novel series, died on 11th December, Saturday. She was 80.
The author passed away because of complications of a stroke as confirmed by her son Christopher Rice. Christopher Rice who is also a writer announced her demise on social media platforms Facebook and Twitter.
Anne Rice, the famous author who wrote ‘Interview With the Vampire,’ passed away
Christopher Rice’s statement read: “In her final hours, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and her courage. As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions.
Let us take in the shared hope that Anne is now experiencing firsthand the glorious answers to the many great spiritual and cosmic questions, the quest for which defined her life and career.”
In 1976, Rice’s biggest breakthrough was the phenomenal success of her first novel, “Interview with the Vampire” that introduced the character of the vampire Lestat who happened to be the central character in the 13-book Chronicles series. The latest version of the series was published in the year 2018.
Below is the tweet shared by Christopher Rice on Twitter:
Earlier tonight, my mother, Anne Rice, passed away due to complications resulting from a stroke. She left us almost nineteen years to the day my father, her husband Stan, died. Below is a statement I posted to her Facebook page moments ago. pic.twitter.com/g2VAK2XZjc
— Christopher Rice (@chrisricewriter) December 12, 2021
Even though Rice was the author of more than 30 books she is best known for her maiden novel, Interview With the Vampire.
During her visit to Southern Illinois University, Rice said, “I had an idea of Lestat as the man of action, the man who could do things that I couldn’t do”.
Her novel, “Interview with the Vampire” was later made into a commercial successful movie in the year 1994. The movie has reignited interest in the vampire genre which was continued in the TV series “The Vampire Diaries” and the “Twilight” film series.
Her daughter, Michele, died at the age of five due to leukemia. This incident has shocked her and she was in deep grief that conjured up the vampire Lestat character.
Rice told The Desert Sun publication which is part of the USA TODAY Network, “Vampires for me started as a whim. I was thinking one day, what would it be like if you could get an interview with a vampire? I got carried away with it. I discovered when I was writing those novels about vampires I could access feelings in a way I couldn’t in any realistic novel.”
After the news of her death broke, her friends and fans took to social media to offer their condolences to the late author. Below are a few tweets:
RIP novelist #AnneRice. Ten years after publishing "Called Out of Darkness," her memoir of re-embracing the Catholic faith of her childhood, she very publicly left Christianity over its increasingly bigoted, pro-ignorance stances. Her searing words are more true than ever. pic.twitter.com/k4mwtncofv
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) December 12, 2021
Another day, another legend. RIP #AnneRice and thank you for introducing us to a world in which vampires weren’t simply Dracula, but literary springboards for everything that makes us hungry for immortality, desperate for love, longing for legacy, and searching for humanity. https://t.co/8yFqs8TiCv
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) December 12, 2021
Rest In Peace Anne Rice @AnneRiceAuthor . Thank you for your incredible contributions to literature and entertainment. You built worlds and characters that will live even longer that Lestat. And thank you for always supporting me. 🙏🤍
— Matt Bomer (@MattBomer) December 12, 2021
RIP Anne Rice, author of the classic Interview With The Vampire and so many other wonderfully addictive books. She was by all reports an extraordinary person, devoted to her family and fans, and her Twitter posts were an inspiration. She created a seductive realm all her own pic.twitter.com/qz348RNCB8
— Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) December 12, 2021
More about Anne Rice:
Anne Rice was born Howard Allen Frances O’Brien in the year 1941 in New Orleans. Her father used to work in the postal service department and also used to make sculptures and write fiction in his free time.
Rice’s mother passed away when she was just 15 years old. Alice Borchardt, her elder sister also wrote fantasy and horror fiction. Rice was raised in an Irish Catholic family. In the year 1961, she tied the knot with poet Stan Rice. Her husband Stan passed away in 2002.
Rice wrote the novel – “Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris” with her son which is due to be published in February.
The final rituals of Anne Rice will be carried at her residence in a private ceremony in New Orleans. There will be a public memorial planned early next year.
