Interview with the Vampire is a gothic horror and vampire novel by American author Anne Rice, published in 1976. It was her debut novel. Based on a short story Rice wrote around 1968, the novel centers on vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac, who tells the story of his life to a reporter. Rice composed the novel shortly after the death of her young daughter Michelle, who served as an inspiration for the child-vampire character Claudia. Though initially the subject of mixed critical reception, the book was followed by many widely popular sequels, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles. A film adaptation was released in 1994, starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, and a television series premiered in 2022. The novel has also been adapted as a comic three times.
A vampire named Louis de Pointe du Lac tells his 200-year-long life story to a reporter referred to simply as "the boy".
In 1791, Louis is a young indigo plantation owner living in Louisiana. Distraught by the death of his younger brother Paul, he seeks death in any way possible. Louis is approached by a vampire named Lestat de Lioncourt, who desires Louis's company. Lestat turns Louis into a vampire and the two become immortal companions.
Louis initially perceives Lestat as an extraordinary being, but he undergoes a rapid disillusionment after joining Lestat as a vampire, as he realizes Lestat has no special moral insights and is in fact not much older than Louis himself. Lestat's elderly father moves to the plantation and Louis learns a few details about Lestat's boyhood, including that he was denied an education and that his father once considered him the gentlest of his brothers.
Lestat spends time feeding off slaves, thieves, and other plantation families while Louis, who finds it morally repugnant to murder humans to survive, feeds from animals. The enslaved people of the plantation become suspicious of the vampires and Louis and Lestat realize they may face an uprising and cannot remain. Lestat's father attempts to apologize for the abuse he inflicted on Lestat as a child, but Lestat remains bitter and aloof and asks Louis to kill his father for him as they prepare to depart.
Louis sets his own plantation aflame; he and Lestat kill the slaves to keep word from spreading about vampires living in Louisiana. Gradually, Louis bends under Lestat's influence and begins feeding from humans. He slowly comes to terms with his vampire nature, but also becomes increasingly repulsed by what he perceives as Lestat's total lack of compassion for the humans he preys upon.
Escaping to New Orleans, Louis feeds off a plague-ridden, five-year-old girl, whom he finds next to the corpse of her mother. Louis begins to think of leaving Lestat and going his own way. Fearing this, Lestat then turns the girl into a vampire "daughter" for them, to give Louis a reason to stay. She is then given the name Claudia.
Louis is initially horrified that Lestat has turned a child into a vampire, but soon begins to care for Claudia. Claudia takes to killing easily, but she begins to realize over time she can never grow up; her mind matures into that of an intelligent, assertive woman, but her body remains that of a young girl.
Claudia blames Lestat for her state and, after 60 years of living with him, hatches a plot to kill Lestat by poisoning him and cutting his throat. Claudia and Louis then dump his body into a nearby swamp. As Louis and Claudia prepare to flee to Europe, Lestat appears, having recovered from Claudia's attack, and confronts them. Louis sets fire to their home and barely escapes with Claudia, leaving a furious Lestat to be consumed by the flames.
Arriving in Europe, Louis and Claudia seek out more of their kind. They travel throughout eastern Europe first and do encounter vampires, but these vampires appear to be nothing more than mindless, animated corpses. Louis begins to regret the murder of Lestat, fearing that they may have killed the one vampire who could provide answers regarding their nature. It is only when they reach Paris that they encounter vampires like themselves, meeting the 400-year-old vampire Armand and his coven at the Théâtre des Vampires.
Inhabiting an ancient theater, Armand and his vampire coven disguise themselves as humans and feed on terrified humans in mock plays before a live audience (who think the killings are merely a very realistic performance). Claudia is repulsed by these vampires and what she considers to be their cheap theatrics, but Louis and Armand are drawn to each other.
Fearing that Louis will leave her for Armand, Claudia convinces Louis to turn a Parisian doll maker, Madeleine, into a vampire to serve as a replacement companion for her. Louis, Madeleine, and Claudia live together for a brief time, but all three are abducted one night by Armand's coven.
It is revealed that Lestat survived the fire in New Orleans, scarred and weakened. He demands Claudia face punishment, even death, for her murder attempt but screams at the coven that they promised not to harm Louis. The coven does not respect his ranting and proceed with their punishments. Louis is forcibly locked in a coffin to starve, while Claudia and Madeleine are entrapped in an open courtyard.
Armand arrives and releases Louis, but Madeleine and Claudia are burned to death by the rising sun; a devastated Louis finds their ashen remains. Louis sees Lestat crying over the remnants of Claudia's yellow dress, but loses track of him as he plots his revenge against the theatre coven.
Louis returns to the Theatre late the following night, burning it to the ground and killing all the vampires inside, leaving with Armand. Together, the two travel across Europe for several years, but Louis never fully recovers from Claudia's death, and the emotional connection between himself and Armand becomes strained. It remains ambiguous even to Louis whether the murder of Claudia was primarily orchestrated by Armand in his desire to gain Louis's companionship, by the coven in their perception of Claudia breaking ancient vampire law, or by Lestat's arrival and desire for vengeance.
Tired of the Old World, Louis returns to New Orleans in the early 20th century. Living as a loner, he feeds off any humans who cross his path, but lives in the shadows, never creating another companion for himself.
Louis tells the boy of one last encounter with Lestat in New Orleans, where Lestat has hidden himself in a rotting mansion and lost touch with the passing of time. Armand hopes that seeing Lestat might arouse feelings of passion, sorrow, or anger in Louis and expresses despair that Louis remains cold, unreachable, and unable to share eternity with him. The two end their companionship, concluding they have nothing more to offer one another. Louis ends his tale; revealing that after 200 years, he is weary of immortality and of all the pain and suffering to which he has had to bear witness and create.
The boy, however, seeing only the great powers granted to a vampire, begs to be made into a vampire himself. Angry that his interviewer learned nothing from his story, Louis refuses, attacking the boy and vanishing without a trace. The boy then leaves to track down Lestat in the hopes that he can give him immortality.
Background and publication
In 1970, while Anne Rice was attending a graduate program in Creative Writing at San Francisco State University, her daughter Michelle, then about four years old, was diagnosed with acute granulocytic leukemia.[1] Michelle died of the illness about two years later,[1][2][3] and Rice fell into a deep depression, turning to alcohol in order to cope.[4] Later reviewers and commentators identified Michelle as an inspiration for the character of Claudia.[5]
In 1973, while still grieving the loss of her daughter, Rice began reworking a previously written short story, which she had written in 1968 or 1969.[nb 1] Thirty pages long, the short story was written from the interviewer's perspective.[6] She decided to expand "Interview with the Vampire" into a novel at the encouragement of one of her husband's students, who enjoyed her writing.[6][7] It took her five weeks to complete the 338-page novel: she did research on vampires during the day and often wrote during the night.[6]
After completing the novel and following many rejections from publishers, Rice developed obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). She became obsessed with germs, thinking that she contaminated everything she touched, engaged in frequent and obsessive hand washing and obsessively checked locks on windows and doors. Of this period, Rice says: "What you see when you're in that state is every single flaw in our hygiene and you cannot control it and you go crazy".[9]
In August 1974, Rice attended the Squaw Valley Writer's Conference at Squaw Valley, conducted by writer Ray Nelson.[10] While at the conference, she met her future literary agent, Phyllis Seidel. In October 1974, Seidel sold the publishing rights to Interview with the Vampire to Alfred A. Knopf for a $12,000 advance of the hardcover rights, at a time when most new authors were receiving $2,000 advances.[11]Interview with the Vampire was published in April 1976.[12] In 1977, the Rices traveled to both Europe and Egypt for the first time.[13]
Upon its release, Interview with the Vampire received mixed reviews from critics.[14] A reviewer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gave the book a positive review, describing the prose as "hypnotically poetic in tone, rich in sensory imagery",[14] while other reviews were more negative. Edith Milton of The New Republic wrote: "To pretend that it has any purpose beyond suckling eroticism is rank hypocrisy".[14]As of February2008[update], the novel had sold 8million copies worldwide.[15]
The film rights to Interview were at times controlled by Paramount Pictures, Lorimar, and Warner Bros., the distributor of the film, before The Geffen Film Company acquired the rights.[17] Director Neil Jordan rewrote Rice's first draft of the screenplay, though she received sole credit.[18]Brad Pitt starred as Louis, Tom Cruise starred as Lestat, Antonio Banderas co-starred as Armand, as did a young Kirsten Dunst as the child vampire Claudia. Most of the movie's shooting had been completed by October 1993, and all that remained were the few scenes involving the interviewer that would then be inserted at various points throughout the film.[19][20] Production of those scenes was put on hold for a few weeks whilst River Phoenix, who had been cast as the interviewer, finished working on the film Dark Blood. Phoenix died from an overdose later that month, and Christian Slater was then cast as the interviewer Molloy. Slater donated his entire salary to Earth Save and Earth Trust, two of Phoenix's favorite charities.[21][22][23][24][25]
The film was released in November 1994 to generally positive critical reaction,[26] and received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Original Score.[27] Dunst was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film.[28][29] Rice had initially voiced her objections to the casting of Cruise as Lestat, preferring Rutger Hauer for the role. After seeing the film, however, she voiced her support for the film,[17] saying: "That Tom did make Lestat work was something I could not see in a crystal ball. It's to his credit that he proved me wrong".[18]
In August 2014, Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment acquired the motion picture rights to the entire Vampire Chronicles series, with producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci signed to helm the potential film franchise. The deal also included a screenplay for The Tale of the Body Thief (1992) adapted by Christopher Rice.[30] In May 2016, writer-director Josh Boone posted a photo on Instagram of the cover a script written by him and Jill Killington.[31][32][33] Titled Interview with the Vampire, it is based on the novel of the same name and its sequel, The Vampire Lestat.[31][32][33] However, that November Universal did not renew the contract, and the film and television rights reverted to Rice, who began developing the Vampire Chronicles into a television series with Christopher.[34][35]
Innovation Comics published a twelve-issue comic book adaptation of Interview with the Vampire from 1991 to 1994,[36] also making comic adaptations of The Vampire Lestat (12 issues) and The Queen of the Damned (11 issues).[37][38] A Japanese manga adaptation by Udou Shinohara was published in 1994 by Tokuma Shoten.[citation needed] It was also serialized in both Animage and Chara magazines. In 2012, the graphic novelInterview with the Vampire: Claudia's Story was published by Yen Press, retelling much of the original novel from the point of view of child vampire Claudia.[39]
In May 2020, AMC acquired the rights to The Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches for developing film and television projects.[40] AMC gave the production a series order for a seven episode first season of Interview with the Vampire. The series is executive produced by Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson.[41]Interview with the Vampire stars Sam Reid as Lestat,[42]Jacob Anderson as Louis,[43]Bailey Bass/Delainey Hayles as Claudia,[44][45] and Assad Zaman as Rashid/Armand.[46] The series premiered on October 2, 2022.[47] The novel is adapted through the first two seasons,[48] with elements from The Vampire Lestat being used during season two and being the basis for season three.
Notes
↑ Biographer Katherine Ramsland gives two dates for the short story: 1968 in the text,[6] and 1969 in her timeline of Rice's life.[7] Michael Riley's timeline lists the year as 1969.[8]
Related Research Articles
The Queen of the Damned (1988) is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the third in her The Vampire Chronicles series. It follows Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. This novel is a continuation of the story that ends in a cliffhanger in The Vampire Lestat and explores the rich history and mythology of the origin of the vampires, which dates back to Ancient Egypt.
The Vampire Lestat (1985) is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire (1976). The story is told from the point of view of the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, while Interview is narrated by Louis de Pointe du Lac.
The Tale of the Body Thief is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the fourth in her The Vampire Chronicles series, following The Queen of the Damned (1988). Published in 1992, it continues the adventures of Lestat, specifically his efforts to regain his lost humanity during the late 20th century. Chapters from the book appeared in the October 1992 issue of Playboy.
The Vampire Chronicles is a series of gothic vampire novels and a media franchise, created by American writer Anne Rice, that revolves around the fictional character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman turned into a vampire in the 18th century.
Blood Canticle is a 2003 vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the tenth book in her The Vampire Chronicles series. The novel includes some characters who cross over from Rice's Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy (1990–1994), concluding the unified story begun in Merrick (2000) and continued in Blackwood Farm (2002).
Lestat de Lioncourt is a fictional character from Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles novel series. Born in the mid 1700s, Lestat is an immortal vampire and the antihero of the franchise.
Lives of the Mayfair Witches is a trilogy of supernatural horror/fantasy novels by American novelist Anne Rice. It centers on a family of witches whose fortunes have been guided for generations by a spirit named Lasher. The series began in 1990 with The Witching Hour, which was followed by the sequels Lasher (1993) and Taltos (1994). All three novels debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list.
The Talamasca, sometimes known as the Order of the Talamasca, is a fictional secret society featured in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches supernatural horror novel series.
Merrick is a 2000 vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the seventh book in her The Vampire Chronicles series. The novel includes some characters who cross over from Rice's Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy (1990–1994).
Armand is a fictional character in The Vampire Chronicles novels written by Anne Rice. At the end of the series, he is approximately 500 years of age. His outward appearance is that of a beautiful adolescent boy, 5’6, with curly auburn hair, large brown eyes and slender fingers. His features are at times compared figuratively to those of Cupid or a Botticelli angel.
Louis de Pointe du Lac is a fictional character in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series. He begins his life as a mortal man and later becomes a vampire. He is the protagonist who tells his story in Interview with the Vampire. He also features in The Vampire Lestat, The Queen of the Damned, The Tale of the Body Thief, Memnoch the Devil, The Vampire Armand, Merrick, Prince Lestat, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis and Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat
Interview with the Vampire is a 1994 American gothic horror film directed by Neil Jordan, based on Anne Rice's 1976 novel of the same name, and starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. It focuses on Lestat (Cruise) and Louis (Pitt), beginning with Louis's transformation into a vampire by Lestat in 1791. The film chronicles their time together, and their turning of young Claudia into a vampire. The narrative is framed by a present-day interview, in which Louis tells his story to a San Francisco reporter. The supporting cast features Antonio Banderas and Stephen Rea.
Lestat is a Broadway musical inspired by Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. The score is by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, with the book by Linda Woolverton. The musical had a brief run on Broadway in 2006.
Queen of the Damned is a 2002 horror film directed by Michael Rymer from a screenplay by Scott Abbott and Michael Petroni, and based on the 1988 novel The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice, the third novel of the book series The Vampire Chronicles, although the film contains many plot elements from the novel's 1985 predecessor, The Vampire Lestat. A stand-alone sequel to Interview with the Vampire (1994), the film stars Stuart Townsend, Aaliyah in her final film, Marguerite Moreau, Vincent Pérez and Lena Olin. Townsend and Matthew Newton replaced Tom Cruise and Antonio Banderas in the roles of Lestat and Armand, respectively.
Anne Rice was an American author of gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing The Vampire Chronicles. She later adapted the first volume in the series into a commercially successful eponymous film, Interview with the Vampire (1994).
Prince Lestat is a novel by American writer Anne Rice, the eleventh in The Vampire Chronicles series, published on October 28, 2014. Rice had originally stated the novel Blood Canticle was meant to conclude the series, but in March 2014 she had announced a forthcoming novel that would be a sequel to the first five books and the start of a new series. She also announced via her personal Facebook that she had begun writing a follow-up novel to Prince Lestat, tentatively titled Blood Paradise, then retitled Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis.
Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, or simply Interview with the Vampire, is an American gothic horror television series developed by Rolin Jones for AMC, based on The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, named after the first book. Starring Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac and Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt, it begins with the vampire Louis recounting his past and tumultuous relationship with the vampire Lestat.
"In Throes of Increasing Wonder..." is the series premiere of the American gothic horror television series Interview with the Vampire, an adaptation of Anne Rice's novel of the same name. Written by series creator Rolin Jones and directed by executive producer Alan Taylor, the episode premiered in the United States on AMC on October 2, 2022.
Anne Rice's Immortal Universe is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on the 2020s AMC television series adaptations of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches supernatural horror novel series. The books, which originated with the 1976 novel Interview with the Vampire, follow vampires and witches in the ancient and modern world. The franchise includes two television series, Interview with the Vampire and Mayfair Witches. A third, The Talamasca, is in development, focused on the Talamasca, a secret society in Rice's novels who investigate the paranormal.
↑ Vera H-C Chan (September 15, 2011). "The Misery of Brad Pitt". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
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