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Interview with the Vampire is a novel by Anne Rice. She wrote it in 1973 and it was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1976. It became a cult book that has influenced modern-day Goth culture, and was followed by several sequels, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles.
In 1994, Neil Jordan directed a motion picture by the same name based on the story, starring Tom Cruise as Lestat, Brad Pitt as Louis, Antonio Banderas as Armand and Kirsten Dunst as Claudia.
What set the book apart from its predecessors in the vampire genre was its confessional tone offering the point-of-view of the vampire himself and touching on existential despair and the sheer ennui of lifeless immortality. Anne Rice's previous experience writing bodice-rippers and lush pornography came into play.
Synopsis
In present day San Francisco, the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac tells the story of his life to a journalist. The story begins on the plantations of New Orleans where Louis is the owner of the Pointe du Lac plantation. He gets bitten by Lestat de Lioncourt who turns him into a vampire. His soul, however, survives this transformation.
After living together in New Orleans for 65 years, Claudia, a child vampire made by Louis and Lestat, rebels and tries to kill Lestat. Fearing Lestat's revenge, Louis and Claudia flee to Europe. In Paris they are confronted with a cult of vampires and their leader Armand in the Théâtre des Vampires (probably a reference to the theatre of the Grand Guignol). These vampires want to impose their way of living on Louis and Claudia. This leads to a confrontation that kills Claudia. Louis takes revenge by burning down the theatre and all the vampires inside.
See also Anne Rice, The Vampire Chronicles.
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