After spending nearly half a century as a self-described atheist, Anne Rice returned to her Roman Catholic faith, a religion she’d 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...
For that reason, some have reacted with consternation over news of her latest book, yes, a vampire tale entitled, “Lestat Returns.” Why this should be such a big deal or even considered a break in her faith remains a mystery, as she’d said in an interview with TIME Magazine, that she may write one more novel in the series, adding that if she did write the book, it would be a Christian novel with a redemption theme involving the vampires Lestat and the Talamasca.
Many of her fans had turned their backs on her after her conversion, not unlike what happened after Tolstoy penned Anna Karenina and War and Peace before turning toward Christianity and following those novels up with such works as My Confession, The Kingdom of God is Within You, and The Gospels in Brief.
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...
For that reason, some have reacted with consternation over news of her latest book, yes, a vampire tale entitled, “Lestat Returns.” Why this should be such a big deal or even considered a break in her faith remains a mystery, as she’d said in an interview with TIME Magazine, that she may write one more novel in the series, adding that if she did write the book, it would be a Christian novel with a redemption theme involving the vampires Lestat and the Talamasca.
Many of her fans had turned their backs on her after her conversion, not unlike what happened after Tolstoy penned Anna Karenina and War and Peace before turning toward Christianity and following those novels up with such works as My Confession, The Kingdom of God is Within You, and The Gospels in Brief.
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Tolstoy never again had another work that was met with literary acclaim, but his religious works, which were themselves heavily influenced by American Henry George, later influenced Mahatma Ghandi.
Hi JMK,
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Fred
Good for Anne Rice. If it were a sin to write about vampires every person who writes about politicians is in big trouble.
ReplyDeleteIt is PC to accept any lifestyle or belief system as long as it isn't Christian. Unfortunately, It's open season on Christians, now days.
"If it were a sin to write about vampires every person who writes about politicians is in big trouble." (Uncle Joe)
ReplyDeleteYou're 100% right!
"It is PC to accept any lifestyle or belief system as long as it isn't Christian. Unfortunately, It's open season on Christians, now days." (Uncle Joe)
Also, sad but true!
I agree with uncle joe. As a reader of virtually all of Mrs. Rice's works, I am happy that she is happy, no matter if she writes about Christ, vampires, or penguins.
ReplyDeleteAnne Rice really is a great writer Rachel.
ReplyDeleteI think it's takes a lot of conviction and a good deal of courage to do what she's doing - foresaking her sure-fire formula for mass market fiction success, in order to devote herself to writing about Christian themes.
When Tolstoy did that, his literary value pretty much fell off the face of the earth...AND his "The Gospels in Brief" is a masterpiece. It's an awesome book.