Death of the novelist Anne Rice, author of fantasy and vampire novels, at the age of 80

American writer Anne Rice, author of fantasy and vampire novels, including Interview with the Vampire, which renewed the genre, died Saturday at the age of 80, her family announced.

 

In her final hours, I sat by her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and courage, her son Christopher Rice said on his Facebook page.

He said she died of complications from a stroke

Interview with a Vampire, published in 1976 and which renewed the genre of the vampire novel, was adapted to the cinema by Neil Jordan, starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in 1994.

  

Anna Rice has written dozens of books, sometimes erotic, sometimes religiously tinged, many in the Vampire series, selling over 150 million copies worldwide.

 

Another of his works, Queen of the Damned was adapted into a film in 2002 by Michael Rymer.

 

The immensity of our family's grief cannot be overstated. As a mother, her support for me was unconditional - she taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity and defy the dark voices of fear and doubt, her son wrote.

 

She will be buried in a private ceremony in New Orleans.

 

A public celebration will be held next year in the city, with friends, readers and fans invited to join, according to his son.