Anne Rice: A Critical Companion (Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers) [Hardcover]

Jennifer Smith (Author)

Book Description

Series: Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers | Publication Date: September 30, 1996

Anne Rice's fame rests on her supernatural tales, but she is far more than a horror novelist. She goes beyond the genre by changing the classic horror stories into myths, fairy tales, and nightmares in order to explore philosophical questions of life, death, evil, and the meaning of existence. This is the most up-to-date analysis of her work and includes individual chapters on each of her vampire, witch, and mummy novels, including her most recent, Memnoch the Devil (1995). A perfect companion for students and Anne Rice fans, this study also features a biographical chapter and a chapter which discusses her use of the supernatural, horror, and fantasy genres. Smith shows how Rice's five vampire novels interweave to form a complete mythology, a layered universe with its own history and rules, in which her characters act out the question of what it means to be human in an increasingly inhuman world. In the three Witches Chronicles, Smith shows how Rice explores the meaning of power, sexuality, family, and womanhood in the 20th century. Each novel is examined in a separate chapter with subsections on point of view, plot, character, theme, and literary device. Each novel is also examined from an alternative critical approach, such as psychological, myth, and feminist criticism, which offers the reader an alternative perspective from which to read the novel. A complete bibliography of Rice's work, general criticism and biographical sources, and listings of reviews of each novel complete the work. For fans and students, this is the perfect companion to Anne Rice's fiction and is a necessary purchase by secondary school and public libraries.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JENNIFER SMITH is a candidate for a Ph.D. in English and a Masters of Fine Arts degree in fiction at The Ohio State University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (September 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031329612X
• ISBN-13: 978-0313296123
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #738,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable!, July 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Anne Rice: A Critical Companion (Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers) (Hardcover)

No serious Rice scholar can miss this thoughtful treatise on the novelist's art, life, and oeuvre. Less serious readers will also enjoy the concise, lively prose and clear-headed insights from Crusie, famous on her own for genre-bending novels of love and life. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Treatise, October 21, 2001

By 

"knightsky" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anne Rice: A Critical Companion (Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers) (Hardcover)

This is an in-depth look at Anne Rice's novels from an analytical perspective. Not only did it give me more insight into one of my favorite authors, but it was written in clear-sighted prose by another of my favorite authors.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take a course on Anne Rice, you'll love it!, January 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Anne Rice: A Critical Companion (Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Writers) (Hardcover)

What a great book. I felt like I was in class taking Anne Rice 101! Great insights on her books especially on "Interview with a vampire". Great reading.