Episode 4.4: ‘Interview With the Vampire’ by Anne Rice
It’s already time for our dark academia adjacent title for season 4! And we’re going in BIG.
Confession time: Sophie had somehow got to the ripe old age of 30 without reading ‘Interview With the Vampire’, or any of Anne Rice’s novels, so this one was at her request. Sarah has been a fan since her teen years so she was more than happy to indulge the request.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Anne Rice, this sensuously written spellbinding classic remains 'the most successful vampire story since Bram Stoker's Dracula' (The Times)
In a darkened room a young man sits telling the macabre and eerie story of his life - the story of a vampire, gifted with eternal life, cursed with an exquisite craving for human blood.
When Interview with the Vampire was published the Washington Post said it was a 'thrilling, strikingly original work of the imagination . . . sometimes horrible, sometimes beautiful, always unforgettable'. Now, more than forty years since its release, Anne Rice's masterpiece is more beloved than ever.
Not exactly a summary that gives much away, but it’s more than enough to whet the whistle.
Gothic fiction is a pre-cursor genre to dark academia, and ‘Interview With the Vampire’ itself is a cultural set point and we had to bring it in tho the dark academia discussion.
But can it actually be called dark academia? Or is it just a close friend?
In this episode we discuss:
The language used around Claudia
Colonialism and slavery in the novel
The violence against women
You can listen to it here:
TEXTS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
‘Interview With the Vampire’ by Anne Rice
‘The Vampire Lestat’ by Anne Rice
‘The Vampire Armand’ by Anne Rice
‘Twilight’ by Stephenie Meyer
‘Vampire Academy’ by Richelle Mead
OTHER MEDIA AND POP CULTURE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
‘True Blood’
‘The Vampire Diaries’
‘Why Are There So Many Confederate Vampires?’ by Princess Weekes on YouTube
We’d love it if you considered using our bookshop.org link below to grab a copy of ‘Interview With the Vampire’ if you haven’t discovered this dark delight yet. It helps us fund ‘The Dark Academicals’ and gives back to independent bookshops at no extra cost to you.
You can also sign up to The Dark Academicals Book Club mailer to be entered for exclusive book club content and giveaways!
