Poking around in Anne Rice's library

Finally, the chance to see what the Interview with the Vampire author had on her bookshelves. And in her wardrobe. And on her dining table.

First thing you do when you go to somebody else’s sitting room? Absolutely, check their bookcases. Forget the curtain styling, floor coverings, and mantlepiece invitations (though to be fair, these are the next port of call), its books on shelves that are the main attraction.

Much more so then are the bookshelves of the great and the good. I wrote several sections of my fourth book, A Book of Book Lists, on this very subject, putting the likes of Osama Bin Laden, David Cameron, David Bowie, Oscar Wilde, Napoleon, Marilyn Monroe, Art Garfunkel, David Byrne, Richard III and Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (not folk who often feature together on a list) under my literary microscope.

If I were writing that book now, seven years later, I’d be strongly tempted to include Anne Rice because coming up for auction at Bonhams next week are loads of the books from her personal library, almost exactly three years after she died. Here are a few of the bits and pieces which particularly caught my eye:

* Rice’s annotated copy of her own Interview with the Vampire (20th anniversary edition) which she marked up in silver sharpie ahead of an appearance on radio, including lots of underscoring and tabs marked "Louis: green eyes" "young boy musician" "Speaking of the musician" and "Lestat risen"

* the first copy Rice received of her book Of Love and Evil (the everyday story of a present day former government assassin forced by the angel Malchiah to become a lute playe in 15th century Rome and sort out an evil spirit). Rice wrote: “As always, I find it beautiful and gratifying. / This book had a unique history, and I fear for it.

* Rice’s annotated copy of James Frazer’s The Golden Bough. "When I bought this book I don't know,” she wrote on the flyleaf. “I know I read it or a copy of it in the 1980s when writing The Vampire Lestat. It is essential to me."

* The Godfather by Mario Puzo, annotated by Rice throughout, but especially on page 74 ("Note how easily it flows”) and on page 225 ("This is a most impressive piece of work and is masterly. Again I marvel at vocabulary, tone, and placement—organization of the book. I fight OCD as I write, I've come to see that, and this helps me to see what this novel accomplishes. Presenting the Don as a 'great' man, a 'genius,' without apology is a conscious approach that is so powerful."). I also like that on the inside cover she wrote clearly: "In the event of my death, please give this book to my son Christopher Rice.”

Bonhams have helpfully put many of her books into groups such as ‘27 books by or about Charles Dickens’ as well as cookbooks (James Beard inscribed her copy of his iconic Theory and Practice of Good Cooking “I hear fabulous tales of your cooking!”), and groupings of particular relevance to her book such as childhood trauma, conspiracy theories, death and the afterlife, and human sexuality.

But arguably the most germane section to those of us interested in the craft of scribbling is The Writing Process which contains 38 varied titles from her library which is reproduced in its entirety below:

1. ABRAMS, M.H. and GEOFFREY GALT HARPHAM. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Cengage Learning, 2015.
2. ALTER, ROBERT and FRANK KERMODE, editors. The Literary Guide to the Bible. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987.
3. ANDERSON, KEVIN J. and MARTIN L. SHOEMAKER. On Being a Dictator. Wordfine Press, 2014.
4. ARMSTRONG, NANCY, and LEONARD TENNENHOUSE, editors. The Violence of Representation. London and New York: Routledge, 1989.
5. AYERS, DONALD M. English Words, From Latin and Greek Elements. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1986.
6. BARING-GOULD, WILLIAM and CECIL BARING-GOULD. The Annotated Mother Goose. New York: Bramhall House, 1962.
7. BECKMAN, GARY. Hittite Dipolatic Texts. Atlanta, Georgia: Scholars Press, 1999.
8. BURKE, JOHN. A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland. London: Henr Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831.
9. BUSBY, DAN, and JOHN VAN DURNEN. Zondervan 2012 Church and Nonprofit Tax & Financial Guide. Zondervan, 2011.
10. CONNES, KEITH. Stop Typing: Write Better with Speech Recognition. By the Author, 2018.
11. CRESSWELL, JULIA. Tuttle Dictionary of First Names. Boston: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1990.
12. CRIM, KEITH, editor. The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1989.
13. DIAMOND, STEPHANIE. Dragon Professional Individual for Dummies. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2019.
14. DOWNING, CHRISTOPHER. Fool Proof Diction. Mad Devil Media.
15. DREYER, BENJAMIN. An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style Dreyer's English. New York: Random House, 2019.
16. EPSTEIN, JOSEPH. A Literary Education and Other Essays. Axios, 2014.
17. FOX, CHRIS. 5000 Words Per Hour. By the Author, 2015.
18. GRAFTON, SUE, editor. Writing Mysteries. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 1992.
19. GRIGG, CINDY. The Productive Guide to Dictation. Misch Masch Publishing, LLC., 2016.
20. HALLORAN, JOHN ALAN. Sumerian Lexicon: A Dictionary Guide to the Ancient Sumerian Language. Los Angeles: Logogram Publishing, 2006.
21. HANKS, PATRICK and FLAVIA HODGES. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
22. HANKS, PATRICK and FLAVIA HODGES. A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
23. HAVELOCK, ERIC A. The Muse Learns to Write. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1986.
24. KOLATCH, ALFRED J. The Complete Dictionary of English and Hebrew First Names. Middle Village, New York: Jonathan David Publishers, Inc., 1984.
25. KOLATCH, ALFRED J. Best Baby Names for Jewish Children. Middle Village, New York: Jonathan David Publishers, Inc., 1998.
26. LAMBERT, JOAN. Microsoft Work 2019, Step by Step. Pearson Education Inc., 2019
27. MCCUTCHEON, MARC. Everyday Life in the 1800s. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 1993.
28. NEW HORIZONS EQUINE EDUCATION CENTER. Illustrated Dictionary of Equine Terms. Loveland, Colorado: Alpine Publications, 1998.
29. PARKER, JOHN HENRY. A Concise Dictionary of Architectural Terms. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications Inc., 2004.
30. RAHNER, KARL and VORGRIMLER, HERBERT. Dictionary of Theology. New York: Crossroads, 1998.
31. REANEY & WILSON. Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames. [Oxford, England]: Oxford University Press, 2005.
32. SHEPARD, MICHAEL. Dragon Profession A Step Further. By the Author, 2013.
33. SHIR SIDI, SMADAR. The Complete Book of Hebrew Baby Names. [New York]: HarperOne, 1989.
34. WARE, J. REDDING. The Victorian Dictionary of Slang & Phrase. [Oxford, England]: Oxford University Press, 2015.
35. WEMPEN, FAITHE. Microsoft Office 2019 for Seniors for Dummies. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2019.
36. WOODWARD, ROGER D., editor. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages. [Cambridge, England]: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
37. ZUCKERMAN, ALBERT. Writing the Blockbuster Novel. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 1994.
38. Windows 10. 2019.

Here’s what Catherine Williamson, VP/Director of Fine Books & Manuscripts in Los Angeles says about the sale: "Those of us who love the writings of Anne Rice often ask ourselves, 'How did she do that?' What was her inspiration?' When we look at the books in her library—many heavily annotated by Rice as if she is in conversation with the author—or when we look at the beautiful objects in her home, we can draw connections between her lived experience and the incredible characters and stories she created. And that can be really meaningful for readers."

The auction also offers you the chance to have a meaningful poke around some of her other stuff, including her various chess sets, her Tiffany & Co. sterling silver flatware services, and the compellingly titled ‘An Anne Rice Birthday Ensemble’ made up of a knee-length black knit open sweater by J.Jill, size X petite, over a brown turtleneck by Roaman's, with a cameo, macrame, bead and strass necklace (there’s a photograph of her wearing the whole getup at a birthday dinner at her Rancho Mirage home in California).