This anthology argues for the serious study of the literary oeuvre of Anne Rice, a major figure in today’s popular literature. The essays assert that Rice expands the conventions of the horror genre’s formula to examine important social issues. Like a handful of authors working in this genre, Rice manipulates its otherwise predictable narrative structures so that a larger, more interesting cultural mythology can be developed. Rice searches for philosophical truth, examining themes of good and evil, the influence on people and society of both nature and nurture, and the conflict and dependence of humanism and science.
Ray B. Browne is professor emeritus of Popular Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University. Through some sixty books and a variety of initiatives-including the founding of the Journal of Popular Culture, the Popular Culture Association, and the Popular Press itself-he has played an instrumental role in making popular culture a topic of serious inquiry.