Anne Rice Books in Order: Complete List & Vampire Chronicles Guide

By T.L. BransonFantasy

This guide lists all Anne Rice books in order, including the three connected series in her Vampire Chronicles world, five other series, standalone novels, short fiction, and nonfiction. Rice published 38 book-length works: 37 novels and one spiritual memoir. She also published four separately identifiable pieces of short fiction.

Her writing ranges from gothic horror and supernatural family sagas to historical fiction, literary erotica, religious fiction, and memoir. I’ve grouped the Vampire Chronicles, Lives of the Mayfair Witches, and New Tales of the Vampires together first because they share one interconnected world. Their combined reading order follows the three separate series lists. The other series, standalone novels, short fiction, nonfiction, and screen adaptations appear after that.

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Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles World

Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles world includes three related series: The Vampire Chronicles, Lives of the Mayfair Witches, and New Tales of the Vampires. They begin as separate branches of her supernatural fiction, but the vampire and witch storylines merge most directly in Merrick, Blackwood Farm, and Blood Canticle.

I’ve listed each series separately first so you can follow only the branch that interests you. The combined reading order immediately afterward mixes all three series into one publication sequence for readers who want the complete interconnected story.

The Vampire Chronicles

The Vampire Chronicles begins with Louis de Pointe du Lac telling the story of his immortal life, but Lestat de Lioncourt soon becomes the central figure. The books move between narrators, centuries, and competing versions of vampire history. Later installments also bring in characters and mythology from the Mayfair Witches novels.

I recommend reading the 13 main novels in publication order. The series repeatedly revisits earlier events from a new character’s perspective, so skipping ahead can reveal major developments before they have their intended impact.

  1. Interview with the Vampire (1976)
  2. The Vampire Lestat (1985)
  3. The Queen of the Damned (1988)
  4. The Tale of the Body Thief (1992)
  5. Memnoch the Devil (1995)
  6. The Vampire Armand (1998)
  7. Merrick (2000)
  8. Blood and Gold (2001)
  9. Blackwood Farm (2002)
  10. Blood Canticle (2003)
  11. Prince Lestat (2014)
  12. Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (2016)
  13. Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat (2018)

The series formally includes 13 novels. Pandora and Vittorio, the Vampire belong to the separate New Tales of the Vampires series, while The Witching Hour, Lasher, and Taltos make up Lives of the Mayfair Witches. The Mayfair Witches and New Tales lists appear next, followed by the combined order that shows where all three branches fit together.

Lives of the Mayfair Witches

Lives of the Mayfair Witches is a multigenerational family saga about Rowan Mayfair, her powerful New Orleans family, and the spirit Lasher that has followed the Mayfair line for centuries. The trilogy mixes family history, witchcraft, ghosts, inherited power, and the mysterious Taltos.

The three books tell one continuing story, so they should be read in order. They also become important to the Vampire Chronicles through Merrick, Blackwood Farm, and Blood Canticle. I’d finish this trilogy before starting those crossover novels.

  1. The Witching Hour (1990)
  2. Lasher (1993)
  3. Taltos (1994)

New Tales of the Vampires

New Tales of the Vampires contains two novels set in the broader vampire world. Pandora has close ties to Marius and the mythology developed in the Vampire Chronicles. Vittorio, the Vampire tells a more self-contained story about a vampire from Renaissance Italy.

For a complete connected-universe read, I place both books in publication order with the Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches below. If you only want Lestat’s central story, Vittorio, the Vampire is the easiest book to treat as optional.

  1. Pandora (1998)
  2. Vittorio, the Vampire (1999)

Vampire Chronicles, Mayfair Witches, and New Tales Reading Order

The Vampire Chronicles, Lives of the Mayfair Witches, and New Tales of the Vampires overlap. Merrick, Blackwood Farm, and Blood Canticle are the most important crossover novels, but characters and organizations move between the series before and after them.

I recommend the combined publication order below if you want the fullest experience without separating the vampires and witches into isolated lists. It preserves the order in which Rice revealed the mythology and makes the Mayfair material available before the major crossover books.

  1. Interview with the Vampire (1976)
  2. The Vampire Lestat (1985)
  3. The Queen of the Damned (1988)
  4. The Witching Hour (1990)
  5. The Tale of the Body Thief (1992)
  6. Lasher (1993)
  7. Taltos (1994)
  8. Memnoch the Devil (1995)
  9. Pandora (1998)
  10. The Vampire Armand (1998)
  11. Vittorio, the Vampire (1999)
  12. Merrick (2000)
  13. Blood and Gold (2001)
  14. Blackwood Farm (2002)
  15. Blood Canticle (2003)
  16. Prince Lestat (2014)
  17. Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (2016)
  18. Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat (2018)

Readers who only want the main Vampire Chronicles can use the 13-book list above. Pandora adds important background for Marius and the older vampires. Vittorio, the Vampire belongs to the same broader world, but its story is largely independent from Lestat and the Mayfairs.

Other Anne Rice Series

Rice wrote five other series outside the Vampire Chronicles world. I’ve arranged them by the publication year of the first book in each series.

Sleeping Beauty Books

The Sleeping Beauty books are explicit literary erotica published under Rice’s A. N. Roquelaure pseudonym. They reimagine the fairy tale as an adult story centered on power, submission, and sexual training. These are not children’s fantasy novels, and readers should expect mature BDSM content throughout.

The first three books form the original trilogy. Beauty’s Kingdom returns to the same world and characters, so I’d still read it fourth rather than treating it as an independent sequel.

  1. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty (1983)
  2. Beauty's Punishment (1984)
  3. Beauty's Release (1985)
  4. Beauty's Kingdom (2015)

Ramses the Damned

Ramses the Damned blends historical adventure, romance, and supernatural fiction. The series follows an immortal Ramses after his return to the modern world, then expands its mythology through Cleopatra and other ancient figures.

Rice wrote the first novel alone. Christopher Rice completed the series with her as coauthor on the second and third books. My advice is to read all three in order because the later novels directly continue Ramses and Julie Stratford’s story.

  1. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned (1989)
  2. Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra (2017) (with Christopher Rice)
  3. Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris (2022) (with Christopher Rice)

Christ the Lord

The Christ the Lord novels are historical religious fiction about the early life of Jesus. Out of Egypt imagines Jesus as a child returning to Nazareth with his family, while The Road to Cana follows him toward his baptism, the wedding at Cana, and the beginning of his public ministry.

These books form a two-part sequence. I’d read them together and in order, especially because the second novel builds on the family relationships and spiritual questions established in the first.

  1. Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt (2005)
  2. Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana (2008)

Songs of the Seraphim

Songs of the Seraphim follows Toby O’Dare, a contract killer who is offered a chance at redemption by the angel Malchiah. His missions send him into earlier periods of history, where he must protect lives rather than take them.

The second book directly continues Toby’s transformation and his work with the angels. In my view, this is one of Rice’s most distinct series because it combines a redemption story with supernatural time travel.

  1. Angel Time (2009)
  2. Of Love and Evil (2010)

The Wolf Gift Chronicles

The Wolf Gift Chronicles follows journalist Reuben Golding after a violent encounter transforms him into a powerful wolf-like being. The series explores his new abilities, the other creatures he meets, and the moral consequences of deciding who deserves protection or punishment.

Both books share the same characters and continuing conflicts at Nideck Point. I recommend reading them back to back rather than treating The Wolves of Midwinter as a separate werewolf novel.

  1. The Wolf Gift (2012)
  2. The Wolves of Midwinter (2013)

Anne Rice Standalone Novels

Rice’s six standalone novels aren’t connected to one another, so you can read them in any order. I’ve listed them by publication year. The books range from historical fiction and supernatural horror to erotic fiction published under the Anne Rampling name.

  1. The Feast of All Saints (1979)
  2. Cry to Heaven (1982)
  3. Exit to Eden (1985) (as Anne Rampling)
  4. Belinda (1986) (as Anne Rampling)
  5. Servant of the Bones (1996)
  6. Violin (1997)

I’d start with The Feast of All Saints or Cry to Heaven if you want Rice’s historical fiction without vampires or witches. Servant of the Bones and Violin are better choices when you want a self-contained supernatural novel. Exit to Eden and Belinda contain mature sexual material.

Anne Rice Short Fiction

Rice published four identifiable pieces of short fiction. She didn’t publish an original short-story collection, so I’ve listed the individual works rather than adding edited anthologies or books about her writing.

  1. October 4, 1948 (1965) (Short Story)
  2. Nicholas and Jean (1966) (Novella Excerpt)
  3. Interlude with the Undead (1979) (Short Story)
  4. The Master of Rampling Gate (1984) (Short Story)

Nicholas and Jean was published as the opening chapter of a novella, so I treat it as a novella excerpt rather than a completed standalone book. Interlude with the Undead is also cataloged under the longer title The Art of the Vampire at Its Peak in the Year 1876, or, Armand’s Lesson. Those are alternate titles for the same Playboy piece, not separate stories.

The Master of Rampling Gate is a vampire story that first appeared in Redbook. The Anne Rice Reader is an edited collection of commentary and related material, not an Anne Rice-authored short-story collection, so I don’t count it as one of her books.

Anne Rice Nonfiction

Rice published one book-length work of nonfiction. The memoir reflects on her Catholic upbringing, her loss of faith, and her return to the church during that period of her life.

  1. Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession (2008)

Anne Rice Adaptations

Several of Rice’s novels have been adapted for film and television. I’ve kept this section focused on released screen productions rather than announced projects, comic adaptations, or tie-in editions.

Movies and Miniseries

  • Interview with the Vampire (1994): Based on Interview with the Vampire.
  • Exit to Eden (1994): A very loose adaptation of the Anne Rampling novel.
  • The Feast of All Saints (2001): A television miniseries based on the standalone historical novel.
  • Queen of the Damned (2002): Draws from The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned.
  • The Young Messiah (2016): Based on Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt.

Television Series

The screen versions make substantial changes to characters, timelines, and plot details. I’d treat them as separate interpretations rather than substitutes for the book order above.

About Anne Rice

Anne Rice was born Howard Allen Frances O’Brien in New Orleans in 1941. She adopted the name Anne as a child, and New Orleans became one of the defining settings in her fiction.

Rice published her debut novel, Interview with the Vampire, in 1976. It introduced Louis, Lestat, and Claudia and became the beginning of the Vampire Chronicles. She later expanded her supernatural world through the Mayfair Witches, New Tales of the Vampires, the Wolf Gift Chronicles, and several standalone novels.

Her bibliography also includes historical fiction, literary erotica, Christian fiction, and a spiritual memoir. She published the Sleeping Beauty books as A. N. Roquelaure and originally released Exit to Eden and Belinda as Anne Rampling.

Rice died from complications of a stroke on December 11, 2021, at age 80. Her final two Ramses the Damned novels were written with Christopher Rice, who also helped oversee the continuation of her work on screen.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more fantasy authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Fantasy Books in Order index.

One thought on “Anne Rice Books in Order: Complete List & Vampire Chronicles Guide”

  1. Thank you for this! Rice is one of my favorite authors and there are books I need to read and re-read! Wasn’t sure of the order to read the series books in. I sure didn’t want ti have to pay for a book to tell me which book I should read and when! Thanks,again. This is perfect! Also,vyour brief summary of each book was very helpful in helping me remember which books I have and haven’t read as yet. 😁

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