: The novel is famous for the intense, intimate bond between Louis and his maker, Lestat de Lioncourt, which many critics view as a subversion of the traditional family unit.

: The book launched The Vampire Chronicles and paved the way for modern vampire tropes seen in Buffy the Vampire Slayer , True Blood , and Twilight . Anne Rice and the making of a modern vampire

: Unlike the predatory vampires of folklore, Rice's Louis is a "tortured soul" who grapples with the morality of his existence and his insatiable thirst for blood.

: Anne Rice wrote the novel while grieving the death of her five-year-old daughter, Michele; the character of Claudia—a vampire trapped in a child's body—is widely seen as a reflection of this loss.