Mount Hope: America's First Municipal Victorian Cemetary [ Anne Rice's Personal Copy ]

Richard O. Reisem

Rochester, New York: Landmark Society of Western New York, 1995. Illustrated by Frank A. Gillespie. First Edition, Second Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine / Dust jacket in Very Good condition; presents with some wrinkling and chips. Please see photos. Item #5220
ISBN: 0964170639

This copy of "Mount Hope" is personalized as a gift to Anne Rice, as noted on the front free endpaper. It includes a long handwritten paragraph from the gift giver, directly addressing Rice's interest in the book's subject. Not signed by Anne Rice or the book's author but from Anne Rice's personal library. The book is impeccably clean, tightly bound, and features bright pages with vivid, glossy photographs. The dust jacket shows minor wrinkling and chipping along the edges and top and bottom of the spine. Price is intact on front free flap. Bottom of spine bears an identification label, presumably Anne Rice's, cataloging it as item "718" in her collection.
.
Overall, this book is in exceptional, collectible condition. Author owned editions have gained traction as collectibles given that they are unique, one of a kind copies.

As part of this sale, $25.00 will be donated to the New Orleans non-profit "Save Our Cemeteries" which focuses on preserving and caring for the city’s historic burial sites. The proceeds will specifically fund the purchase of graffiti removal supplies. Please note that this item is available only for free media mail shipping, unless other arrangements are made.

Anne Rice drew inspiration from the rich history, culture, and architecture of New Orleans, particularly its iconic cemeteries. Both St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 are frequently referenced in her interviews. New Orleans’ cemetery history is a unique tale of adaptation, where the city's below-sea-level terrain necessitated the construction of above ground stone crypts, creating serene neighborhoods of sturdy tombs, to avoid the ghastly complications with underground burials. Cemeteries are often featured in Rice's works, extensively described with romantic detail.

Anne Rice is renowned for her "Vampire Chronicles," which was recently adapted into a series by AMC. In 1995, Rice celebrated the release of her novel "Memnoch the Devil" with a theatrical flair: she donned a flowing white gown, her jet-black hair cascading around her shoulders, and rode through Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in a coffin carried by a horse-drawn hearse. Accompanied by a jazz band, the procession concluded at the Garden District Bookshop, an event Rice later described as "wonderful."

One of America's most well known writers, Anne Rice passed away in 2021 and was laid to rest in her family mausoleum, joining her husband, Stan Rice, and daughter, Michele. The mausoleum bears three engravings: "Psalm 212" and "Psalm 203" (poems inspired by Psalms from Stan's book "False Prophet") and "Look" (a piece from his 1975 collection "Some Lamb"). A supporter of "Save Our Cemeteries," Rice was known to contribute to efforts to preserve New Orleans' historic resting places.

Price: $155.00  other currencies