Lestat seeks help from other vampires but is completely ostracized. He enjoys a short love affair with Gretchen before she returns to South America, where she works in a convent, and Lestat sets out in search of his body. He is saved by the care of a nun named Gretchen. Lestat nearly dies after becoming human again-his new body is wracked by pneumonia, which he ignores during a tour of Washington D.C. Unfortunately, James has no intention of ever switching back, and Lestat is forced to scheme to regain his body. Against the advice of David and other vampires, Lestat jumps at the opportunity. Eventually, he proposes to Lestat that the two of them trade bodies for a day. James sends Lestat several messages hinting that he has the ability to switch bodies. When he does not die, he goes to David's home in England to heal.Ī mysterious figure, Raglan James, approaches Lestat with what seems to be a cure for his ennui and depression. Lestat goes to the Gobi desert at dawn in a half-hearted suicide attempt. Although Lestat has repeatedly offered to turn David, he has always refused to become a vampire and keep Lestat company through eternity. Among his only remaining friends is David Talbot, the elderly mortal head of the Talamasca. Since defeating Akasha, Lestat has become extremely lonely. Lestat also suffers from constant nightmares concerning his late 'daughter', Claudia, for whose death he blames himself.

Although he tries to limit his victims to murderers, serial killers and other criminals, he nonetheless caves into temptation once in a while and kills an 'innocent', or someone who he feels does not necessarily deserve to die. Chapters from the book appeared in the October 1992 issue of Playboy.Īt the beginning of the story, Lestat grows depressed and becomes remorseful because of his vampiric nature. Published in 1992, it continues the adventures of Lestat, specifically his efforts to regain his lost humanity during the late 20th century.

The Tale of the Body Thief is a horror novel by American writer Anne Rice, the fourth in her The Vampire Chronicles series, following The Queen of the Damned (1988).

The tale of the body thief