It was one of those, ‘I want to read before bed but really I know I’m going to fall asleep doing so’ choices. Plus, I realised (‘cos I’m a geek and I have a list of such things!) that I was given this book for my birthday in 2000 ! That’s positively rude, not to have read it yet!

And actually, it kind of mellowed me to Anne Rice again. I thought I’d left my taste for her behind with my teens, and while actually I probably have, I seem to be able to read her again with a l’il bit of quiet nostalgia. Okay, so the work is a bit samey – beautiful, usually religious, boy/girl is coveted by vampire, turned, and suffers dreadfully trying to adjust before becoming a magnificent speciman of the… species. Hmm. Still. She conjures up Florence very well, so perhaps I’ll forgive a little. And read the other unread volumes – eventually!