V.E. Schwab's upcoming novel, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, is poised to breathe new life into the vampire romance genre, drawing comparisons to Anne Rice's seminal work, Interview with the Vampire, and the popular period drama Bridgerton. Published in 2025, Schwab's story offers a fresh take on established vampire tropes, creating a narrative that is both a spiritual successor to Rice's iconic tales and a unique work in its own right.
Like Rice's The Vampire Chronicles, which itself evolved from classics like Dracula and Carmilla, Schwab's novel explores the subversion of societal and sexual norms through its undead protagonists. Interview with the Vampire famously delved into a complex, queer relationship, and Schwab's Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil expands on this by featuring three unreliable narrators whose stories intertwine across centuries. The novel utilizes time jumps and withheld information to build suspense, revealing the consequences of characters' actions before their causes are fully understood.
Time, a fluid concept for immortals, is manipulated by Schwab to control the narrative pace. The novel dedicates significant attention to Maria, a young woman in 16th-century Spain whose life is dictated by societal expectations of marriage and children. Despite her efforts to secure a socially advantageous match, she finds herself trapped in an unhappy marriage. Her life takes a drastic turn when a mysterious widow offers her a chance to escape her fate and become a "feral rose," Schwab's poetic term for vampires.
Maria's journey mirrors some of the narrative beats of Interview with the Vampire, focusing on the profound loneliness of immortality contrasted with the perils of close relationships. As Maria adapts to her new existence, Schwab gradually introduces her distinctive take on vampire mythology. The novel explores not only the vulnerabilities of vampires but also the unique aspects of their undead lives. The insatiable hunger is a constant, and with each passing century, fragments of their humanity erode, leaving behind hollowed-out beings. "It turns out a soul is what makes the sun feel warm against your skin, what gives food taste, what makes you feel full," explains one vampire.
This sense of inevitable decay casts a dark shadow over vampire relationships, fostering a fear of losing oneself and harming loved ones, or conversely, of having to act as the responsible party to restrain a monstrous companion. This inherently toxic dynamic is a central theme, and much of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil explores the destructive obsessions and unresolvable conflicts that arise within these relationships.
A World of Gothic Glamour and Horror
Schwab's prose is rich and evocative, vividly detailing both the passionate encounters and the grim settings inhabited by vampires. A sojourn in Venice with an ancient vampire is portrayed as both beautiful and tragic, underscoring the ephemeral nature of happiness and the difficulty of replacing lost connections. The narrative finds a particularly engaging rhythm in Regency London, where the story takes on a Bridgerton-esque quality, albeit with vampires at its core. This arc follows Charlotte, a young woman navigating the superficial world of balls and suitors, who receives the same enticing yet dangerous offer of a new existence.
While Charlotte and Maria's narratives span decades with remarkable brevity, the 21st-century storyline of Alice unfolds over a compressed, action-packed few days. Alice, a shy college student at Harvard attempting to escape past trauma, seeks a fresh start. However, her attempt at normalcy is shattered after a one-night stand, waking to discover she has become a vampire and must unravel the circumstances and assign blame.
All three protagonists—Charlotte, Maria, and Alice—are lesbians. While societal conventions of their respective eras present significant challenges, Schwab does not shy away from the obstacles Alice encounters in the modern day. These vampires defy conventional norms not only in their sexuality but also as women wielding the power to resist men who perceive them as prey. The ever-present threat of sexual and physical violence is palpable, and vampirism offers a perverse form of agency, allowing them to become predators and decide who merits death or simply who will be forgotten.
Both Interview with the Vampire and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil are fundamentally stories about narrative. Schwab's novel, while lacking a literal interview framework, is replete with confessions, deliberate falsehoods, and strategic omissions as vampires manipulate one another and grapple with their consciences. They continuously reshape their own stories, asserting control over their lives rather than remaining secondary figures in others' narratives. This meta-narrative approach allows Schwab to cleverly engage with the rich history of vampire literature. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil stands as a significant addition to this legacy, offering a compelling narrative that fans of the genre are sure to embrace.