Jean-Claude
Encyclopedia
Jean-Claude is a fictional character
in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels by Laurell K. Hamilton
. Within the novels, Jean-Claude's role is as one of the primary love interests of the series heroine, Anita Blake
.
Jean-Claude is a French-born vampire who is over 400–600 years old. He was a favorite of Belle Morte for his eyes, and, like many vampires of Belle Morte's line, Jean-Claude was selected for his almost perfect mortal beauty. He arrived in St. Louis and, indeed, the United States itself to escape Belle Morte's court with the help of Augustine. Jean-Claude became the Master Vampire of St. Louis after Anita Blake
killed Nikolaos. Together with Richard Zeeman
, Jean-Claude is a member of Anita's first triumvirate.
Jean-Claude's daytime lair is the sub-basement of the Circus of the Damned. As owner of the "JC Corporation," he also owns and runs Guilty Pleasures, The Laughing Corpse, and Danse Macabre, as well as other clubs.
and ruthless when necessary. Jean-Claude typically thinks several steps ahead of his triumvirate partners Anita and Richard
. He is also considered more "human" than most vampires, though other masters see this a weakness.
Throughout the early novels, Jean-Claude pursues Anita both as a lover and a human servant, eventually winning her as both. He frequently withholds the truth of matters from Anita, partly from a well-learned and practiced sense of manipulativeness and desire to use Anita's power to protect himself, his own interests, and those under his protection, but also from an, apparently, surprisingly strong sense of real love and concern for Anita's physical and emotional well-being.
Jean-Claude's personality combines hedonism with immense self-control. During his pursuit of Anita he is able, for years, to control his own ardeur in her presence, and be unfailingly pleasant and courteous, even as she holds him at arms length.
Jean-Claude is bisexual; he has had many male and female lovers over the centuries, and enjoyed a 20-year long ménage à trois with fellow vampire Asher and Asher's human servant, Julianna.
Emotionally, Jean-Claude holds himself apart from even those he considers valued friends, having learned from Asher's mutilation and Julianna's murder that, if his affection becomes common knowledge, his friends will become targets for his enemies. Only among those with a power level high enough to defend themselves, such as Anita and Richard, against strong attackers will he let his affection become obvious.
peasant
family in the seventeenth century, and was astoundingly beautiful even as a child. His looks give him more of a role in Laurell's books. He was selected to be the whipping boy
for a noble child of his age. He was raised in a noble
household and educated as a noble, but was severely beaten in place of the young noble whenever the other child misbehaved. Jean-Claude still has scars on his back from that experience.
When Jean-Claude was a little over thirty years old, he was killed and raised as a vampire by Lissette, a vampire in Belle Morte's bloodline. Jean-Claude spent the next five years in the court of Julian, Lissette's master, having sex with whomever Julian chose, unable to say no while in the grip of the ardeur.
Later, Jean-Claude joined Belle Morte's court as one of her favorites, remaining there for several years.
At some time during the seventeenth century, Jean-Claude left Belle Morte's court and traveled with Asher
and Asher's human servant, Julianna. The three travelled together as a ménage à trois
for twenty years. Jean-Claude states that at this time, he and Asher were "masters of comparable power," which suggests that he matured remarkably early to have become a master within his own mother's lifetime. When Jean-Claude temporarily left the other two to attend his mother's funeral, he returned too late to prevent Julianna's death and Asher's torture at the hands of human captors working for the church. Asher was disfigured using holy water
, and Julianna was burnt at the stake
for being a witch. Jean-Claude has stated that he "humbled" himself to rescue Asher, agreeing to one hundred years in Belle Morte's service in return for her help saving Asher.
After rejoining the Council's service, Jean-Claude was imprisoned alone in a cross
-wrapped coffin
for two years, unable to feed his ardeur. Belle Morte also used Jean-Claude as a sort of prostitute for more powerful vampires, presumably both before and after Jean-Claude's travels with Asher. Jean-Claude refers to himself during this period as a "catamite
," but it appears that he was provided to both male and female vampires. At some point, Belle Morte gave Jean-Claude to Serephina. After approximately 100 years of service, Jean-Claude left Belle Morte's court for an unprecedented second time.
, Jean-Claude has become a master vampire in the service of Nikolaos, although he conceals the true extent of his powers, apparently biding his time for an opportunity to become his own master. When a series of murders eliminates a number of the other master vampires in Nikolaos's service, Jean-Claude makes his move, manipulating Anita into killing Nikolaos and rendering him Master of the City of St. Louis.
Throughout the next several novels, Jean-Claude struggles to maintain authority over the city. With the help of Anita and the werewolves of the city, he is ultimately able to fend off a number of challenges from the Vampire Council and other threats and consolidate control.
Guilty Pleasures
, The Laughing Corpse
, Circus of the Damned
, The Lunatic Cafe
, Bloody Bones
, The Killing Dance
, Burnt Offerings
, Blue Moon
, Obsidain Butterfly, Narcissus in Chains
, Cerulean Sins
, Incubus Dreams
, Danse Macabre
, The Harlequin
, Blood Noir
, Skin Trade
, "Bullet
".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels by Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell Kaye Hamilton is an American fantasy and romance writer. She is the author of two series of stories. Hamilton is known for her New York Times-bestselling Anita Blake series, featuring a professional zombie raiser/supernatural consultant for the police as the protagonist in a world where...
. Within the novels, Jean-Claude's role is as one of the primary love interests of the series heroine, Anita Blake
Anita Blake
Anita Blake is a fictional character in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels by Laurell K. Hamilton. Subsequently, she has also appeared in the Dabel Brothers/Marvel Comics adaptation of her first novel, Guilty Pleasures....
.
Jean-Claude is a French-born vampire who is over 400–600 years old. He was a favorite of Belle Morte for his eyes, and, like many vampires of Belle Morte's line, Jean-Claude was selected for his almost perfect mortal beauty. He arrived in St. Louis and, indeed, the United States itself to escape Belle Morte's court with the help of Augustine. Jean-Claude became the Master Vampire of St. Louis after Anita Blake
Anita Blake
Anita Blake is a fictional character in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels by Laurell K. Hamilton. Subsequently, she has also appeared in the Dabel Brothers/Marvel Comics adaptation of her first novel, Guilty Pleasures....
killed Nikolaos. Together with Richard Zeeman
Richard Zeeman
Richard Alaric Zeeman is a fictional character in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Character introduction:...
, Jean-Claude is a member of Anita's first triumvirate.
Jean-Claude's daytime lair is the sub-basement of the Circus of the Damned. As owner of the "JC Corporation," he also owns and runs Guilty Pleasures, The Laughing Corpse, and Danse Macabre, as well as other clubs.
Powers & Abilities
Jean Claude is an incubus, and so gains power through sex and lust. After forging the triumvirate with Anita and Richard he becomes the sourde de sang of his own Bloodline. Like all vampires his powers grow stronger with age. His general master class abilities include:- Being able to disguise the perception of his true age (seeming older or younger as he chooses) to the senses of other vampires, as well as enhancing his beauty.
- The ardeur, which allows him to gain power ("feed") from lust and sex. His first business, the strip club Guilty Pleasures, allows him to use the ardeur to his advantage. In Cerulean Sins Jean-Claude becomes sourde de sang of his own line when Belle-Morte is no longer able to use her own ardeur to feed from him.
- Hypnosis, including using his voice, gaze, and aura to excite or calm humans, lycanthropes, and lesser vampires.
- Calling wolves and werewolves.
- Flight.
- Controlling the magics of Anita and Richard and being able to shut them down.
- Forming a triumvirate with his human servant, Anita, and his animal to call, Richard.
- Superhuman strength, speed, healing, endurance, agility, and senses (able to smell a human's emotional state and night visionNight visionNight vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range...
) far superior to those of younger, non-master vampires. - Claws.
- Fangs.
Description
Perhaps because the patrons of Guilty Pleasures expect it, Jean-Claude tends to dress the way vampires are stereotypically expected to, wearing skin-tight leather pants, thigh high boots, and antique shirts with large amounts of lace and long cuffs, left open just enough to give glimpses of his bare chest. He is 5'11", with black shoulder-length softly curling hair, and midnight-blue eyes. He has long-fingered hands, and his voice is rich, melodious, textured and seductive. When he calls on his full power, his humanity folds away; his skin becomes white, his eye sockets fill with blue fire, and his hair floats around his death-pale, skeletal face. He has a cross-shaped scar on his left breast from where he was burned by a cross. He also has whip scars on his back, although he hides them with his mind-powers.Character
Jean-Claude is extraordinarily seductive, both in regard to his mental abilities and conventional seduction. He is superb at playing "vampire politics" and can be extremely manipulativePsychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
and ruthless when necessary. Jean-Claude typically thinks several steps ahead of his triumvirate partners Anita and Richard
Richard Zeeman
Richard Alaric Zeeman is a fictional character in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Character introduction:...
. He is also considered more "human" than most vampires, though other masters see this a weakness.
Throughout the early novels, Jean-Claude pursues Anita both as a lover and a human servant, eventually winning her as both. He frequently withholds the truth of matters from Anita, partly from a well-learned and practiced sense of manipulativeness and desire to use Anita's power to protect himself, his own interests, and those under his protection, but also from an, apparently, surprisingly strong sense of real love and concern for Anita's physical and emotional well-being.
Jean-Claude's personality combines hedonism with immense self-control. During his pursuit of Anita he is able, for years, to control his own ardeur in her presence, and be unfailingly pleasant and courteous, even as she holds him at arms length.
Jean-Claude is bisexual; he has had many male and female lovers over the centuries, and enjoyed a 20-year long ménage à trois with fellow vampire Asher and Asher's human servant, Julianna.
Emotionally, Jean-Claude holds himself apart from even those he considers valued friends, having learned from Asher's mutilation and Julianna's murder that, if his affection becomes common knowledge, his friends will become targets for his enemies. Only among those with a power level high enough to defend themselves, such as Anita and Richard, against strong attackers will he let his affection become obvious.
Biographical summary
Jean-Claude is approximately four hundred to six hundred years old. He was born to a FrenchFrench people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
family in the seventeenth century, and was astoundingly beautiful even as a child. His looks give him more of a role in Laurell's books. He was selected to be the whipping boy
Whipping boy
A whipping boy was a young boy who was assigned to a young prince and was punished when the prince misbehaved or fell behind in his schooling. Whipping boys were established in the English court during the monarchies of the 15th century and 16th centuries...
for a noble child of his age. He was raised in a noble
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
household and educated as a noble, but was severely beaten in place of the young noble whenever the other child misbehaved. Jean-Claude still has scars on his back from that experience.
When Jean-Claude was a little over thirty years old, he was killed and raised as a vampire by Lissette, a vampire in Belle Morte's bloodline. Jean-Claude spent the next five years in the court of Julian, Lissette's master, having sex with whomever Julian chose, unable to say no while in the grip of the ardeur.
Later, Jean-Claude joined Belle Morte's court as one of her favorites, remaining there for several years.
At some time during the seventeenth century, Jean-Claude left Belle Morte's court and traveled with Asher
Asher (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter)
Asher is a fictional character in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels. Asher is a Master Vampire, and the lover of Jean-Claude and Anita Blake....
and Asher's human servant, Julianna. The three travelled together as a ménage à trois
Ménage à trois
Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as "household of three"...
for twenty years. Jean-Claude states that at this time, he and Asher were "masters of comparable power," which suggests that he matured remarkably early to have become a master within his own mother's lifetime. When Jean-Claude temporarily left the other two to attend his mother's funeral, he returned too late to prevent Julianna's death and Asher's torture at the hands of human captors working for the church. Asher was disfigured using holy water
Holy water
Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
, and Julianna was burnt at the stake
Witch-hunt
A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...
for being a witch. Jean-Claude has stated that he "humbled" himself to rescue Asher, agreeing to one hundred years in Belle Morte's service in return for her help saving Asher.
After rejoining the Council's service, Jean-Claude was imprisoned alone in a cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
-wrapped coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
for two years, unable to feed his ardeur. Belle Morte also used Jean-Claude as a sort of prostitute for more powerful vampires, presumably both before and after Jean-Claude's travels with Asher. Jean-Claude refers to himself during this period as a "catamite
Catamite
A catamite was a handsome youth kept as a sexual companion in ancient Rome, usually in a pederastic relationship. The word derives from the proper noun Catamitus, the Latinized form of Ganymede, the beautiful Trojan youth abducted by Zeus to be his companion and cupbearer...
," but it appears that he was provided to both male and female vampires. At some point, Belle Morte gave Jean-Claude to Serephina. After approximately 100 years of service, Jean-Claude left Belle Morte's court for an unprecedented second time.
Story within the novels
By the time of the first novel, Guilty PleasuresGuilty Pleasures (novel)
Guilty Pleasures is a horror/mystery novel by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:Guilty Pleasures introduces the character of Anita Blake, vampire hunter, and her world, an alternate history where magic, vampires, werewolves and other supernatural elements exist...
, Jean-Claude has become a master vampire in the service of Nikolaos, although he conceals the true extent of his powers, apparently biding his time for an opportunity to become his own master. When a series of murders eliminates a number of the other master vampires in Nikolaos's service, Jean-Claude makes his move, manipulating Anita into killing Nikolaos and rendering him Master of the City of St. Louis.
Throughout the next several novels, Jean-Claude struggles to maintain authority over the city. With the help of Anita and the werewolves of the city, he is ultimately able to fend off a number of challenges from the Vampire Council and other threats and consolidate control.
Appearances
(See individual novel pages for a discussion of Jean-Claude's role in each novel in which he appears.)Guilty Pleasures
Guilty Pleasures (novel)
Guilty Pleasures is a horror/mystery novel by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:Guilty Pleasures introduces the character of Anita Blake, vampire hunter, and her world, an alternate history where magic, vampires, werewolves and other supernatural elements exist...
, The Laughing Corpse
The Laughing Corpse (novel)
The Laughing Corpse is the second novel in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:...
, Circus of the Damned
Circus of the Damned (novel)
Circus of the Damned is third book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:Circus of the Damned continues the adventures of Anita Blake...
, The Lunatic Cafe
The Lunatic Cafe (novel)
The Lunatic Cafe is the fourth in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:The Lunatic Cafe continues the adventures of Anita Blake...
, Bloody Bones
Bloody Bones (novel)
Bloody Bones is the fifth in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:Bloody Bones continues the adventures of Anita Blake...
, The Killing Dance
The Killing Dance (novel)
The Killing Dance is the sixth in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:The Killing Dance continues the adventures of Anita Blake...
, Burnt Offerings
Burnt Offerings (novel)
Burnt Offerings is the seventh in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:...
, Blue Moon
Blue Moon (novel)
Blue Moon is the eighth in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:...
, Obsidain Butterfly, Narcissus in Chains
Narcissus in Chains (novel)
Narcissus in Chains is the tenth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:...
, Cerulean Sins
Cerulean Sins (novel)
Cerulean Sins is the eleventh in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:Cerulean Sins continues the adventures of Anita Blake...
, Incubus Dreams
Incubus Dreams (novel)
Incubus Dreams is the twelfth in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:...
, Danse Macabre
Danse Macabre (novel)
Danse Macabre is the fourteenth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton....
, The Harlequin
The Harlequin (novel)
The Harlequin is the fifteenth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton; it was released June 5, 2007....
, Blood Noir
Blood Noir (novel)
Blood Noir is the sixteenth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:"Jason Schuyler is a werewolf. He's also one of Anita Blake's best friends, and sometimes her lover...
, Skin Trade
Skin Trade (novel)
Skin Trade is the seventeenth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.-Plot introduction:...
, "Bullet
Bullet
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...
".