Alice Borchardt (née Alice Allen O'Brien; October 6, 1939 – July 24, 2007) was an American writer of historical fiction, fantasy, and horror. She shared a childhood of storytelling in New Orleans with her sister, the novelist Anne Rice, who was two years younger. A nurse by profession, as a writer she nurtured a profound interest in little-known periods of history.
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Biography
Alice Allen O'Brien was born in New Orleans on October 6, 1939. She was one of four sisters. Their father Howard, a postal worker, helped her apply for her first library card at age 7. "It was the best gift I ever received," Borchardt said in a 1999 interview with the Austin American-Statesman. Her mother, Katherine, was a feminist who taught Alice to pursue her career goals.
The O'Brien family moved to Richardson, Texas, when Alice was a teenager. She began her nursing career in Houston, where she met and married her husband, Cliff, and lived many years.
After a 30-year career as a licensed vocational nurse, Borchardt faced staff reductions at the hospital where she worked. Her sister Anne, a successful writer since their mid-thirties, encouraged Alice, helped her find an agent, and wrote introductions to several of her books.
Borchardt's death late on July 24, 2007, was reported next day by the mystery writer Bill Crider, a friend. The Houston Chronicle published an obituary five days later. In addition to her husband and sister, who lived in Rancho Mirage, Borchardt was survived by sisters Tamara Tinker of Daly City, Calif., Karen O'Brien and Micki Jenkins of Dallas; and by two nephews, Christopher T. Rice of Los Angeles and Daniel Tinker of Oakland.