Morganville, Texas

Morganville, Texas, is the fictional home of Texas Prairie University and the setting for the The Morganville Vampires series of young adult novels by Rachel Caine. While the mayor is human, unbeknownst to most of the population the town is actually run in cooperation with a group of vampires. Morganville is home to an unusually large number of second-hand and thrift stores.

The Glass House
The protagonists of the novels are the four young adults who live in The Glass House. The house has a mind of its own and often does things for the young heroes. It is also a safe haven for those in need. It is kept safe by "founder's protection".

Texas Prairie University
A third-tier state university, often used as a starter school by students unable to get into challenging institutions of higher education. Most of the students there are apparently unaware of the strange things that happen in Morganville. This is the site of Claire's abuse by Monica, and Monica's abuse by the entire school. Monica's abuse of Claire here is what drove Claire to seek out the Glass House in the first place.

Common Grounds
A coffee shop located just off the TPU campus, Common Grounds acts as neutral territory for meetings between the human and vampire population. This was the place Eve Rosser worked until she found out her hippie boss was actually a powerful vampire. This place plays great importance throughout the entire series. It is the spot Claire meets Sam, Michael's grandfather, and the place that is a hideout for vamps during the fifth book. It is also the place where Myrnin is saved after Claire stakes him.

Characters

 * Michael Glass, the owner of the house, is 18 years old and Eve's boyfriend. Michael is "part of the house". He had become a ghost in the day time after Oliver failes to turn him into a vampire. He is, after the events of The Dead Girls' Dance, a turned vampire. He is absent throughout most of the books after this point. He is controlled by Bishop at the end of the fifth book.


 * Claire Danvers, the main character of the books, is 16 years old and a freshman at Texas Prairie University. She is exceptionally smart for her age, which causes many people to dislike or misunderstand her. Claire learns of a disease that is killing the vampires and is sent to work with the old vampire Myrnin to stop it. Claire is also under the protection of the town founder Amelie, the oldest vampire in town. Together, Myrnin and Claire find the cure for the disease after long hours of work. By the end of the fifth book she is controlled by Bishop.


 * Shane Collins is 18 years old and is Claire's boyfriend as of book 2, The Dead Girls' Dance. Shane had to listen to his sister dying inside their burning house, thanks to Monica Morrell, and so he and his family left town. They lost their memory of the vampires, but his mother began to remember. One day Shane returned to the motel where they were staying and she was dead in the bathtub, an apparent suicide. Shane and his father began to recover their lost memories and learned that is was not suicide, but the vampires had killed her.  Vowing vengeance, Shane returned to the town to live with his friend Michael and his father recruited some vampire hunting friends. Shane spends much of his time protecting Claire and his friends.


 * Eve Rosser is 18, Michael's girlfriend, and works at Common Grounds Coffee Shop until book 2, The Dead Girls' Dance. Eve is the goth girl that offends all the vampires in town. She hates Oliver for tricking her and hurting Michael, but she makes certain exceptions in time of great need. Eve also has a troubled past with her brother Jason. At the end of book five she is the only 'useless' one not captured or controlled by Bishop.


 * Amelie is the founder of the town.She is regal and fancy, but very powerful. Claire is protected by her and in return Claire helps find a cure for the disease. Amelie controls gateways in the town that can teleport them to different places within Morganville. Amelie is also the daughter of Bishop who stirs up the town in Feast of Fools. She leads an all out battle on Bishop in the city hall, but apparently she has lost.


 * Jason Rosser is Eve's younger brother who was abused as a child by Brandon. He grew up and stabbed a few girls that Eve apparently witnessed, and she sent him to jail. Upon getting out he has taken to stalking Eve and kidnapping Claire. He has stabbed Shane once, shot Michael several times, staked Amelie once, and in general been an all around creep.


 * Oliver is an elder in Morganville. He is an old vampire who takes life very seriously. He puts on a hippie front for those who do not know him for what he really is, but at numerous points he causes some serious problems for the protagonists. His Common Grounds shop serves as a safe place, and has been packed for an all out war. Blood bags and supplies to survive for long enough to fix up the place are stacked up. At the end of the fifth book Oliver is apparently in a very bad condition. It is implied through conversation with Myrnin that Oliver is/was Oliver Cromwell.


 * Monica Morrel is a beautiful, sociopathic college girl. When she was younger, she goaded a girl into leaving the town, which led to the girl wrecking in the outskirts and dying.  She also set fire to Shane's house and killed his younger sister. She took to harassing Claire and her cronies poured acid on Claire. Monica is later forced to be humble when Claire saves her from a mob, though her house is burned down.


 * Richard Morrell is a police officer and Monica's brother. He is often butting heads with Shane, but becomes a valuable ally to the four. He helps them consistently and is on their side of the war. Richard is later placed in charge of the humans under Oliver's command, followed by Bishop's command since his father is dead.


 * Myrnin is the alchemist servant to Amelie. He is afflicted greatly with the disease that Claire is trying to fix, and employs Claire to help. He often loses control when he doesn't get his drugs, and even when medicated and 'sane' he seems irrational and unreasonable. At one point Claire stakes him in the back to save Hannah, but Oliver saves him later. Myrnin later gives Shane to Bishop.


 * Bishop is Amelie's father and the main antagonist. He is the source for the cure of the vampire disease, but he now rules the town. He is old and strong and has many forces behind him. Once he gains control of Claire, he lets Eve go. It can be assumed that Eve will be the 'protagonist' in the next book as long as Claire is loyal to Bishop.


 * Ysandre and Francois are Bishop's loyal cronies. Ysandre takes an interest in Shane at the beginning of Feast of Fools. Francois bites Claire in the fifth book. But she does not die because Shane gives her a silver necklace.

Morganville novels

 * 1) Glass Houses (October 2006, ISBN 0-451-21994-5)
 * 2) The Dead Girls' Dance (April 2007, ISBN 0-451-22089-7)
 * 3) Midnight Alley (October 2007, ISBN 0-451-22238-5)
 * 4) Feast of Fools (June 2008, ISBN 0-451-22463-9)
 * 5) Lord of Misrule (January 2009, ISBN 0-451-22572-4)
 * 6) Carpe Corpus (June 2009)
 * 7) Fade Out (November 2009)
 * 8) Kiss of Death (April 2010)
 * 9) Ghost Town (October 2010)
 * 10) Bite Club (April 2011)