Dora is a mortal televangelist whom Lestat is both committed to protect and deeply attracted to in Memnoch the Devil (1995). She helps Lestat bring Veronica’s Veil to greater public attention.
Born in New Orleans and named Theodora Flynn, though she comes to be called simply Dora, she is raised by her unwed mother, Terry, a practical nurse. Dora grows up knowing her father, Roger, only by his visits from New York. He lavishes upon her gifts and money. Dora dislikes her mother and often wishes she would die. Her wish comes true when her mother threatens to take Dora away from Roger. Dora never forgets that Roger killed her mother; she never forgets seeing her mother’s dead body wrapped in plastic. Roger takes Dora back to New York with him and, as she ages, she begins to understand that Roger is a major criminal, not only a murderer, but also a smuggler, a contract killer, and a very wealthy drug lord.
As Dora matures, realizing that she desires to be utterly unlike Roger, she goes to the seminary, is ordained as a Christian minister, and eventually becomes a successful televangelist. Despite her popularity, she continues to interact with Roger, rejecting his gifts yet always hoping for his salvation. Unbeknownst to her, the vampire Lestat stalks and kills Roger at the height of her popularity. Roger’s ghost appears to Lestat and implores him to protect Dora from his enemies and from the harm that his reputation can do to her Christian vocation. Dora encounters Lestat as she is on her way to her chapel, shortly after she hears the news of Roger’s death. Lestat goes to her, fulfilling his promise to Roger and admitting to her not only that he killed Roger but also that he is a vampire and that he will now protect her. Dora’s fearlessness impresses Lestat; he feels deep love for her. They talk for some time, and their affection for each other grows. Soon Lestat begins to feel the presence of his Stalker, so he leaves Dora but promises that he will return.
When Dora next sees Lestat, he tells her how he went on a spiritual journey with Memnoch the Devil, where he wiped the face of the crucified Jesus with Veronica’s Veil. Lestat reveals that he has kept the veil and then gives it to Dora. In turn, she shows Veronica’s Veil to the world on the steps of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, as proof of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial love on the cross.
For more perspectives on Dora’s character, read the Alphabettery entries Lestat de Lioncourt, Memnoch, Roger, and Veronica’s Veil.