Lovecraft at Last: Supernatural Horror in Literature as Revised in 1936

by H.P. Lovecraft

Chronicles the life and work of horror fiction writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft, through biographical information, actual letters and pictures from the author, and newspaper clippings.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Lovecraftian, Biography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.

Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.

Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

— Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lavishly reproduced book, with the letters reproduced in facsimile, covering the correspondence between H. P. Lovecraft and the young Willis Conover. It succeeds - where many longer, more ambitious books have not - in capturing the warmth and sprightly humor of H. P. Lovecraft so well that we can almost feel the pain and loss Conover must have felt when the inevitable occurred. It is a warm memoir on any terms, but anyone interested in Lovecraft should read it.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is everything the Lovecraft-obsessed horror fan could ask for. It is a fascinating and personal insight into the world in which he moved, and the worlds he created, from the point of view of a young fan. Willis Conover was one of many "weird fiction" enthusiasts who struck up a correspondence with Lovecraft during his life, and this book is simply a narrated reenactment of their conversation, which spanned the last year-and-a-half or so of the great writer's life. Conover himself was a teenaged boy who aspired to publish a fan magazine (what we would have called a "zine" some years later, but which technological limitations forced to be rather more formal in 1936). His youthful frankness is at times wince-inducing, but also lends a great deal of the charm of this book.
Howard Philip Lovecraft (HPL) lived his life, more or less, through the mail. Judging by the prodigious correspondence he boasted of, he must have spent the majority of each day producing it. Today, famous authors such as Robert E. Howard and Robert Bloch are remembered in part for their participation in the "Lovecraft Circle" - a sort of literary salon-by-mail, distinguished by having HPL at its center. Conover, who did not go on to become a famous author (nor an important promoter of HPL like August Derleth), is probably not a serious contender in the Circle, but he did catch the tail end of some of it, and, partly through HPL's patronage, did get his little magazine off the ground. In a sense, this book is the story of how he came to have a close and important relationship with a much older man whom he never met in person.
Lovecraft's considerable generosity shines through in these pages, as do many of his less admirable characteristics, including a remarkable penchant for self-deprecation. He would be astonished to know the degree of affection, admiration, and even worship he and his works have inspired in his name. This book provides a wonderful glimpse into how that process began.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lesenotizen

Erschienen 1975, als die Forschung zu HPL in den Kinderschuhen steckte, im selben Jahr wie de Camps fragwürdige HPL-Bio und Longs als Korrektiv gedachtes, überhastet verfertigtes Erinnerungsbuch an HPL. Der Briefwechsel des gerade 15-jährigen Conover mit HPL, der nur noch ein Jahr zu leben hatte, ist lebendiger und interessanter als die beiden anderen Titel. Die Ausgabe ist fantstisch hochwertig mit vielen Bildern."

"Conover "zerlegt" den Briefwechsel, indem er seinen Fragen und Anmerkungen jeweils die Briefpassagen mit den sich darauf beziehenden Antworten von Lovecraft folgen lässt, so dass der Eindruck eines Gesprächs zwischen Schüler und Meister entsteht. Die Passagen werden wörtlich zitiert, belegt durch Faksimiles. Deutlich wird einmal mehr, ein wie zugewandter, unterhaltsamer und hilfsbereiter Mensch HPL war."

"The "art" of the pulps is even worse than its fiction, if such be possible."
HPL "beneidet" Seabury Quinn nicht, dass der seine Bibliothek mit gerahmten WT-Covern schmückt.

Sog-Sothoth auf Forrest J. Ackerman hetzen? "As for sic'ing him on to Master Ackerman, I tried that, too, back in '33, but he was very balky. Said it was an insultt o set an immemorial daemon of outer cosmic space to the task of fly-swatting.""

"If Wright were to use a really effective weird design the bulk of his half-illiterate readers wouldn't know what it was all about, and would write scornful and ungrammatical letters to the Eyrie."
Soviel zu den Brundage-Nudes auf den WT-Covers, die Lovecraft zu trivial findet, um sich darüber überhaupt zu ärgern."

"Lovecraft schickt Conover u.a. einige ältere Fotos von sich:
"Funny - he'd looked older when he was younger.""

"Aha, HPL lebt also nur in seinem abgedunkelten Zimmer?
"Hell! I'm never under a roof on any good summer afternoon. I always take my work in a black bag and make for some congenial scenic region."

HPL unterstützt Conover mit kostenlosen Texten für dessen Science Fantasy Correspondent, vermittelt Kontakte zu anderen Autoren, legt dort ein gutes Wort für C. ein und schickt ihm Zettel mit seinen Autogrammen zum Verkauf."

"Unglaubliche Unterstützung für Conovers geplantes Magazin: Lovecraft erlaubt C. nicht nur, seine Abhandlung SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE in Fortsetzung abzudrucken, einstzend dort, wo die Fortsetzungen in FANTASY FAN aufhörten, sondern schreibt für die künftigen Leser sogar eine mehrseitige Zusammenfassung der bislang im Magazin FANTASY FAN veröffentlichten Teile; unbezahlt und trotz Zeitnot."

"Lovecraft bekommt von Conover zu Weihnachten einen Totenschädel zugesandt, der zusammengepuzzelt werden muss, nachdem er auf dem Postweg beschädigt wurde.
Eine kleine Überraschung zu lesen, dass Lovecraft damit beschäftigt ist, den Weihnachtsbaum zu schmücken."

"Ab der dritten Nummer des SFC fusioniert das Magazin mit den FANTASY MAGAZINE, da Julius Schwartz zunehmend als Agent tätig ist und nicht mehr genügend Zeit hat, um sich um sein Magazin zu kümmern. Conover will nun Lovecrafts Aufsatz SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE doch ungekürzt bringen
Conover ist jetzt gerade 16 geworden."

Aus einem Brief Lovecrafts an Baird (WT) vom 3.2.1924, den Conover von Henneberger bekam:
"I must write my autobiography some day ... every mediocre, uninteresting person of late seems absolutely determined to write his autobiography, especially if he has done nothing whatsoever to warrant it. I must be pompous and colourful, and supply the element of dramatic interest where life has failed to supply it ... helas! Lifelong indolence and nearly lifelong ill-health have made my annals as short and simple as those of the class who subsist on W.T. cheques! Une vie cerebrale - nothing more, if even that!"

[Jeff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his forward, Harold Taylor states “Everything about this book is extraordinary” – and how right he is - this book is the standard that all epistolary books should be set by.

I hesitated when I bought this – long out of print (this Collectors edition from 1975 was limited to 1,000 copies) I found it at a Book Fair and it wasn’t cheap. I had heard about it, of course, but didn’t quite realise what it was; I took the plunge and handed over my cash with an excitement that comes from Book Collecting, and specifically when you are buying for your main collection.

For those who have read my reviews before, you will know that I am fascinated by Lovecraft the man, presented often by his volumes of collected letters, and here we have a rather special collection.

Willis Conover was just 15 when he took a chance and wrote to HP Lovecraft, unbeknownst by either how little time the author had left before a sudden illness would end his life. Such was his youthful confidence, HPL had no idea just how young he was and was happy to help a fellow enthusiast with his setting up of a new journal, providing contacts and copy, as well as support and encouragement. What developed was a friendship far beyond the professional, and as Conover’s adolescence came through, HPL was clearly entranced by him and opened up his private life. Many letters came with a caveat that he was sharing details that were absolutely not for publication and seemed to relish the ‘game’ of it all.

Whereas the old gent becomes clearer the more of his letters are read (especially when you can start putting them in context and understand just how his voice changed depending on who he was conversing with) this volume stands far above a simple collection. What Conover has achieved is the remarkable transition from letter to conversation by ‘editing’ the letters into ‘dialogue’. Such a consistent letter writer, there would often be barely days between exchanges, which allows the transition to work so well. Interspersed are facsimiles of the actual letters, amongst other interesting documents…including a set of ‘autographs’ that HPL provided after Conover’s request, as a means of raising funds for the publication.

The final pages, including letters from Lovecraft’s aunt as he lay unable to write in hospital, are desperate to read, but when you remember the Preface, you can understand the impact that he had on the young man, and how it stayed with him his entire life.

An absolute treasure, I have read so many books on HPL and will no doubt read so many more…but this will always remain as something very special indeed.

[Jeb Card · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of letters Lovecraft wrote at the end of his life, all to a young fan. Not necessarily of interest to the non HPL obsessive, but a fun and at times moving window into Lovecraft's letter-driven interaction with the world, and one of the better examples of his seldom noted wit.

[tony leighton · Rating 5 out of 5]

cleared up alot of interesting confusions dealing with supposed occult texts.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very special book. In his letters Lovecraft is kind, generous, intelligent, playful, self-deprecating and—dare I say—lovable. Not all of the correspondence is equally interesting, of course, but there are some real gems in here, too. Will Conover was a lucky young man.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal TBR 33/142

A heartfelt account of HPL during the last months of his life from the perspective of one of his young correspondents, Willis Conover. Even though one knows how it inevitably ends, the final page still hits hard.