O Fortunate Floridian: H.P. Lovecraft's Letters to R.H. Barlow

by H.P. Lovecraft, S.T. Joshi (Editor), David E. Schultz (Editor)

H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) is almost as famous for his letters as for his supernatural fiction. Of the estimated one hundred thousand letters that he wrote, one hundred and fifty-nine of them collected for the first time in this volume were written to Robert H. Barlow (1918-1951). . . . Barlow was only a teenager, living with his family in DeLand, Florida, when the famous writer began corresponding with him. He was enthusiastic for all things related to weird fiction, the pulp magazines and the people who wrote for them, and the emerging community of active fans. Like other fans of the period, Barlow published a fanzine, wrote stories and poems, and even tried his hand at printing. All of these endeavors the equally precocious Lovecraft encouraged. . . . The reader will find references to familiar names like Weird Tales, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and Harry Houdini. Lovecraft s letters to Barlow record much about that vanished time and prove to be among the liveliest of all his published correspondence. . . . While the letters in this volume touch mainly on literary matters, they also record Lovecraft's love of Florida. He visited the state several times twice as Barlow's guest and was enthralled by the vistas of live oaks and Spanish moss. He occasionally felt homesick for Florida when he was at home in Rhode Island, and he never yearned more to be in the Sunshine State than during cold New England winters. There was no doubt where he wished to be when he addressed a letter to Barlow, during the depths of one winter, as O Floridian More Fortunate than you can Realise. . . . In addition to letters, the reader will find an insightful introduction by the editors providing details and anecdotes about the friendship between Lovecraft and Barlow. The book is further enriched by Barlow's poignant memoir of Lovecraft in Florida, a glossary of notable people mentioned in the letters, autobiographical pieces by Barlow, and an invaluable index.

Genres: Nonfiction, Lovecraftian

465 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 2007

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

[Henrik · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the physically most beautiful HPL letters publications! Haven't read more than 1/3 of the contents, and probably won't finish it before Summer (it's in-between-stuff reading), but so far it's very nice indeed... If you're an HPL geek like me;-)

[Isidore · Rating 3 out of 5]

The early letters are astonishingly revealing, the later ones much less so. This is HPL at his most mature and engaging, but one wishes Barlow's letters had been included as well––perhaps they do no not survive?

[Mazoruler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This work offers a remarkable glimpse into the inner world of H. P. Lovecraft, illuminating the strange, complex, and deeply fascinating relationship he shared with R. H. Barlow. It is not an effortless read, particularly for those unfamiliar with the contours of Lovecraft’s life—his circle of correspondents, his fellow writers of weird fiction, and the vast epistolary network that sustained his creative existence. Yet for the prepared reader, it opens a vivid window onto the late 1920s and early 1930s, an era alive with literary experimentation and personal contradiction. For anyone who has already walked the shadowed paths of Lovecraft’s short fiction, this book deepens the experience, revealing the man behind the myth and enriching one’s understanding of a true master of English literature.

[Dylan Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful volume of letters that show how H.P Lovecraft wasn't the ghoulish and hate person but a kind, funny, and complete gentleman to those who knew him. Possibly, along with the rest of the volumes letters will be Lovecraft grandest achievement even surpassing his fiction.