The Annotated H.P. Lovecraft
by Howard Phillips Lovecraft, S. T. Joshi
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Book Summary Information
Author: Howard Phillips Lovecraft, S. T. JoshiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-07-07
ISBN: 0440506603
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Dell
Book Reviews of The Annotated H.P. Lovecraft
Book Review: A Delightful Edition of H P Lovecraft
Summary: 5 Stars
S. T. Joshi has worked diligently to make the writings of H. P. Lovecraft accessible to Lovecraft's ever-expanding audience. We have the hardcover editions from Arkham House, the Del Rey trade pb and mass market editions, the Penguin Classics editions, various editions from Hippocampus Press, the wonderful one-volume edition from Barnes & Noble (soon to be reprinted in a corrected 2nd Edition), and the historic edition from The Library of America. The two Annotated editions from Dell (this edition from 1997, and MORE ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT FROM 1999) are still wonderful editions of Lovecraft's fiction, and if you are coming to Lovecraft's fiction for the first time, these are excellent introductions to the man and his weird tales. This first volume is especially captivating, for not only do you get some of H. P. Lovecraft's most famous and beloved stories ("The Colour out of Space," "The Dunwich Horror," and "The Rats in the Walls") but you get a fully annotated text of the short novel, AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. I had difficulty appreciating this lengthy work of fiction when I was young -- but returning to it again and again made me come to love it as one of Lovecraft's finest works, a fantastic tales with moments of chilling eeriness. The one review that mentions that reading the novel in this edition "ruined" it for him strikes me as absurd. I wish I had had these annotations available when first I read AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS -- they serve a wonderful purpose.
But there are other features that make this a very enjoyable introduction to Lovecraft. Included is a lengthy introduction by the editor, S. T. Joshi, who also includes wee introductions to each tale. We also have short quotes concerning Lovecraft from other genre writers such as F. Paul Wilson, Ramsey Campbell, Tom Ligotti and others. Especially delightful is a chapter entitled "Lovecraft on Weird Fiction," with excerpts from Lovecraft's letters relating to his fictive art; and an Appendix about "Lovecraft and the Media." The book has a number of photos, a reprinting of a WEIRD TALES cover and more. The look of the volume is very attractive, print is easily read. All in all, this is a charming and entertaining introduction to H. P. Lovecraft.
The one real mistake, as had been pointed out elsewhere, is that the book lacks a table of contents. But all is all, this is one of the finest introductions to the Works of H. P. Lovecraft, and if you are coming to him for the first time, these two volumes are a fine place to start. Of course, all three of the Penguin Classics editions of H. P. Lovecraft are also completely annotated -- but they lack the extras that make these two Dell volumes so much fun.
However, it is the second volume in the series, MORE ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT, that is the better introduction to those coming to Lovecraft for the first time. The book, published in 1999, was co-edited with Peter Cannon (the author of the Twayne biography of Lovecraft, and the author of the wonderful novel concerning Lovecraft's life if he had not died when he did, THE LOVECRAFT CHRONICLES). Although there are a couple of stories that I would have rather seen in this book (I would have exchanged "The Music of Erich Zann" for the boring "The Horror at Red Hook"), the stories in this second volume shew Lovecraft as a Master of Gothic Horror, with such tales as "The Haunter of the Dark," "Pickman's Model" and the delicious "The Hound." "The Call of Cthulhu" is here as well -- and it is one of Lovecraft's masterpieces. (Despite Neal Gaiman, who called the story, in the DVD THE ELDRITCH INFLUENCE, "...a crap story." Wonderful as he may be as a writer of fantasy, Gaiman is extremely perverse in his views concerning Lovecraft. His explanation for Lovecraft's continually popularity is "Lovecraft is rock and roll," a statement that is utterly absurd.) "The Thing on the Doorstep" is also included, and it is a fascinating if not entirely successful Lovecraft tale. I love the little hints in it that are never explained but which taunt the imagination, such as "the pit of shoggoths."
Together, THE ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT and MORE ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT serve as splendid introductions to the world of Lovecraft's cosmic imagination. Highly recommended!
Summary of The Annotated H.P. Lovecraft
Explore the marvelous complexity of Lovecraft's writing?including his use of literary allusions, biographical details, and obscure references in this rich, in-depth exploration of great horror fiction from the acknowledged master of the weird, including the stories "Herbert West?Reanimator", "Pickman's Model", "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Thing on the Doorstep", "The Horror at Red Hook" and more.Did Lovecraft believe in ghosts or paranormal phenomena? In what story does the narrator fear riding the Boston T?
A pathfinder in the literary territory of the macabre, H.P. Lovecraft is one of America's giants of the horror genre. Now, in this second volume of annotated tales, Lovecraft scholars S. T. Joshi and Peter Cannon provide another rare opportunity to look into the mind of a genius. Their extensive notes lift the veil between real events in the writer's life?such as the death of his father?and the words that spill out onto the page in magnificent grotesquerie. Mansions, universities, laboratories, and dank New England boneyards appear also as the haunts where Lovecraft's characters confront the fabulous and fantastic, or?like the narrator in "Herbert West?Reanimator"?dig up fresh corpses.
Richly illustrated and scrupulously researched, this extraordinary work adds exciting levels of meaning to Lovecraft's chilling tales . . . and increases our wonder at the magic that transforms life into a great writer's art.
This attractively packaged collection, edited by preeminent H. P. Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi, is a treat for long-time enthusiasts and newcomers alike. Joshi provides newly corrected text and footnotes for three superb stories--"The Rats in the Walls," "The Colour out of Space," and "The Dunwich Horror"--as well as the novella "At the Mountains of Madness,"acknowledged as Lovecraft's masterpiece. He explains the origins of place and character names, tracks influences from Lovecraft's reading, defines unusual words such as "nefandous" and "cyclopean," and clarifies which of the cited occult texts are fictional and which are real. The Annotated H. P. Lovecraft also includes a biographical introduction, comments from contemporary horror writers, excerpts from letters presenting Lovecraft's own theories about weird fiction, a critical summary of Lovecraft movies, a select bibliography, and numerous black-and-white photographs. Don't make the mistake of thinking that The Annotated H. P. Lovecraft is just another Lovecraft collection: Joshi has distilled decades of learning into well-chosen observations that are a delight to read.
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