Essential Solitude: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and August Derleth (2 VOLUME SET) [Hardcover]

H. P. Lovecraft (Author), August Derleth (Author), David E. Schultz (editor) (Author), S. T. Joshi (editor) (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0979380642 | ISBN-13: 978-0979380648 | Publication Date: June 26, 2008 | Edition: Two volume set

**TWO VOLUME SET** In this two-volume set, H. P. Lovecraft's relations to one of his most prominent colleagues and disciples, August Derleth (1909-1971), are recounted in the hundreds of letters they exchanged between 1926 and 1937. The youthful Derleth first wrote to Lovecraft, via Weird Tales magazine, in regard to an obscure work of weird fiction, and their subsequent correspondence deals extensively with the history of weird fiction, the two authors' ongoing attempts to publish stories in pulp magazines, Derleth's evolution into a sensitive writer of regional fiction and of detective stories, and debates over such issues as spiritualism, occultism, the literary use of coincidence, points of language and style, and other matters. Especially noteworthy are several letters by Lovecraft that Derleth interpreted as giving him permission to elaborate upon Lovecraft's pseudomythology, which Derleth named the Cthulhu Mythos. Nearly 400 of Lovecraft's letters and postcards are printed; only about 40 of Derleth's replies are extant. In an appendix, several of Derleth's early articles about Lovecraft are reprinted, describing Derleth's championing of Lovecraft and his foundation of Arkham House. All the letters are exhaustively annotated by David E. Schultz and S. T. Joshi.
A two-volume hardcover set; individual volumes not sold separately.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This monumental two-volume compendium gathers the correspondence between horror writer H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) and one of his most devoted disciples, August Derleth (1909–1971). Schultz and Joshi have scrupulously edited and annotated the hundreds of letters that survive, the bulk on Lovecraft's side, from Derleth's first epistle sent in care of Weird Tales magazine in July 1926 to Lovecraft's final missive penned a month before his untimely death 11 years later. While philosophical disquisitions are few, Lovecraft's letters present an appealing portrait of a man keen to share his interest in the literature of the weird with a fellow enthusiast. Reproductions of drawings Lovecraft used to illustrate his letters, an appendix that includes Derleth's posthumous tributes to his friend, a list of both men's contributions to Weird Tales and more enhance the scholarly package. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) has belatedly achieved universal recognition as the twentieth century's premier author of supernatural fiction. Poet, essayist, philosopher, and man of letters, Lovecraft's work has been translated into nearly thirty languages and is widely available in numerous prestigious and annotated editions. His letters -- regarded by some as his greatest literary achievement -- are now being published in unabridged form for the first time.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 884 pages
• Publisher: Hippocampus Press; Two volume set edition (June 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979380642
• ISBN-13: 978-0979380648
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #990,005 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Fascinating Editions, April 2, 2010

By 

W. H. Pugmire "I never can be tied to raw, ne... (Sesqua Valley) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential Solitude: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and August Derleth (2 VOLUME SET) (Hardcover)

David E. Schultz, S. T. Joshi and Hippocampus Press are determined to give us all of H. P. Lovecraft's extant letters in handsome hardcover editions. S. T. confess'd to me, during a drive home, that he thought these two volumes less edifying than others because the "talk" is mostly of literary matters and thus do not showcase Lovecraft's philosophic ideas, with which Joshi is understandably fascinated. Still, this is such an important relationship, between the writer and the man who would dedicate his life and money to publishing Lovecraft in hardcover, the man who gave us those first wonderful Arkham House editions of Lovecraft's SELECTED LETTERS, the man who saw to it that Lovecraft was first published in early paperbacks editions that had such amazing circulation, the man who saw that Lovecraft's works were widely published in England.

There were never two people more different than H. P. Lovecraft and August William Derleth, and this can be gauged in their approach to the writing of weird fiction. For Derleth it was a pleasant and easy way to help pay the bills, but not writing that he took very seriously. For HPL, it was his Life's Work, his Art, and he was intensely serious about it. These letters are really charming in every way, and they give such a wonderful history of the Weird Tale gang and the art of writing fiction. Lovecraft's letters are amply illustrated with sketches of houses, landscapes, maps, &c, and in some of Augie's early epistles we are given snatches of his verse. Presentation, annotations -- everything about these volumes is first-rate. The dust jacket illustrations by the remarkably talented David C. Verba are very fine, and I especially love his rendition of ye Shunn'd House for Vol. II.

These volumes from Hippocampus Press sell out quickly and should be ordered, when first announced, without delay -- for once they are out of print, dastardly rip-off dealers will have ye audacity to charge $1,000 for the books.