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.
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About the Author
In his lifetime, Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) attracted little attention beyond the pulp fiction market where much of his work was first published. Today, though, he is acknowledged as a master of supernatural literature.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The great letter-writer finely edited,
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This review is from: O Fortunate Floridian: H. P. Lovecraft's Letters to R. H. Barlow (Hardcover)
In the course of this correspondence, Lovecraft remarks on the young R. H. Barlow's love of fine bindings and first editions, noting that he, in contrast, is happy as long as he has the text in good order. Barlow would certainly have approved of this handsomely produced and bound volume; and Lovecraft would be delighted with the scholarly editing. (And, as he also comments on the literary value of some of his friends' epistles, perhaps he wouldn't be altogether shocked, despite his legendary self-deprecation, by the value accorded to his own letters.)
The letters themselves are, as the editors note in their introduction, among the richest and most human of Lovecraft's correspondence yet made available. Of most interest are the discussions of his own and others' writings - it's saddening to read that he considered his great novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward a failure, and enriching to follow his remarks about Fungi From Yuggoth and his other poems. The warmth of the friendship between the two comes through movingly. The book also contains a memoir of Lovecraft and a brief autobiographical text by Barlow, as well as Barlow's fascinating notes from conversations with Lovecraft. Comparatively little of the material here is also in Selected Letters. Obviously not for the casual reader of horror fiction, the book is indispensable for anyone interested in Lovecraft as writer, correspondent and human being.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lovecraft-Barlow correspondence,
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This review is from: O Fortunate Floridian: H. P. Lovecraft's Letters to R. H. Barlow (Hardcover)
A volume more directly related to pulp studies is Joshi and Schultz's recent collection of letters between Robert Barlow and H. P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft comes off as a fatherly figure in this series of letters with his encouragement of Barlow's various projects and his advice on writing. While this is an important collection of correspondence, compared to the letters between Lovecraft and Howard, these are relatively lightweight reading--no grand arguments or musings on politics or religion to say the least.
Gossip about the rest of the Lovecraft Circle also crops up in these letters. While most of it focuses on Robert Bloch, Frank Belknap long, and Donald Wandrei, mention of Robert E. Howard does come up. Most mentions are positive comments about his latest story in Weird Tales, though in a letter of July 9, 1936, Lovecraft writes: His desperate response to the bereavement shows how highly-strung & neurotic he was, since most persons accept philosophically the inevitable loss of the older generation, even when the strongest degree of affection exists. (350) While De Camp might have popularized the idea, Howard was "crazy," perhaps the idea unintentionally started with Lovecraft. This volume has two annoying features. Given all the nicknames Lovecraft created for his circle of correspondents, Joshi and Schulz should have had a glossary identifying who they are in appendix. The other annoying feature is that the notes were done as endnotes at the end of each letter--I am much more a bottom of the page reader. Despite these annoyances, this is a valuable collection of letters for those interested in Lovecraft and his circle of correspondents.
2 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book,
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This review is from: O Fortunate Floridian: H. P. Lovecraft's Letters to R. H. Barlow (Hardcover)
The book is very interesant, because we can look at a Lovecraft and Barlow's friendship, and the philosophical thought of H. P. Lovecraft.
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