Customer Reviews

Lord Of Visible World: Autobiography In Letters

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Strange that it took so long for someone to think of this. Lovecraft was one of history's great letter-writers, and many of his letters contain autobiographical details, so why not gather those all together? Well, here they are, 343 pages of letters, Lovecraft's autobiographical sketch SOME NOTES ON A NONENTITY, and some explanatory notes. The letters don't really form a coherent autobiography, and someone who reads this book without having read Joshi's biography of Lovecraft first will probably not form a very clear idea of Lovecraft's life.

Most of the letters are new to me, even though I am familiar with the contents of the multi-volume Arkham House "Collected Letters." Virtually all the letters are a delight to read, since poor Lovecraft could find entertainment in even the most humdrum activities... consider the wild Arabian Nights bazaar-haggling fantasy he inserts into the account of his search for a good, cheap suit, after a thief made away with almost everything he owned in the way of wearables.

The text has one annoying defect; the letters are usually not introduced by telling us who they were written to, and one must repeatedly turn to a couple of pages marked "sources" for this vital info. Lovecraft's tone and style, and openness or reticence, varied greatly with correspondent, and this is background info you have to have to appreciate a given letter.

Typographical errors are very few; I spotted only about four, all probably transcription errors in copying from Lovecraft's microscopically hand-written originals.

Like the majority of university press books I have seen over the past 40 long-suffering years, this one suffers from what Lovecraft himself might call "preternaturally odious" design. The cover consists of a fuzzy snapshot of Lovecraft superimposed on a collage of details from old engravings, and each major section is defaced by a grey blob that is probably imagined, by someone with no sense of design, to be decorative. Chapter headings seem to have been affected by word-processing runaway, so that for instance the index is headed "Marriage and Exile, Clinton Street and Red Hook"!

Let's just say I loved every word of it. After you read it, this should go right on the shelf with your worn, much-read volumes of Lovecraft fiction, and you'll find yourself dipping into it at random, at odd times. What a man! Recommended!

If you don't have access to the 5-volume "Selected Letters" (published by Arkham House), this book is indispensible. This collection of letters spans Lovecraft's adulthood and covers such diverse topics as writing, eighteenth century antiquities, philosophy, politics, racism, economics, cats, travel, and even the art of buying a cheap suit!

Veteran Lovecraft scholars will enjoy this work because of the editors' efforts at placing each selection of letters in its proper context. These little annotations assist the reader in gaining a better understanding of the author's need to communicate with kindred spirits (despite his avowed misanthropy), his attempts to battle his depression with satiric humor, and the sometimes extreme lengths undertaken to cope with the slide into poverty and near starvation.

Well researched and ably constructed, Joshi and Schultz's offering is a welcome addition. Highly recommended.

It's difficult for me to get beyond the cover of this book -- I mean, GREAT YUGGOTH!!! Is that the fact of a horror author or what?! The eyes, of course, seem to have been tamper'd with -- they do not look natural -- but they do seem like eyes that have peer'd into ye Audient Void! I love this cover image so much that I had an enlarged print of it transferred onto a t-shirt, then I cut out the image and safety-pinned it to the back of one of my punk jackets.

I reproduce ye Entire "A Note on the Text":

"The material in this volume consists of extracts from a few essays by Lovecraft (texts of which are derived from existing manuscripts or early printed appearances) and extracts of many letters. The letters have been secured from two major sources: manuscripts (many of them at the John Hay Library of Brown University and the State Historical Society at Madison, and a few in private hands) and the so-called 'Arkham House transcripts.' The transcripts were prepared by Arkham House for use in editing Lovecraft's SELECTED LETTERS; in many cases the original manuscripts of these letters have not come to light, and in some cases the manuscripts are known to have been destroyed. We have made relatively few alterations in the manuscript letters, occasionally correcting an obvious slip of the pen and writing out Lovecraft's habitual ampersands. We have made more alterations in the transcripts, in cases where there is good reason to believe that the transcriber erred in reading Lovecraft's handwriting.
"Few letters are presented in their entirety. We have not placed ellipses at the beginning or end of letters except in cases where our editing has resulted in a sentence fragment; but we have placed ellipses (enclosed in brackets) where we have made cuts or abridgments within a given extract. All other ellipses are Lovecraft's. Occasionally he used more than the conventional three or four periods in an ellipsis, and we have retained this usage to preserve the style of the original documents. We have also preserved other idiosyncratic usages, such as British spelling variants, archaisms or slang, irregular punctuation, and the like. Headnotes preceding the letters help to identify their contents and supply other necessary information.
"As an epigraph to the volume we have included Lovecraft's 'biographical notice' from Edward J. O'Brien's BEST SHORT STORIES OF 1928. The notice, although unsigned, is clearly by Lovecraft, and encapsulates in a remarkably small space the essence of his life and beliefs. As an appendix we have included Lovecraft's most polished autobiographical essay, "Some Notes on a Nonentity," written in 1933.
"Names cited frequently in the text (chiefly Lovecraft's colleagues or writers who influenced him significantly) are identified in a glossary of names at the end of the volume. Other names, and other points in the text that require elucidation, are identified in the endnotes. We have not felt the need to overburden the text with notes and commentary, and we believe that most of the extracts are self-explanatory.
"Our list of 'Sources' identifies the sources for our texts of the letters. In every chapter, each extract is numbered at its beginning, and the numbers correspond to the sequence of letters (or other works) listed in the 'Sources.' We have appended a list of further reading, supplying information on important editions of works by Lovecraft and significant biographical and critical studies. The literature on Lovecraft has now become immense, and the present list cites only the most significant works."

Thus we see that this single edition presents a number of fascinating items, as well as being a source book leading the reader to many other books. It was reading the five SELECTED LETTERS volumes from Arkham House that really secured in me that passion for HPL that makes one a life-long Lovecraftian. Lovecraft's letters reveal aspects of the man that do not appear in his brilliant weird fiction. This wonderful book reveals Lovecraft as he shew'd himself to his friends and colleagues, and the revelation is very captivating. This is one great book. I had the pb edition, but I was happy to find the hardcover edition here at Amazon, and highly recommend ye hardback edition.

_Lord of a Visible World: An Autobiography of Letters: H. P. Lovecraft_ (2000, Ohio University Press), edited by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz, consists of a selection of the letters of the author of weird fiction H. P. Lovecraft. H. P. Lovecraft (1890 - 1937) is perhaps most famous as an author of weird fiction tales; however, he was also a dedicated letter writer who devoted his energies to important topics in philosophy, science, religion, politics, history, fiction, and other issues. This book examines his letters in detail providing an outline of his life in the letters he wrote to colleagues, friends, and family. Lovecraft was involved extensively in the amateur journals of his day (their version of the internet) and this is how he became started as a writer. Lovecraft was an eccentric character born in Providence, RI. He was prone to nervous disorders and suffered a nervous breakdown in high school which caused him to be unable to attend Brown University. Nevertheless, it is clear from the issues he discussed and his knowledge for the time, that he was obviously a man of considerable genius. In terms of philosophy, Lovecraft was a strict materialist who believed in a cosmic indifferentism. His understanding of science led him to this position (although I disagree with it). Nevertheless, his tales dealt extensively with the supernatural and the occult. Lovecraft also adhered to a racialist view of society (which became more clear when he lived in New York) and believed in the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon Aryan race. This is reflected in the fact that Lovecraft came from an "old American' ancestry. Politically, Lovecraft moved from an ultra-conservative (though he supported Prohibition) to a proponent of FDR and a "fascistic socialism" (and for a brief time he supported Hitler). Lovecraft also was widely traveled and developed close friendships with various important writers of his time.

This book consists of the following chapters detailing his letter writing -

Childhood and Adolescence (1890 - 1914) - details letters pertaining to Lovecraft's ancestry, childhood and adolescent period, noting his relationship with his mother, his school activities, his interests in science and philosophy. Lovecraft also explains his early interest in the mythology of ancient Greece, Rome, and the Arabian Nights.

Amateur Journalism (1914 - 1921) - explains Lovecraft's involvement in amateur journalism at this time, his involvement in science researches, and his authorship of the journal _The Conservative_. Interestingly, Lovecraft wrote an early essay detailing his theory of how man would eventually travel to the moon which proved especially prescient. Lovecraft details his interests in philosophy (and his opposition to Christianity), Aryan supremacy, dreams, and his discovery of Lord Dunsany.

Expanding Horizons (1921 - 1924) - discusses Lovecraft's relationship with Sonia H. Greene (who was eventually to become his wife), his travels to Ohio and New York, and his further philosophical and literary development (including his reading of Nietzsche).

Marriage and Exile (1924 - 1926) - discusses Lovecraft's elopement and his "exile" to New York where he became obsessed with racialist notions after witnessing the sprawling city scene. Also discusses Lovecraft's job prospects, the "Kalem club", the Red Hook scene (which was to feature in a prominent story by Lovecraft), and his travels.

Homecoming (1926 - 1930) - discusses Lovecraft's homecoming to Rhode Island, the end of his marriage with Sonia, philosophical expressions concerning his "cosmic philosophy", his travels, his colleagues, and other issues.

The Old Gentleman (1931 - 1937) - discusses Lovecraft's travels, further developments of his philosophy, the role of literature, and his final days.

Some Notes on a Nonentity (1933) - a brief autobiographical essay of Lovecraft showing his early influences and how he became interested in weird fiction.

These letters provide an interesting detailed autobiography of Lovecraft's life. They discuss various issues surrounding his life as well as important philosophical reflections. Lovecraft was a fascinating figure and an eccentric individual who managed to write not only some of the best weird fiction but also some very interesting letters and philosophical reflections.