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Selected Letters of H.P. Lovecraft #1
Selected Letters I: 1911–1924
Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso
362 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
3 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
H.P. Lovecraft
6,109 books19.2k followersHoward 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 14, 2010
Fascinating early letters from the reclusive Lovecraft to his few close colleagues. From his own mind and hand, these letters provide personal insights into Lovecraft's philosophy, phobias, and phantasms.
An example: "...may not all mankind be a mistake -- an abnormal growth -- an excressence on the body of infinite progression like a wart on the human hand? Might not the total destruction of humanity, as well as of all animate creation, be a positive boon to Nature as whole? ...Our philosophy is all childishly subjective -- we imagine that the welfare of our race is the paramount consideration, when as a matter of fact the very existence of the race may be an obstacle to the predestined course of the aggregated universes of infinity! How do we know that the form of atomic and molecular motion called "life" is the highest of all forms? Perhaps the dominant -- the most rational and God-like of all beings -- is an invisible gas! Or perhaps it is a flaming and effulgent mass of molten star-dust. Who can say that men have souls while rocks have none?..."
An example: "...may not all mankind be a mistake -- an abnormal growth -- an excressence on the body of infinite progression like a wart on the human hand? Might not the total destruction of humanity, as well as of all animate creation, be a positive boon to Nature as whole? ...Our philosophy is all childishly subjective -- we imagine that the welfare of our race is the paramount consideration, when as a matter of fact the very existence of the race may be an obstacle to the predestined course of the aggregated universes of infinity! How do we know that the form of atomic and molecular motion called "life" is the highest of all forms? Perhaps the dominant -- the most rational and God-like of all beings -- is an invisible gas! Or perhaps it is a flaming and effulgent mass of molten star-dust. Who can say that men have souls while rocks have none?..."
July 5, 2007
I read most of this when I was in high school, but revisited it this year after moving to Brooklyn. I re-read all the NYC entries and a couple of days ago walked over to 169 Clinton St., where Lovecraft and Sonia Greene lived during part of their ill-starred marriage. It's right around the corner from Sahadi's and is very unremarkable (no plaque or anything).
September 16, 2014
Le premier tome de la correspondance choisie de Lovecraft, bien qu'il contienne surtout des informations que je connaissais déjà (fangirl much) est une incursion intéressante dans la vie d'un auteur ayant profondément marqué un genre. Lire la correspondance de Lovecraft permet d'aborder la lecture de ses oeuvres de plusieurs nouveaux points de vue, et les différents commentaires qu'il fait sur l'actualité, la philosophie, l'art et autres sujets sont d'un divertissement sans égale.
Mention spéciale à Lovy qui n'arrive manifestement pas à comprendre que Sonia H. Greene le drague.
Mention spéciale à Lovy qui n'arrive manifestement pas à comprendre que Sonia H. Greene le drague.
August 21, 2022
It’s taken a fair amount of time and money to finally have a full collection of original ‘Selected Letters’ from Arkham House…and I was determined not to start reading them until I did…and so here I am, covering 1911 to 1924.
At the behest of W. Paul Cook, HPL starts to write fiction again, after having burned all but two of his juvenile efforts; unexpectedly he attempts to join the army (never going to happen!) and instead embarks on his revisionary career, which keeps a steady, albeit small, income whilst he is based in Providence.
The reason why I am so committed to these letters (with this 5 volume set I also have over a dozen complete ‘letters’ from Hippocampus Press and others) is that you learn so much more about the subject than any biography ever could – they were not written for publication, just the mind of a man poured out onto the page. He states in an early letter how writing letters is as easy to him as conversing, and it shows. There’s hardly a subject that isn’t covered, and with these ‘selected letters’ you really get a feel for the differences in how he wrote to Loveman compared to Long; Kleiner compared to Morton.
His ‘travelogues’ are a real joy – when I first read the collected letters of HPL and August Derleth I was amazed at his visits to Florida, in a white linen suit and sailing on a glass bottomed boat – this was not the sad/mad HPL of common mythology! As an earlier collection, these letters provide more local travels, with Salem, Marblehead and Portsmouth evoking much excitement from the old gent.
The volume ends with his unexpected betrothal to Sonia Greene (how devastating that we will never be able to read those letters that are alluded to here) and the beginning of the collapse caused by the ‘New York period’. But again, what we find is an often energised Lovecraft, filled with clear love of his companions, going on long walks and picking up bargains in the second hand book stores (ironic that he had no interest in book collecting and would likely be horrified at the cost of early Arkham House publications – including these very letters. “All I want of a book is to have it in good clear type for my old eyes, clean, and free from misprints. What edition it is, or who owned it in the past, isn’t any concern of mine…”)
He talks often of art, literature and the importance of high standards of intelligentsia. He denigrates the ‘herd’ for taking base pleasures instead of scientific pursuit…it’s a complex issue for someone of clear high intelligence, who was robbed of formal education and a place at Brown University through ill health. These letters are frequently the ones where phrases are taken and used to attack HPL. However, this is not the review where I take on that side of the debate, other than to say…it’s complex.
It's hard not to feel sad for how things played out in New York, he did not spend the entire time in ‘hell’ and yearning to return to Providence. These letters show many occasions when he was genuinely happy, excited about his proposed career with ‘Weird Tales’ and working with Harry Houdini. He genuinely believed an actual job in a publishing house would present itself any day, and if it had, how things may have been different. But he struggled for paid work in a location where his expenses were much higher than in Providence. Sonia’s business also collapsed (milliner) and her health began to wane. He trudged the streets as a door-to-door salesman, which would never have suited his demeanour and just added to his frustration.
This isn’t a novel, it’s a collection of letters, presenting the real life of a man who struggled on many levels, and at times it’s hard to read when you already know the end.
I will read all 5 volumes, I have the collected letters of Barlow, Smith and 2-Gun Bob to look forward to, amongst so many more…and then I’ll probably start on the letters between Smith and Derleth, Green and Loveman….it’s amazing that there are so many collected volumes…but as I’ve said before - reprint the Arkham House books!
At the behest of W. Paul Cook, HPL starts to write fiction again, after having burned all but two of his juvenile efforts; unexpectedly he attempts to join the army (never going to happen!) and instead embarks on his revisionary career, which keeps a steady, albeit small, income whilst he is based in Providence.
The reason why I am so committed to these letters (with this 5 volume set I also have over a dozen complete ‘letters’ from Hippocampus Press and others) is that you learn so much more about the subject than any biography ever could – they were not written for publication, just the mind of a man poured out onto the page. He states in an early letter how writing letters is as easy to him as conversing, and it shows. There’s hardly a subject that isn’t covered, and with these ‘selected letters’ you really get a feel for the differences in how he wrote to Loveman compared to Long; Kleiner compared to Morton.
His ‘travelogues’ are a real joy – when I first read the collected letters of HPL and August Derleth I was amazed at his visits to Florida, in a white linen suit and sailing on a glass bottomed boat – this was not the sad/mad HPL of common mythology! As an earlier collection, these letters provide more local travels, with Salem, Marblehead and Portsmouth evoking much excitement from the old gent.
The volume ends with his unexpected betrothal to Sonia Greene (how devastating that we will never be able to read those letters that are alluded to here) and the beginning of the collapse caused by the ‘New York period’. But again, what we find is an often energised Lovecraft, filled with clear love of his companions, going on long walks and picking up bargains in the second hand book stores (ironic that he had no interest in book collecting and would likely be horrified at the cost of early Arkham House publications – including these very letters. “All I want of a book is to have it in good clear type for my old eyes, clean, and free from misprints. What edition it is, or who owned it in the past, isn’t any concern of mine…”)
He talks often of art, literature and the importance of high standards of intelligentsia. He denigrates the ‘herd’ for taking base pleasures instead of scientific pursuit…it’s a complex issue for someone of clear high intelligence, who was robbed of formal education and a place at Brown University through ill health. These letters are frequently the ones where phrases are taken and used to attack HPL. However, this is not the review where I take on that side of the debate, other than to say…it’s complex.
It's hard not to feel sad for how things played out in New York, he did not spend the entire time in ‘hell’ and yearning to return to Providence. These letters show many occasions when he was genuinely happy, excited about his proposed career with ‘Weird Tales’ and working with Harry Houdini. He genuinely believed an actual job in a publishing house would present itself any day, and if it had, how things may have been different. But he struggled for paid work in a location where his expenses were much higher than in Providence. Sonia’s business also collapsed (milliner) and her health began to wane. He trudged the streets as a door-to-door salesman, which would never have suited his demeanour and just added to his frustration.
This isn’t a novel, it’s a collection of letters, presenting the real life of a man who struggled on many levels, and at times it’s hard to read when you already know the end.
I will read all 5 volumes, I have the collected letters of Barlow, Smith and 2-Gun Bob to look forward to, amongst so many more…and then I’ll probably start on the letters between Smith and Derleth, Green and Loveman….it’s amazing that there are so many collected volumes…but as I’ve said before - reprint the Arkham House books!
November 24, 2025
Что ж, это было длинное путешествие в глубины человеческой души - так получилось, что я читал эту книгу почти целый год. Определенное представление о личности Лавкрафта у меня уже было - несколько лет назад довелось прочитать биографию авторства де Кампа, что, наверное, помогло лучше понять и письма. Их здесь 178, объем варьируется от нескольких строк до огромных (10+ листов) опусов, последние в основном описывают культурные исследования и пешие прогулки Лавкрафта по интересным местам, преимущественно старым городским районам. Много здесь и писем людям из литературного круга - тематика соответствующая (т.е. литературная). Еще Лавкрафт частенько рассказывает здесь о себе и своих взглядах и, думаю, многие современные ценители его творчества узнают себя в этих строках, наполненных высокоинтеллектуальным снобизмом вперемешку с мизантропией и нытьем по самым разным поводам.
В общем, чтиво интересное, хотя, пожалуй, не для всех - да и в плане стиля не самое простое. Лавкрафт стремился писать сложно, щеголяя словарным запасом и изысканным стилем, поэтому даже в письмах у него много редких слов и длиннющих предложений с красочными оборотами. Но, как ни странно, это практически не мешало читать: наверное, эпистолярный жанр сам по себе заточен на повествование, а может мне просто близок авторский стиль; однако текст хоть и тяжеловатый, но заходил на ура.
В общем, чтиво интересное, хотя, пожалуй, не для всех - да и в плане стиля не самое простое. Лавкрафт стремился писать сложно, щеголяя словарным запасом и изысканным стилем, поэтому даже в письмах у него много редких слов и длиннющих предложений с красочными оборотами. Но, как ни странно, это практически не мешало читать: наверное, эпистолярный жанр сам по себе заточен на повествование, а может мне просто близок авторский стиль; однако текст хоть и тяжеловатый, но заходил на ура.
February 20, 2021
They weren't kidding when they said Lovecraft's letters are better than his stories. A surprising amount of humor and despair is to be found here. What I didn't know is that Lovecraft was basically an avatar or transcendental homelessness and it really shows in his letters.
As supplemental reading to this volume I also consumed (via audiobooks when I was drawing or painting) his early stories, dozens of other stories he mentioned from other authors, a lot of Poe short stories, and especially Ernst Haeckel's The Riddle of the Universe which functions as a key to Lovecraft's central ideas. But for now I think I need a bit of a Lovecraft and horror story break. I think I overdid it somewhat.
As supplemental reading to this volume I also consumed (via audiobooks when I was drawing or painting) his early stories, dozens of other stories he mentioned from other authors, a lot of Poe short stories, and especially Ernst Haeckel's The Riddle of the Universe which functions as a key to Lovecraft's central ideas. But for now I think I need a bit of a Lovecraft and horror story break. I think I overdid it somewhat.
March 26, 2025
We drift on a chartless, resistless sea. Let us sing when we can, and forget the rest...🦑
May 15, 2025
Personal TBR 3/142
If Selected Letters I: 1911 — 1924 was an affordable and easily accessible book, I’d definitely recommend it to every new fan. The letters are condensed into excerpts, turning Lovecraft’s normally lengthy correspondences into a perfect sample to explore. The single flaw in presenting the letters in such a way is that it reveals only half of the man HPL really was, but this can be easily remedied by picking up any volume of the “Letters to” series by Hippocampus Press.
If Selected Letters I: 1911 — 1924 was an affordable and easily accessible book, I’d definitely recommend it to every new fan. The letters are condensed into excerpts, turning Lovecraft’s normally lengthy correspondences into a perfect sample to explore. The single flaw in presenting the letters in such a way is that it reveals only half of the man HPL really was, but this can be easily remedied by picking up any volume of the “Letters to” series by Hippocampus Press.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews