The Annotated H.P. Lovecraft
by S. T. Joshi, Howard Phillips Lovecraft
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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!
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