H. P. Lovecraft has come to be recognized as the leading author of supernatural fiction in the twentieth century. But how did a man who died in poverty, with no book of his stories published in his lifetime, become such an icon in horror literature? S. T. Joshi, the leading authority on Lovecraft, traces in detail the course of Lovecraft’s life and shows how Lovecraft was engaged in the political, economic, social and intellectual currents of his time.
As the first international anthology to cover the entire scope of fantastic narrative, Fantastic Worlds presents over fifty tales, myths, and stories, ranging from Genesis to Ovid, Hans Christian Andersen to J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Allan Poe to James Thurber, and Franz Kafka to Italo Calvino. Including tales of fairies and elves, ghost stories, high fantasy, and stories of social criticism and the conflict between science and religion, this volume presents a diverse selection of writings that all share the same capacity to liberate the human spirit through the wild mental acrobatics of fantasy.
H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) is commonly regarded as the leading author of supernatural fiction in the 20th century. He has a tremendous popular following as well as a considerable and growing academic reputation as a writer of substance and significance. This exhaustive guide reveals many aspects of Lovecraft's life and work, codifying the detailed research conducted by many scholars over the past three decades. The volume draws upon rare documents, including thousands of unpublished letters, in presenting plot synopses, descriptions of characters, biographies of colleagues and family members, and entries on various topics and esoteric lore related to his works. Many of the entries include bibliographies, and the volume concludes with a list of works for further reading.
The influence of science fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft is widely felt in modern literature; authors from Robert E. Howard to Stephen King can claim him as their ancestor. But cinema too has seen Lovecraft's impact, and author Charles Mitchell offers here a comprehensive guide to the dozens of films that are representative of this influence. Mitchell studies the films in detail, analyzing the major Lovecraft elements and examining the fidelity of the films to the original works. Amateur films as well as television productions and foreign cinema are included in Mitchell's scrutiny, revealing the challenge of transcribing Lovecraft to the screen, while at the same time suggesting the potential of Lovecraft's work for future, quality screen adaptations.
With its roots in Romanticism, antiquarianism, and the primacy of the imagination, the Gothic genre originated in the 18th century, flourished in the 19th, and continues to thrive today. This reference work provides an introduction to Gothic literature and its abundant criticism and summarizes contemporary developments and critical opinion in Gothic Studies. The volume includes alphabetically arranged entries for more than 50 Gothic writers from Horace Walpole to Stephen King. Each entry includes a primary bibliography, a critical essay on the author's place in the Gothic tradition, and a selected, annotated bibliography of scholarship. Entries for Russian, Japanese, French, and German writers give an international scope to the book, while the focus on English and American literature shows the dynamic nature of Gothicism today.
The writers of Gothic literature reflect in their works the concerns and fears of the times in which they were created, not only making these tales cultural artifacts of a previous time, but also showing how some sources of dread remain constant over the passage of centuries. This book examines how H.P. Lovecraft, Richard Matheson, and Stephen King have used science and technology in their modern Gothic works to destabilize the reader; that is, to create the sense of fear and dread at the heart of the Gothic genre. In doing so, these works force readers to ask disturbing questions about the society around them and to challenge long accepted notions and belief systems.
This book provides a detailed study of the relationship between science fiction and other genres. After discussing the problems inherent in classifying works according to genre, Pierce notes how science fiction sometimes incorporates plots from other literary forms. He then explores the relationship between science fiction and related genres, such as fantastic romances and techno-thrillers. The book next examines those science fiction writers who have successfully written in other literary forms, as well as authors active in other genres who have turned to science fiction to treat particular themes. Pierce also discusses the literary and stylistic aspects of science fiction. Throughout the book, Pierce's coverage is encyclopedic in nature. He provides examples from numerous works, and the volume closes with a detailed bibliography.
Puritan theology maintained the "men need to be terrified, so that they may be converted". Yet the fear of self-loss at the heart of religious conversion was, oddly enough, similar to the fear provoked by witchery and demonic possession. Thus terror entered American culture partly by way of religious sanction, and it continues to be an important social tool for the shaping of hearts and minds. This book defines the use of terror in the American popular imagination from its beginnings in Puritan sermonizing to its prominent place in contemporary genre film and fiction.
Ramsey Campbell is one of the world2s leading writers of supernatural stories, although he has received far less attention than other practitioners of the genre. Joshi focuses in a thematic rather than chronological approach on the whole of Campbell2s rich and varied work, from his early tales to the powerfully innovative stories collected in Demons by Daylight. The Doll Who Ate His Mother (1975) to Silent Children (1999) are also examined in detail. Throughout this book, the author places Campbell2s oeuvre within the context of contemporary horror literature.