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H.P. Lovecraft was the inventor of cosmic horror, of weird fiction
and the Cthulhu mythology. His stories, incubated by a lonely and
febrile childhood, found purchase in the fertile earth of pulp
fiction where he inspired many other writers, from Robert E.
Howard, to Robert Bloch and Clark Ashton Smith, many of whom also
collaborated on the several short stories, some of which are also
included here, in this special deluxe edition. This title,
alongside H.G. Wells Short Stories, is a companion volume to our
hugely successful Gothic Fantasy series of classic and modern
writers.
The leading critic of supernatural literature here examines the roots of the "weird tale" (as Lovecraft called it) through detailed examinations of five "founding fathers" of the genre: Arthur Machen, Lord Dunsany, Algernon Blackwood, M.R. James, and H.P. Lovecraft. The result is a thorough study of the art, craft, philosophy, and aesthetics of an enduring genre of fantastic literature.
While Howard Phillips Lovecraft was closing the final chapter of
his writing career, Fritz Reuter Leiber was only beginning to open
his own. The year was 1936 and Jonquil Leiber, Fritz's first wife,
sent a letter on her own initiative to Lovecraft, knowing that her
husband had been an avid admirer of his work, ever since his first
reading of "The Colour out of Space" and hoping that Lovecraft's
presence in Fritz's slow-paced writing career might be the source
of inspiration he so dearly needed. Lovecraft replied promptly on
November 2 of that year, the seed of an invigorating
correspondence, which lasted till Lovecraft's passing. Fritz Leiber
and H.P. Lovecraft: Writers of the Dark presents Lovecraft's
letters to Leiber, an impressive selection of Leiber's fiction
which shows Lovecraft's influence, and a selection of Leiber's
essays on Lovecraft and Matters Lovecraftian. Features an
introduction by Ben J. S. Szumskyj and an afterword by S.T. Joshi.
"The dreams were wholly beyond the pale of sanity . . . " Plagued
by insane nightmare visions, Walter Gilman seeks help in Miskatonic
University's infamous library of forbidden books, where, in the
pages of Abdul Alhazred's dreaded Necronomicon, he finds terrible
hints that seem to connect his own studies in advanced mathematics
with the fantastic legends of elder magic. The Dreams in the Witch
House, gathered together here with more than twenty other tales of
terror, exemplifies H. P. Lovecraft's primacy among
twentieth-century American horror writers. This volume is a
companion to the other two Penguin Classics edition of Lovecraft's
work: The Call of the Cthulhu and The Thing on the Doorstep. This
original collection presents the definitive texts of the work,
including a newly restored text of "The Shadow out of time" along
with S. T. Joshi's invaluable introduction and notes. For more than
seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic
literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700
titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best
works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers
trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by
introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary
authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning
translators.
Throughout his career as a literary critic, H. L. Mencken was
intent on elevating the bold, the daring, and the innovative over
the hackneyed, the trite, and the superficial, and his drama
criticism exhibits this tendency to the fullest. Though known
primarily as a newspaperman and commentator, Mencken also wrote
several one-act plays, as well as a full-length work. In The
Collected Drama of H. L. Mencken: Plays and Criticism, S. T. Joshi
has assembled for the first time Mencken s dramatic works,
comprising six one-act plays and the lengthy three-act play
Heliogabalus. These plays, which have never been reprinted since
their original appearances in newspapers or in Mencken s early
volume A Book of Burlesques (1916), exhibit Mencken s penchant for
satire and ridicule. Several of the plays, such as In the Vestry
Room and The Wedding: A Stage Direction, display Mencken s
oft-expressed cynicism about the institution of marriage. Another
related play is Asepsis, a satire on exaggerated concerns about
sexual health in young married couples. Other plays take aim at the
cultural deficiencies of the common people, such as Death: A
Philosophical Discussion, which relays the hackneyed reactions of a
group of mourners over the death of a friend. Mencken s most
significant play by far is Heliogabalus, a play he co-wrote with
his frequent collaborator, George Jean Nathan, in which Mencken
expresses his scorn of the Christian religion. The second half of
this book features a selection of Mencken s early writings (1905
17) on drama, most of which have never been reprinted. Various
essays on Shakespeare, Shaw, Synge, Strindberg, Ibsen, and others
exhibit Mencken s keenness as a literary critic and his
understanding of the aesthetic possibilities of the drama. With an
introduction by the editor who provides an overview of Mencken s
work as a dramatist and drama critic, this collection will be of
interest to amateur and even professional drama companies, theatre
historians, and of course, anyone interested in the writings of
Mencken.
In this little-known work by Voltaire (1694-1778)--now available in
English for the first time-- the famous French philosophe and
satirist presents a wide-ranging and acerbic survey of religion
throughout the world. Written toward the end of his life in 1769,
the work was penned in the same decade as some of his more famous
works--the Philosophical Dictionary, Questions on Miracles, and
Lord Bolingbroke's Important Examination--all of which questioned
the basic tenets of Christianity. Voltaire called himself a deist
and thus he professed belief in a supreme deity. But he was always
sharply critical of institutional Christianity, especially its
superstitions, the hypocrisy of its clergy, and its abuse of
political power. Both his deism and his critical attitude toward
Christianity are manifest in God and Human Beings, which is, in
effect, one of the first works of comparative religion. Comparing
Christianity to the more ancient belief systems of the Jews,
Hindus, Chinese, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Babylonians,
Phoenicians, and Arabs, he notes a common tendency to worship one
supreme god, despite the host of subordinate deities in many of
these religions. He also critiques the many superstitions and
slavish rituals in religion generally, but he emphasizes that in
this respect Christianity is no better than other faiths. Thus, the
clergy's claim that Christianity is God's supreme revelation to
humanity has no basis from an objective perspective. This first
English translation of a classic critique of religion includes an
introduction by writer, scholar, and editor S. T. Joshi, who wrote
the article on Voltaire in The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief (edited
by Tom Flynn). Anticipating many of the themes of the later Higher
Criticism and rationalist critiques of religion, this incisive,
witty treatise by the great French skeptic will be a welcome
addition to the libraries of anyone with an interest in the
philosophy of religion, intellectual history, or the Enlightenment.
Agnosticism - the philosophical argument that it is impossible to
know whether God exists or not - has been the point of view of many
distinguished thinkers from the 19th century to the present. In
contrast to atheism, which asserts that God does not exist,
agnosticism holds that reason and the best scientific evidence do
not allow one to reach a decisive conclusion regarding the
existence of God. This reader prints selections of some of the most
profound and pioneering discussions of agnosticism over the past
two centuries. Beginning with early formulations of the agnostic
perspective by Thomas Henry Huxley (who coined the term), Bertrand
Russell, and others, editor S. T. Joshi shows how agnosticism
received a strong boost in the later 19th century from the
so-called higher criticism of the Bible. Selections from Edward
Burnett Tylor, Arthur Schopenhauer, Robert G. Ingersoll, and Edward
Westermarck made a strong case that religion was a natural product
of primitive development and that the Bible was the product of an
age of scientific ignorance and superstition. By the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, Christianity in Europe was in a state of
decline among the intellectual classes. The writings of W. E. H.
Leckey, Leslie Stephen, and Walter Lippmann show that leading
commentators were openly pondering a European society in which
Christianity was a thing of the past. The increasing success of the
natural sciences during this same time period supported the
agnostic viewpoint by accounting for phenomena on a natural, rather
than a supernatural, basis. Selections from John William Draper,
Albert Einstein, Isaac Asimov, and others demonstrate the
scientific respectability of agnosticism. Finally, selections from
such thinkers as Frederic Harrison, H. L. Mencken, and Corliss
Lamont emphasise how living with agnosticism can be intellectually
and morally satisfying, even exhilarating. Overall, "The Agnostic
Reader" shows how agnosticism can provide a framework for living
with courage and dignity.
From the publication of his first book in 1905 until his death,
Lord Dunsany (1878-1957) was an immensely popular Anglo-Irish
writer. He has long been admired in the realms of fantasy, horror,
and supernatural fiction and was a friend and colleague of writers
W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, James Stephens, and Oliver St. John
Gogarty. In recent years he has enjoyed a resurgence as a
pioneering fantasy writer and an immense influence on later work in
the genre. Critical Essays on Lord Dunsany is the first volume to
assemble studies of Dunsany's short fiction, novels, plays, and
memoirs, as well as discussions of his influence on such writers as
J. R. R. Tolkien and H. P. Lovecraft. The book also contains early
articles and reviews by Yeats, Lovecraft, H. L. Mencken, Rebecca
West, and Arthur C. Clarke. Seven original essays by leading
contemporary scholars on Dunsany examine the use of medieval
archetypes in his fantasy novels; the distinctiveness of his
recurring character, clubman Joseph Jorkens; the influence of Don
Quixote on his first novel, The Chronicles of Rodriguez (1922); the
treatment of religion in his later novels; and other subjects. This
anthology presents a comprehensive snapshot of Dunsany's
distinctive work and his contribution to fantasy fiction and world
literature. Making a case for the continued study of this neglected
but hugely influential writer, Critical Essays on Lord Dunsany will
be of great interest to enthusiasts of Dunsany's work as well as
students and scholars of fantasy, horror, the supernatural, and
Irish literature.
Baltimore native Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) was an essayist,
literary critic, magazine editor, novelist, and journalist.
Starting as a reporter for the Baltimore Morning Herald at the turn
of the century, Mencken eventually became associated with the
Baltimore Sun and his work for the newspaper spanned five decades.
In H.L. Mencken: An Annotated Bibliography, S.T. Joshi provides the
most exhaustive and comprehensive bibliography of the writings of
H. L. Mencken ever assembled. It presents detailed information on
his book publications from 1903 to the present, with a full list of
editions and reprints. Most significantly, it presents for the
first time a comprehensive annotated listing of his magazine and
newspaper work (including more than 1,500 anonymous editorials for
the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Evening Sun, and other papers, which
have never been listed in any previous bibliographies), a thorough
index to his book reviews, and a full list of interviews Mencken
gave during his lifetime. Word counts of nearly every item in the
bibliography have been supplied, and the book has been thoroughly
indexed by name, title, and periodical. Because every item has been
annotated, scholars and students can, for the first time, gain an
idea of the subject-matter of all Mencken's writings, especially
his magazine and newspaper work. The indexes will allow users to
locate any given item with ease. The chronological arrangement of
each section allows users to understand the growth and development
of Mencken's work, making this volume an invaluable resource.
H.P. Lovecraft, one of the twentieth century's most important
writers in the genre of horror fiction, famously referred to Edgar
Allan Poe as both his "model" and his "God of Fiction." While
scholars and readers of Poe's and Lovecraft's work have long
recognized the connection between these authors, this collection of
essays is the first in-depth study to explore the complex literary
relationship between Lovecraft and Poe from a variety of critical
perspectives. Of the thirteen essays included in this book, some
consider how Poe's work influenced Lovecraft in important ways.
Other essays explore how Lovecraft's fictional, critical, and
poetic reception of Poe irrevocably changed how Poe's work has been
understood by subsequent generations of readers and interpreters.
Addressing a variety of topics ranging from the psychology of
influence to racial and sexual politics, the essays in this book
also consider how Lovecraft's interpretations of Poe have informed
later adaptations of both writers' works in films by Roger Corman
and fiction by Stephen King, Thomas Ligotti, and Caitlin R.
Kiernan. This collection is an indispensable resource not only for
those who are interested in Poe's and Lovecraft's work
specifically, but also for readers who wish to learn more about the
modern history and evolution of Gothic, horror, and weird fiction.
Sixteen stories inspired by the 20th century's great master of
horror, H.P. Lovecraft, and his acknowledged masterpiece, 'At the
Mountains of Madness', in which an expedition to the desolation of
Antarctica discovers evidence of an ancient ruin built by horrific
creatures at first thought long-dead, until death strikes the
group. All but two of the stories are original to this edition, and
those reprints are long-lost works by science fiction masters
Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Silverberg.
Part of the Penguin Orange Collection, a limited-run series of
twelve influential and beloved American classics in a bold series
design offering a modern take on the iconic Penguin paperback
Winner of the 2016 AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books | 50 Covers
competition For the seventieth anniversary of Penguin Classics, the
Penguin Orange Collection celebrates the heritage of Penguin's
iconic book design with twelve influential American literary
classics representing the breadth and diversity of the Penguin
Classics library. These collectible editions are dressed in the
iconic orange and white tri-band cover design, first created in
1935, while french flaps, high-quality paper, and striking cover
illustrations provide the cutting-edge design treatment that is the
signature of Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions today. The Call of
Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories Frequently imitated and widely
influential, Howard Phillips Lovecraft reinvented the horror genre
in the twentieth century, discarding ghosts and witches and instead
envisioning mankind as a tiny outpost of dwindling sanity in a
chaotic and malevolent universe. This definitive collection reveals
the development of Lovecraft's mesmerizing narrative style and
establishes him as a canonical-and visionary-American writer.
In the second volume of the crticially acclaimed Black Wings series, S.T. Joshi - the world's foremost Lovecraft scholar - has assembled eighteen more brand-new and imaginative horror tales, inspired by the greatest writer of the supernatural H.P. Lovecraft.
Leading contemporary horror authors, including John Shirley, Richard Gsin, Brian Evenson, Rick Dakan, Jason V. Brock, Rick Dakan, Jason C. Eckhardt, Brian Evenson, Tom Fletcher, Richard Gavin, Caitlín R. Kiernan, John Langan, Nick Mamatas, Nicholas Royle, Darrell Schweitzer, John Shirley, Melanie Tem, Steve Rasnic Tem, Jonathan Thomas, Donald Tyson, Don Webb, and Chet Williamson, will draw upon themes, images, and ideas from the life work of the master of the genre to deliver a rich feast of terror.
Since 1968, Republican presidents have occupied the White House far
longer than Democratic presidents, and recently Republicans have
controlled both houses of Congress as well. In spite of these
electoral triumphs, leading spokespersons on the right continue to
depict conservatives as an embattled minority. Lashing out at their
liberal opponents, sharp-tongued partisan advocates like Rush
Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Sean Hannity never tire of issuing
jeremiads against what they perceive as the inexorable tide of
liberal abuses that threatens to overwhelm the Republic.
But if Republicans have won the battle at the voting booths, why is
the right so angry?
As S. T. Joshi reveals in this incisive profile of twelve leading
conservatives, the rage at the heart of the right is fueled by a
gnawing sense that conservatives long ago lost the hearts and minds
of the American people. Since the F.D.R. administration,
conservatives have unsuccessfully opposed legislative and judicial
reforms that today are considered so mainstream as to be, well,
"conservative." In effect, yesterday's liberalism is today's
conservatism, and this has been the direction of social and
political change since the age of the Model T.
Examining the writings of such conservative icons as Russell Kirk,
William F. Buckley Jr, Phyllis Schlafly, and nine others, Joshi
uncovers statements that most people today would consider not just
radical but outrageous:
In the 1950s, Russell Kirk opposed Social Security because he said
it was "un-Christian."
In the same decade, William F. Buckley Jr. argued against the
desegregation of public schools on the grounds that it would be an
infringement of states' rights (an argument also used a century
earlier to defend slavery).
In the 1970s, Phyllis Schlafly declared that women's liberation is
a "disease" and a "homewrecker."
Knowing that these positions are today indefensible, conservative
spokespersons have little recourse but to engage in passionate
invective that attempts to portray their opponents as extremists.
Joshi characterizes the aggrieved lament of conservatives as the
last gasp of those who know their ideas will be confined to the
dustbin of history.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft's unique contribution to American literature was a melding of traditional supernaturalism (derived chiefly from Edgar Allan Poe) with the genre of science fiction that emerged in the early 1920s. This new Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics edition brings together a dozen of the master's tales-from his early short stories "Under the Pyramids" (originally ghostwritten for Harry Houdini) and "The Music of Erich Zann" (which Lovecraft ranked second among his own favorites) through his more fully developed works, "The Dunwich Horror," The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, and At the Mountains of Madness.
The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories presents the definitive corrected texts of these works, along with Lovecraft critic and biographer S. T. Joshi's illuminating introduction and notes to each story.
H.P. Lovecraft, one of the twentieth century's most important
writers in the genre of horror fiction, famously referred to Edgar
Allan Poe as both his "model" and his "God of Fiction." While
scholars and readers of Poe's and Lovecraft's work have long
recognized the connection between these authors, this collection of
essays is the first in-depth study to explore the complex literary
relationship between Lovecraft and Poe from a variety of critical
perspectives. Of the thirteen essays included in this book, some
consider how Poe's work influenced Lovecraft in important ways.
Other essays explore how Lovecraft's fictional, critical, and
poetic reception of Poe irrevocably changed how Poe's work has been
understood by subsequent generations of readers and interpreters.
Addressing a variety of topics ranging from the psychology of
influence to racial and sexual politics, the essays in this book
also consider how Lovecraft's interpretations of Poe have informed
later adaptations of both writers' works in films by Roger Corman
and fiction by Stephen King, Thomas Ligotti, and Caitlin R.
Kiernan. This collection is an indispensable resource not only for
those who are interested in Poe's and Lovecraft's work
specifically, but also for readers who wish to learn more about the
modern history and evolution of Gothic, horror, and weird fiction.
This is a critical study of many of the leading writers of horror
and supernatural fiction since World War II. The primary purpose is
to establish a canon of weird literature, and to distinguish the
genuinely meritorious writers of the past fifty years from those
who have obtained merely transient popular renown. Accordingly, the
author regards the complex, subtle work of Shirley Jackson, Ramsey
Campbell, Robert Aickman, T.E.D. Klein, and Thomas Ligotti as
considerably superior to the best-sellers of Stephen King, Clive
Barker, Peter Straub, and Anne Rice. Other writers such as William
Peter Blatty, Thomas Tryon, Robert Bloch, and Thomas Harris are
also discussed. Taken as a whole, the volume represents a
pioneering attempt to chart the development of weird fiction over
the past half-century.
Through his collaborations with today's most talented and acclaimed
practitioners of Lovecraftian fiction, editor S. T. Joshi has made
the Black Wings of Cthulhu series essential for every library of
horror and the macabre. Volume four offers up seventeen new
masterpieces, each exploring the roots of fear employed so famously
by the master himself, H. P. Lovecraft.Between these covers there
lies a who's who of the supernatural, including Fred Chappell,
Jason V Brock, Gary Fry, Richard Gavin, Cody Goodfellow, Lois H.
Gresh, Caitli n R. Kiernan, Charles Lovecraft, Will Murray, John
Pelan and Stephen Mark Rainey, W. H. Pugmire, Ann K. Schwader,
Darrell Schweitzer, Simon Strantzas, Melanie Tem, Jonathan Thomas,
Donald Tyson, and Stephen Woodworth.
From the depths of R'lyeh come twenty-one brand-new, utterly terrifying, and thoroughly entertaining short stories of horror and the macabre!
Taking their inspiration from works by Lovecraft himself, prominent writers such as Caitlin R. Kiernan, Brian Stableford, Ramsey Campbell, Michael Shea, Darrell Schweitzer, Donald R. Burleson, and David J. Schow delve deep into the psyche, expanding on concepts H.P. Lovecraft created and taking them in new directions.
The result is stories that are wholly original, some even featuring Lovecraft himself as a character. Black Wings editor S.T. Joshi is the recognized authority on all things Lovecraftian, and is famous for his restorations of Lovecraft's original works. He has assembled a star-studded line-up in a book that is essential for every horror library.
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