H.P. Lovecraft

(August 20 1890 – March 15 1937)

Early LifeHoward Phillips Lovecraft (hereafter referred to simply as Lovecraft) was born on the 20th of August 1890. He was born at his family home in Rhode Island to Sarah Susan Phillips Lovecraft and Winfield Scott Lovecraft. His father died on July 19 th

1898 after a nervous breakdown and illness. After his father’s death, Lovecraft was cared for by his mother, his two aunts and grandfather Whipple Van Buren Philips.

Lovecraft was able to recite poetry by the age of two, read by three and had started writing his own poetry by six. Lovecraft’s grandfather would also provide him with books and stories to read, one of which was Arabian Nights which became a favourite of Lovecraft’s (it is likely that he created the pseudonym Abdul Alhazred from this book; he was later adapted into a character in Lovecraft’s stories as the writer of the Necronomicon).

His interest in the Arabian Nights was relatively short lived however, as just over a year later Lovecraft was introduced to Greek mythology. This, along with Lovecraft’s discovery of weird fiction, led to his first story The Noble Eavesdropper, which may date as early as 1896.

Education and Discovery of ScienceLovecraft was often ill (some of this may have been psychological) during childhood and missed a lot of school; however he learned much from home schooling.

When Lovecraft was as young as 8 years old he enjoyed writing about science in home-made magazines to share with friends

When he attended Hope Street High School he found long-lasting friendship and encouragement from his teachers.

Lovecraft soon made his first appearance in print by writing:

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1906 - a letter on astronomical matter to the Providence Sunday Journal.

1906 onwards - regular articles for the Pawtuxet Valley Gleaner (a rural paper).

1906 – 08 - articles for the Providence Tribune.

1914 – 18 - the Providence Evening News.

Death of Grandfather and Loss of the Family HomeWhen Lovecraft’s grandfather died in 1904, Lovecraft and his mother were forced to move into a smaller house at 598 Angell Street due to financial difficulties. -.

Coming to terms with the loss of both, his grandfather and his home, was difficult for Lovecraft and he supposedly contemplated suicide, whilst going through depression where he took long bike rides and would stare into the depths of the Barrington River. His depression was lifted however by his thrill for learning and writing.

Sadly, in 1908, Lovecraft suffered a nervous breakdown which meant he left school without a diploma. He then failed to get into Brown University, which resulted in great shame for Lovecraft later in his life. This was in spite of the fact that he was the most successfully self taught person of his time.

From 1908 until 1913 Lovecraft was a virtual hermit; during which time he did little besides pursue his hobbies of astronomy and poetry writing. He was forming an unhealthily close relationship with his mother who, still suffering from the trauma of her husband’s death, developed a sort of love-hate relationship with her son.

Return to Normal Life and First Published StoryLovecraft returned to his former self when incensed by the insipid love stories concerning a man named Fred Jackson in the pulp magazine The Argosy. He wrote a letter of complaint in verse attacking Jackson which was published in 1913 and evoked a storm of protest from Jackson’s defenders. Lovecraft engaged in a heated debate in the letters column of The Argosy and its associated magazines.

The style of Lovecraft’s writing in these letters caught the eye of Edward F. Daas, President of the United Amateur Press Association (UAPA) - a group of amateur writers from around the country who wrote and published their own magazines. Daas invited Lovecraft to join the UAPA in 1914 and he subsequently published 13 issues of his own paper The Conservative (1915-23) in addition to contributing poetry and essays to other journals.

Lovecraft later became president and official editor of the UAPA and for a short time served as president of the rival magazine the National Amateur Press Association (NAPA). This whole experience is likely what saved Lovecraft from a life of unproductive reclusiveness.

In 1917 Lovecraft decided to return his hand to writing fiction and proceeded to release The Tomb and Dagon in quick succession. Lovecraft continued to write fiction until 1922, although poetry and essays were still his preferred forms of

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writing. Lovecraft’s communication with an ever-increasing network of friends and acquaintances; led him to become one of the greatest letter-writers of the century.

Mother’s Death and Meeting his WifeIn 1919 Lovecraft’s mother suffered a nervous breakdown, together with deteriorating physical health (much like her husband), and died after a failed gall bladder operation on the 24th of May, 1921.

This latest death hit Lovecraft especially hard; however, by early July he had recovered enough to attend a Boston amateur journalism convention. It was here that he met Sonia Haft Greene, a Russian Jew, who despite being seven years older than him would eventually become Lovecraft’s wife in 1924.

Lovecraft moved in with Sonia and initial prospects seemed good with Lovecraft having gained a foothold in the writing industry and Sonia owning a hat store in New York. These good times were relatively short due to the bankruptcy of the hat shop and Lovecraft’s refusal to become editor of a magazine as it required him moving to Chicago.

Sonia spent some time in a sanatorium due to ill health and Lovecraft found it hard to find work. In 1925 Sonia went to Cleveland to find work and Lovecraft moved into a single apartment in Brooklyn. Whilst there he became depressed from the isolation and became nostalgic for his hometown of Providence, which was also the location of his story The Shunned House.

In early 1926, Lovecraft began to make plans to move back to Providence but, despite still professing affection for Sonia, Lovecraft had no secure place for her in his plans. His Aunts also were not keen for Sonia to join him in Providence and the marriage was rendered all but over. They were divorced in 1929.

Return to Providence and Last 10 YearsAfter his return to Providence, Lovecraft spent his last 10 years writing what would become some of his greatest works. These included The Call of Cthulhu (the start of the famous Cthulhu Mythos) and At the Mountains of Madness.

After some time spent travelling, Lovecraft settled down in New England where he found his niche as a writer of weird fiction, thereby nurturing the careers of many young writers.

Lovecraft soon became concerned with political and economical issues and during the Great Depression, supporting Roosevelt. He became a moderate socialist who continued to absorb information on a wide variety of subjects, from philosophy to architecture.

The last few years of his life were filled with hardship – suffering the loss of both his aunts between 1932 and 1933. His later stories became difficult to sell due to their length and complexity; Lovecraft was forced to resort to ghost writing to support himself. In 1936 the suicide of Robert E. Howard (one of Lovecraft’s closest correspondents) left him confused and saddened. By this time Lovecraft was suffering from intestinal cancer which, due to its late stage, could not be

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treated. Lovecraft tried to carry on through the increasing pain during the winter of 1936-37 but was finally compelled to enter Jane Brown Memorial Hospital on the 10th of March 1937. Just 5 days later he died here; he was buried on the 18 th

March at the family plot in Swan Point Cemetery.

LegacyLovecraft died without ever having published a real book; his various stories and poems scattered in a bewildering number of magazines (both amateur and pulp).

Despite this, the friends he had forged merely by correspondence, held him in good stead. August Derleth and Donald Wandrei founded the printing company Arkham House with the purpose of publishing Lovecraft’s stories in books - wishing to bind Lovecraft’s stories in the dignity of a hardcover book. The Outsider and Others (1939) was the first of many volumes released by Arkham House, and Lovecraft’s stories would eventually become available in paperback and also in a variety of languages.

Nowadays, at the centennial of his birth, his stories are available in textually corrected additions. Although it’s only small, Howard Phillip Lovecraft has gained a definite place in the canon of American and world literature.

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Stories and Release Date

Story name Year releasedDagon, A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson, Sweet Ermengarde, The Tomb

1917

The Mystery of Murdon Grange, Polaris 1918Beyond the Wall of Sleep, The Doom That Came to Sarnath, Memory,

1919

The Cats of Ulthar, Celephaïs, Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family,

1920

The Moon-Bog, The Music of Erich Zann, The Nameless City 1921Azathoth, The Hound, Hypnos, 1922The Festival, The Rats in the Walls, The Unnamable 1923The Shunned House 1924He, The Horror at Red Hook, In the Vault 1925The Call of Cthulhu, Cool Air, The Descendant 1926The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Colour out of Space 1927

The Dunwich Horror, Ibid 1928The Whisperer in Darkness 1930At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth 1931The Dreams in the Witch House 1932The Book, The Evil Clergyman, The Thing on the Doorstep 1933The Haunter of the Dark, The Shadow Out of Time 1935

Family tree

Name Spouse Year of Birth/death

Year of spouse Birth/death

Relation to Howard Philips lovecraft

Howard Philips

Lovecraft

Sonia Haft Greene (divorce 1929)

1890/19371883/197

2

Winfield Scott

Lovecraft

Sarah Susan Phillips

1853/18981857/192

1Father/mother

Mary Louise Lovecraft

Paul Mellon 1855/19161863/191

0Aunt/Uncle (fathers side)

Lillian D. Phillips

Franklin Chase Clark

1856/19321847/191

5Aunt/Uncle (mothers side)

Wipple Van Buren Phillips

Roby Alzada Place

1833/19041827/189

6Grandfather/grandmother

(mothers side)

George Lovecraft

Helen Allgood

1814/18951820/188

1Grandfather/grandmother

(fathers side)

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Jeremiah Phillips

Roby Rathbun

1800/18481797/184

8Great grandfather/great

grandmother (mothers side)

Joseph S. Lovecraft

Mary Full 1775/18501782/186

4Great grandfather/great

grandmother (fathers side)

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REFERENCES

The information in the above table was taken from Wikipedia and can be found HERE. The rest of the information the table containing his family tree and the picture were found at the H.P. Lovecraft Archive click HERE, HERE and HERE respectively (permission granted by the site administrator via e-mail)

To all who have read this ‘Thank you’ and I hope you enjoyed

Information on and picture of Lovecraft:

http://www.hplovecraft.com/life/biograph.asp

http://www.hplovecraft.com

http://www.hplovecraft.com/life/family.asp

List of his stories:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._P._Lovecraft_bibliography

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