Luckhurst, Roger (2009) Introduction. In: Luckhurst, Roger (ed.) The Classic Horror Stories (H.P. Lovecraft). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199639571.
Abstract
Book synopsis: A new selection of Lovecraft's core 'classic' fictions, bringing together in one volume his most representative and influential tales. The first collection to provide a full contextual introduction which explores the meaning of 'weird fiction' and offers a balanced assessment of the place of the author in relation to the Gothic tradition and American fiction in the 1920s and 1930s. Includes an extract from Lovecraft's important critical essay, 'Supernatural Horror in Literature'. Includes a chronology, bibliography, and notes to provide additional contextual interest. Lovecraft's influence extends from Jorge Luis Borges to Stephen King, the films of the Alien series and the fantasy cinema of Guillermo del Toro. 'Loathsomeness waits and dreams in the deep, and decay spreads over the tottering cities of men. A time will come - but I must not and cannot think!' H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a reclusive scribbler of horror stories for the American pulp magazines that specialized in Gothic and science fiction in the interwar years. He often published in Weird Tales and has since become the key figure in the slippery genre of 'weird fiction'. Lovecraft developed an extraordinary vision of feeble men driven to the edge of sanity by glimpses of malign beings that have survived from human prehistory or by malevolent extra-terrestrial visitations. The ornate language of his stories builds towards grotesque moments of revelation, quite unlike any other writer. This new selection brings together nine of his classic tales, focusing on the 'Cthulhu Mythos', a cycle of stories that develops the mythology of the Old Ones, the monstrous creatures who predate human life on earth. It includes the Introduction from Lovecraft's critical essay, 'Supernatural Horror in Literature', in which he gave his own important definition of 'weird fiction'. In a fascinating contextual introduction, Roger Luckhurst gives Lovecraft the attention he deserves as a writer who used pulp fiction to explore a remarkable philosophy that shockingly dethrones the mastery of man.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication |
| Research Centres and Institutes: | Contemporary Literature, Centre for |
| Depositing User: | Sarah Hall |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Mar 2014 17:26 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Aug 2023 12:34 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/9333 |
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