Despite the cyber-machinations of Nyarlathotep and Yog-Sothoth, I’m back in the saddle. Below, you can peruse the review I intended to post on August 20th, Lovecraft’s birthday.

In his massive new book—Lovecraft: The Great Tales—John D. Haefele just might have written the best overview of H.P. Lovecraft--and the various Mythoi he engendered--thus far seen.

JDH is a life-long student of Lovecraft's fiction. Like Lovecraft before him, Haefele comes from the world of amateur press associations--'apa', for short. In this case, the preeminent Lovecraftian apa, The Esoteric Order of Dagon, which takes its moniker from a cult mentioned in HPL's 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth'. Haefele was an EoD member for almost two decades, rubbing shoulders with the likes of David Drake and S.T. Joshi.

Ah, S.T. Joshi. Shall we count the ways in which he has led Lovecraft scholarship astray these last forty-or-so years? I already did so in this post. It was Haefele that wrenched the Joshite veil from my eyes years ago. The entire Lovecraftian lens/paradigm that has been fashioned over the last four decades by Joshi and his Joshite minions is flawed. We have been led to believe that Lovecraft never, ever wanted to write for the pulps. We have been told that HPL--under no circumstances--wanted his Mythos, his 'artificial mythology', to be used by his fellow authors within the 'Lovecraft Circle'.

It's all 'verbal scat', as some might put it. In direct refutation of Joshi and his ilk, JDH provides quote after quote after quote from Lovecraft showing just how much HPL wanted his 'Yog-Sothothery' to spread. In other words, letting a thousand eldritch blossoms bloom, to paraphrase Chairman Mao. This sowing of Mythotic seeds, affirmed and encouraged by Lovecraft, is one reason the Man from Providence and the Cthulhu Mythos are so culturally ubiquitous today.

Joshi, with his fervent goal of somehow surgically separating Lovecraft from the pulp milieu that spawned him and from the Mythos the Old Gent purposefully created and propagated, has--by necessity--had to construct a caricature of Lovecraft. That caricature is at odds with reality and cannot long withstand diligent scrutiny. Joshi is on the wrong side of history.

Those of you who read my 'mini-review' of Lovecraft: The Great Tales a few months ago might recall me stating that "Haefele starts with 'Dagon' and doesn't stop until he's done with 'The Haunter of the Dark'." JDH, in fact, begins his look at Lovecraft's career with the poetry the Man from Providence was writing in 1916. Those poems examined themes that Lovecraft would explore and expand over the course of the next three decades.

One of the paramount facts Haefele highlights is that HPL was an avid reader of American pulps in general from around 1900 to 1920. HPL was especially fond of the Munsey pulps, whose flagship magazines were The Argosy and All-Story. Lovecraft's fan letters to those magazines appeared again and again between 1910 and 1915. His activities in that realm resulted in his involvement with 'amateur press' magazines, which in turn resulted in his first fiction being published.

The 1923 issue of Weird Tales in which HPL debuted with the publication of ‘Dagon’. — The 1923 issue of *Weird Tales* in which HPL debuted with the publication of ‘Dagon’.

All of that led to HPL appearing in the seventh issue of Weird Tales. J.C. Henneberger, the publisher, and Edwin Baird, the editor, were immediate fans of Lovecraft. He would sell numerous stories to Baird during the halcyon early days of 1924. Then, disaster struck. Henneberger and Baird were out and Farnsworth Wright was in. From then on, Lovecraft would have to fight for every story published...and he would often lose.

Farnsworth Wright has been lionized because of the stories he published. What gets left out are the classics he rejected while publishing substandard hackwork. The 'golden age' of Weird Tales mostly consisted of Wright publishing members of the 'Lovecraft Circle'--a circle that HPL assembled in the '20s and '30s. All the while, Wright kept turning down stories by Lovecraft, but simultaneously publishing 'revision' stories that HPL had ghost-written for clients. In addition, Wright would reprint Lovecraft's early WT tales which, legally, he could publish for free.

Haefele makes a very strong case that Wright's actions engendered HPL's growing antipathy toward the pulps, which led to a diminishing output from about 1928-on.

This is as good a place as any to point out that Lovecraft: The Great Tales functions quite well as a condensed history of Weird Tales and the Lovecraft Circle—and as a very readable biography of HPL. Haefele draws upon all of the extant literature and research, which can then be sought out by any interested reader who desires to inquire further.

One of the coolest features of Lovecraft: The Great Tales is that each chapter looks at a literary influence upon HPL when he first encountered it, along with the stories/poems that influence affected. The first chapter, 'God of Fiction', explores the seminal impact of Poe on Lovecraft. The sixteenth chapter is devoted to Robert E. Howard’s effect on HPL and does a good job of making up for the Joshite neglect of Two-Gun Bob. The eighteenth chapter, 'Borderland', examines the late--but substantial--effect of William Hope Hodgson on HPL.

Eighteen chapters?

Yeah. Nineteen, to be exact.

Haefele wasn't looking to get to first base with this Cyclopean tome. He swung for the Lovecraftian fences. This book looks at all of Lovecraft's fiction and poems written once he decided to become a writer. JDH makes a persuasive case for considering HPL's work in its entirety. Lovecraft's works are notable for their inclusivity, coherency and continuity. If you want to be told that 'The Dunwich Horror' really "isn't Lovecraftian", you'd best go read one of Joshi's cherry-picked and agenda-driven screeds.

Haefele's insights have already been lauded by scholars outside the Joshi Circle. The late Sam Gafford, one of the greatest William Hope Hodgson scholars, stated before his death that:

“I am inclined to agree that Lovecraft revised some of his concepts for ['The Shadow out of Time'] after reading Hodgson...a masterful case [by John D. Haefele]...”

A couple of weeks ago, the fantasy scholar, Douglas A. Anderson, had this to say about Lovecraft: The Great Tales...

"Haefele [in Lovecraft: The Great Tales] in turn works his way through Lovecraft's oeuvre, giving new ideas about influences and interpretations. This is all the more welcome as the Lovecraft field has been dominated for too long by a small number of critical voices."

'Dominated for too long'. Simple truth. We’re long past due for a changing of the guard.

Last December, Publishers Weekly posted this review of Haefele's landmark work:

"Haefele takes a deep dive into dozens of H.P. Lovecraft stories in this thorough, thought-provoking study. (...) He’s especially good at granular analysis of the influence of authors such as William Hope Hodgson and Algernon Blackwood on Lovecraft, including the intriguing idea that Lovecraft once considered creating a recurring psychic detective similar to Blackwood’s John Silence. Haefele’s interpretations are sure to spark debate among scholars of this influential author. Lovecraftians won’t want to miss this one."

Indeed.

Lovecraft as a young man, when he first began to pen his tales (and poems) of wonder and horror.

The PW review brings up the question: Who, exactly, is this book's target audience? Obviously, the 'Lovecraftians'--the hardcore HPL fans, like me, who have a scholarly bent. However, I also believe that this is a great book for those who have read some Lovecraft, liked what they read and are looking to read beyond that. Haefele does get into spoiler territory, but that is not front-loaded. Read the story in question and then read JDH's commentary/analysis.

Lovecraft--much like one of his idols, Arthur Machen--often layered subtexts into his later tales. Sometimes those can be missed upon first readings. Haefele does a great job of explicating those in his analyses. For those readers wanting to take a deeper, more informed dive into HPL's stories, JDH is there for you. I just wish I'd had something like this when I first started reading the Man from Providence.

More than anything else, Haefele's book shows just how much fun HPL had writing his stories and sharing them with his Circle. Lovecraft's tales were always--paradoxically--a labor of love. HPL was besotted with evoking awe and wonder and, yes, horror. He longed to share that with others. His efforts to do so were somewhat stymied by Farnsworth Wright, but the Circle of peers and admirers he drew in about him ensured that his vision would live on--and thrive--until the present day.

Lovecraft: The Great Tales can be purchased here.