Lord of a Visible World — 2001 ·

An Autobiography in Letters

By H. P. Lovecraft
Edited by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz

In Lord of a Visible World, the editors have amassed and arranged the letters of this prolific writer into the story of his life. The volume traces Lovecraft's upbringing in Providence, Rhode Island, his involvement with the pulp magazine Weird Tales, his short-lived marriage, and his later status as the preeminent man of letters in his field.

In addition to conveying the candid details of his life, the volume also traces the evolution of his wide-ranging opinions. Lovecraft shows himself to be deeply engaged in the social, political, and cultural milieu of his time.

The editors, two of the leading Lovecraft scholars, have meticulously edited the text, transcribing the letters from manuscript sources and supplying explanatory annotations throughout. Lord of a Visible World is of interest to both the general reader and the scholar, presenting for the first time a well-rounded portrait, in his own words, of a writer whose work has fascinated millions of readers.

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H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) has achieved renown as the leading author of supernatural fiction in the twentieth century. His novels have been translated into a dozen languages, and his work has inspired many contemporary authors in the fields of horror and science fiction, including Stephen King, Peter Straub, Ramsey Campbell, and Philip K. Dick.

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S. T. Joshi, who lives in upstate New York, is the author and editor of many books, including H. L. Mencken on American Literature (Ohio, 2002), Mencken’s America (Ohio, 2004), and Closing Arguments: Clarence Darrow on Law, Society, and Religion (Swallow Press).

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David E. Schultz is a technical editor for an environmental engineering firm in Milwaukee and has prepared several editions of works by Lovecraft and Ambrose Bierce.