1. H.P. Lovecraft
(August 20 1890 – March 15 1937)
Early Life
Howard 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 19th 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 Science
Lovecraft 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:
• 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.
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2. Death of Grandfather and Loss of the Family
Home
When 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 Story
Lovecraft 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 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 Wife
In 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
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3. 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 Years
After 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 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.
Legacy
Lovecraft 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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4. Stories and Release Date
Story name Year released
Dagon, A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson, Sweet Ermengarde, The Tomb 1917
The Mystery of Murdon Grange, Polaris 1918
Beyond 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 1920
Family,
The Moon-Bog, The Music of Erich Zann, The Nameless City 1921
Azathoth, The Hound, Hypnos, 1922
The Festival, The Rats in the Walls, The Unnamable 1923
The Shunned House 1924
He, The Horror at Red Hook, In the Vault 1925
The Call of Cthulhu, Cool Air, The Descendant 1926
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Colour out of Space 1927
The Dunwich Horror, Ibid 1928
The Whisperer in Darkness 1930
At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth 1931
The Dreams in the Witch House 1932
The Book, The Evil Clergyman, The Thing on the Doorstep 1933
The Haunter of the Dark, The Shadow Out of Time 1935
Family tree
Name Spouse Year of Year of Relation to Howard Philips
Birth/death spouse lovecraft
Birth/deat
h
Sonia Haft
Howard Philips
Greene 1890/1937 1883/1972
Lovecraft
(divorce 1929)
Winfield Scott Sarah Susan
1853/1898 1857/1921 Father/mother
Lovecraft Phillips
Mary Louise
Paul Mellon 1855/1916 1863/1910 Aunt/Uncle (fathers side)
Lovecraft
Lillian D. Franklin Chase
1856/1932 1847/1915 Aunt/Uncle (mothers side)
Phillips Clark
Wipple Van Roby Alzada Grandfather/grandmother (mothers
1833/1904 1827/1896
Buren Phillips Place side)
George Grandfather/grandmother (fathers
Helen Allgood 1814/1895 1820/1881
Lovecraft side)
Jeremiah Great grandfather/great grandmother
Roby Rathbun 1800/1848 1797/1848
Phillips (mothers side)
Joseph S. Great grandfather/great grandmother
Mary Full 1775/1850 1782/1864
Lovecraft (fathers side)
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5. 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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