H.P. Lovecraft's Book of Horror

This anthology is an excellent find and read, given that it includes Lovecraft's essay on Supernatural Horror in Literature and then includes several of the stories that Lovecraft mentioned there. There were so many good stories that is was hard to pick a favorite one of the bunch, but "The Great God Pan" is probably the one that will stick with me the most. The only thing that keeps this from being a five star review is that there were not enough stories included in the anthology, I felt. Understandably, there is only room for so many, but Lovecraft mentioned some stories that sounded so very interesting that I was disappointed to not seem them in the following pages.

One of Lovecraft's great achievements, aside from his tales of cosmic horror, was his non-fiction essay "Supernatural Horror In Literature". Written between 1925 and 1927, then later revised in 1935, it surveys the roots of weird fiction, from its origins in the gothic novel, through great authors such as Dickens and Kipling who dallied in the supernatural genre from time to time, up through "modern" (meaning 1930's) masters such as M.R. James and Clark Ashton Smith. While the essay itself is readily available, including an excellent annotated edition, the older stories are harder to get ahold of. Many of them are obscure, rarely published, or part of several larger collections of that author's work, making it expensive to read the stories that inspired Lovecraft. This book, "H.P. Lovecraft's Book of Horror", collects both Lovecraft's original essay along with twenty one of the stories mentioned. The stories range from the famous, such as Poe's "Fall of the House of Usher", to the obscure, such as Bulwer-Lytton's "The House and the Brain". All of the stories are excellent, and any fan of weird fiction is going to find this a treasure trove. The stories collected are: Charles Dickens - The Signalman Edward Bulwer-Lytton - the House and the Brain Robert Louis Stevenson - The Body Snatcher Hanns Heinz Ewers - the Spider Theophile Gautier - The Foot of the Mummy Guy de Maupassant - The Horla Edgar Allan Poe - The Fall of the House of Usher Ambrose Bierce - The Damned Thing Marion Crawford - The Upper Berth Robert W. Chambers - The Yellow Sign Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman - The Shadows on the Wall Ralph Adams Cram - Fishhead Edwards Lucas White - Lukundoo Clark Ashton Smith - The Double Shadow Rudyard Kipling - The Mark of the Beast E. F. Benson - Negotium Perambulans Hugh Walpole - Mrs. Lunt William Hope Hodgson - The Hog Arthur Machen - the Great God Pan M. R. James - Count Magnus

first off, while this is a wonderful book it doesn't actually include any of lovecraft's fiction.highpoints:what you will find is a copy of lovecraft's highly informative essay "supernatural horror in literature". this essay traces the roots of weird fiction from its earliest known appearence up to the present (which would've been the early 1930's when this essay was completed). after you've got the basics of what weird fiction is and how it has evolved, you are treated to the fruits of the works mentioned in the essay. included are de maupassant's "the horla", bierce's "the damned thing", and machen's "great god pan".lowpoints:each story is introduced with a quote from "supernatural horror in literature" which though seemingly good, in some cases divulges the ending of the particular story. this is another thing that can be maddening about the essay. so, if you'd like to read the stories with an unadulterated perspective, i'd recommend reading them before reading the essay or the story's introduction. one minor quibble is that this version of "supernatural horror" doesn't have an index which is included in the dover edition.overall:this is a great collection of late 1800's to early-mid 1900's weird fiction. it includes a sampling of the bulk of the best. the few flaws that are present though rather glaring, do not hinder this from being a fabulous anthology.

first off, while this is a wonderful book it doesn't actually include any of lovecraft's fiction. highpoints:what you will find is a copy of lovecraft's highly informative essay "supernatural horror in literature". this essay traces the roots of weird fiction from its earliest known appearence up to the present (which would've been the early 1930's when this essay was completed). after you've got the basics of what weird fiction is and how it has evolved, you are treated to the fruits of the works mentioned in the essay. included are de maupassant's "the horla", bierce's "the damned thing", and machen's "great god pan". lowpoints:each story is introduced with a quote from "supernatural horror in literature" which though seemingly good, in some cases divulges the ending of the particular story. this is another thing that can be maddening about the essay. so, if you'd like to read the stories with an unadulterated perspective, i'd recommend reading them before reading the essay or the story's introduction. one minor quibble is that this version of "supernatural horror" doesn't have an index which is included in the dover edition. overall:this is a great collection of late 1800's to early-mid 1900's weird fiction. it includes a sampling of the bulk of the best. the few flaws that are present though rather glaring, do not hinder this from being a fabulous anthology.