Lovecraft's Book Explained

Lovecraft's Book
Author:Richard A. Lupoff
Cover Artist:Jeffrey K. Potter
Country:United States
Language:English
Genre:Historical novel
Publisher:Arkham House
Release Date:1985
Media Type:Print (Hardback)
Pages:ix, 260
Isbn:978-0-87054-151-3
Dewey:813/.54 19
Congress:PS3562.U6 L68 1985
Oclc:11370960

Lovecraft's Book is a historical novel by American author Richard A. Lupoff. It was released in 1985 by Arkham House in an edition of 3,544 copies. It was the author's first book published by Arkham House.

Originally a 160,000-word manuscript, the published novel was a shorter popular re-write destined originally for mainstream publisher Putnam. When Putnam demanded even more re-writes, the Putnam version was sold to Arkham House and became Lovecraft's Book. The original 160,000-word manuscript was lost, but a carbon-copy was found in 2000 and the full original novel was published unabridged as Marblehead: A Novel of H. P. Lovecraft (2006).

Plot summary

The story concerns an offer made to the unworldly fantasist and ghost-writer H. P. Lovecraft by the canny fascist sympathizer, George Sylvester Viereck. Lovecraft is hired to write a political tract in the nature of an American Mein Kampf. In return, Viereck promises to arrange for the publication of a volume of Lovecraft's stories.

Sources

. Sheldon Jaffery . The Arkham House Companion . Mercer Island, WA . Starmont House, Inc.. 137 . 1989 . 1-55742-005-X.

. Jack L. Chalker . Mark Owings . The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998 . Westminster, MD and Baltimore . Mirage Press, Ltd.. 55 . 1998.

. S.T. Joshi . Sixty Years of Arkham House: A History and Bibliography . Sauk City, WI . Arkham House. 153 . 1999 . 0-87054-176-5.