New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft

A reader asked for more information about my next book, coming from Liveright in October. In a perfect world, I would have liked to annotate all of Lovecraft’s stories, numbering about 85. However, this would have made the work almost 2,000 pages and put it into a different price category. As a result, we decided to limit the collection to 22 stories, the key stories in what might be referred to as Lovecraft’s “Arkham cycle.” I was sorry to omit “The Shunned House,” “The Outsider,” “Dream-Quest of Unknown Kaddath,” and a few other fascinating pieces, but what remains is the core of the Cthulhu material. Here’s the Table of Contents:

Introduction by Alan Moore
Foreword
Editor’s Note

Selected Fiction
Dagon
The Statement of Randolph Carter
Beyond the Wall of Sleep
Nyarlathotep
The Picture in the House
Herbert West: Reanimator
The Nameless City
The Hound
The Festival
The Unnamable
The Call of Cthulhu
The Silver Key
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
The Colour Out of Space
The Dunwich Horror
The Whisperer in Darkness
At the Mountains of Madness
The Shadow over Innsmouth
The Dreams in the Witch House
The Thing on the Doorstep
The Shadow Out of Time
The Haunter of the Dark

Additional Material
Appendix 1: Chronological Table
Appendix 2: Faculty of Miskatonic University
Appendix 3: History of the Necronomicon
Appendix 4: Genealogy of the Elder Races
Appendix 5: The Fiction of H. P. Lovecraft (a table)
Appendix 6: The “Revisions” of H. P. Lovecraft (a table)
Appendix 7: H. P. Lovecraft in Popular Culture
Bibliography (selected)

There are over 900 notes and hundreds of photographs, drawings, maps, and illustrations. It’s still almost 380,000 words (that is, I’ve added about 90,000 words to the original text), but there’s so much to say!

8 Comments

  1. Wilum Pugmire on February 22, 2014 at 9:53 am

    One can wail about the stories not included–although the only serious omission is, I wou’d say, “The Rats in the Walls”–but certainly one can rejoice in what the book has to offer in way of design, illustrations, and your new annotations. I have a special place reserved for my copy–although I may actually have to buy two copies so that I can keep one on my bedside stand. I can’t wait to hold it, read it, and promote it on my YouTube channel! Ia!!

  2. William E. Hart on April 21, 2014 at 11:30 am

    Dear Leslie,

    For reasons you know better than anyone, I’m looking forward to the release of this book as the Lovecraftian highlight of the year!

    And I am extremely jealous that Wilum H. Pugmire will see a galley of the volume before I will! But happy for him too…

    If there is anything related to the volume that you can share with me before its actual publication, you would make my day by sending an email message my way.

    I’ve kept very quiet while waiting to see what images you might have decided to include in your book; but the suspense is intense as we get closer to your actual publication date.

    I wish you well, and hope you haven’t mistaken my long silence for anything other than trying to not disturb your work!

    Your “Old One” Friend in Fullerton,

    Will Hart

  3. Wilum Hopfrog Pugmire, Esq. on May 21, 2014 at 6:03 pm

    I’m going to S. T.’s big Memorial Day Cook-Out on Sunday, & he is going to loan me his copy of ye galley; so I’ll be able to examine it & shew it in detail on a promotional vlog on YouTube, which I will then post to my blog and Facebook. Really looking forward to diving into this tome!!!

  4. Duane Stockton on July 16, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    I am dying to read this! How does one get a advanced readers copy? I manage a book store chain in northern California and as a smaller idependent company we don’t get arc’s very often. I even tried contacting Norton. I will review and sell this like crazy here. All the best! May the stars be right with you Leslie.

  5. R.A. Stewart on August 19, 2014 at 3:14 pm

    I just heard from a colleague that this eldritch entity is about to rise from the deeps to engulf the world in chaos and madness. This makes me happy. Iä!

  6. Terrence Young on October 6, 2014 at 2:20 pm

    Mr. Klinger, it has been my pleasure to own the Newly Annotated H.P. Lovecraft. It is an erudite work and provides insights into Lovecraft’s work and life. I look forward to listening to your reading of it in at Chicago’s Sulze Library on the 18th.

  7. สอนพิเศษตามบ้าน on January 14, 2016 at 12:27 pm

    Superb blog! Do you have any tips and hints for aspiring writers?
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