Lovecraft's Book

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.

Lovecraft's Book

Dust-jacket illustration by Jeffrey K. Potter.
Author	Richard A. Lupoff
Cover artist	Jeffrey K. Potter
Language	English
Genre	Historical novel
Publisher	Arkham House
Publication date	1985
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Pages	ix, 260
ISBN	978-0-87054-151-3
OCLC	11370960
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 19
LC Class	PS3562.U6 L68 1985

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

• Jaffery, Sheldon (1989). The Arkham House Companion. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, Inc. p. 137. ISBN 1-55742-005-X.
• Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. p. 55.
• Joshi, S.T. (1999). Sixty Years of Arkham House: A History and Bibliography. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. p. 153. ISBN 0-87054-176-5.
• Nielsen, Leon (2004). Arkham House Books: A Collector's Guide. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 131. ISBN 0-7864-1785-4.