By H.P. Lovecraft
Edited by S.T. Joshi & David E. Schultz

Back Cover Text

James Ferdinand Morton was one of H.P. Lovecraft’s most learned and accomplished correspondents: the recipient of a B.A. and M.A. from Harvard, Morton served as a leading figure in the Esperanto Association of North America, the Thomas Paine Natural History Association, and other organizations, and was a longtime curator of the Paterson (New Jersey) Museum. Lovecraft’s correspondence with Morton reveals the full range of his and Morton’s intellectual interests, ranging from freethought to socialism, from amateur journalism to crossword puzzles, from race relations to the rise of Mussolini and Hitler. Along the way, Lovecraft provides engaging accounts—many times written in piquant slang—of his travels across New England, his diet, and other details that bring the dreamer from Providence to life.

A sampling of Morton’s own writings complements the letters, and includes his substantial essay “Fragments of a Mental Autobiography.” The volume concludes with many fascinating memoirs of Morton by friends and colleagues, including E. Hoffmann Price, W. Paul Cook, and Morton’s wife Pearl K. Merritt.

Extensively annotated by leading Lovecraft scholars David E. Schultz and S. T. Joshi, this volume illuminates one of the great literary personalities of his time—and in his own words. The letters are presented in unabridged form and with detailed notes and commentary.

Contents

• Introduction (11 pages)
• Letters to James Ferdinand Morton (386 pages)
• Appendix (55 pages)
• Lovecraft and Morton
• “Conservatism’ Gone Mad
• The Isaacsonio-Mortoniad
• Save the Old Brick Row
• [Christmas Greetings to James F. Morton]
• Correspondence with William L. Bryant
• Writings by James F. Morton
• Fragments of a Mental Autobiography
• My Intellectual Evolution
• A Few Memories
• Writings about James F. Morton
• [James F. Morton in Who’s Who]
• Memorial of James F. Morton, O. Ivan Lee
• James Ferdinand Morton, Jr., Edward H. Cole
• Mortonius, E. Hoffmann Price
• Comments on Mr. Price’s Article, Pearl K. Morton
• Jim Morton, W. Paul Cook
• James Morton, Rheinhart Kleiner
• Glossary of Frequently Mentioned Names (7 pages)
• Bibliography (12 pages)
• Index (11 pages)

Reviews

• Innsmouth Free Press (Randy Stafford)

Bibliographic Information

H.P. Lovecraft: Letters to James F. Morton.. By H.P. Lovecraft, Edited by S.T. Joshi & David E. Schultz. New York, NY: Hippocampus Press; 2011; ISBN 978-0-9844802-3-4; softcover, 494 pages.

Purchasing This Book

This book may be purchased in softcover from Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble or directly from the publisher, Hippocampus Press.