Category Archives: Arkham House

Derleth

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Today, as I’m writing this, is February 24. It’s the brithday of August Derleth (1909-1971).

Derleth, along with Donald Wandrei, founded the small press Arkham House, to keep the works of H. P. Lovecrzft in print. Arkham House went on to publish a number of other weird fiction writers,  many of whom published in Weird Tales.

Derleth went on to write some “posthumous collaborations” with Lovecraft by finishing or revising unpublished stories by Lovecraft. He also wrote Lovecraftian pastiche.

These works are controversial among Lovecraft fans, and I’m not going to venture an opinion on them.

Derleth also wrote a number of original short works of macabre and weird fiction. Tot he best fo my knowledge, most of it is out of print. Derleth also wrote historical novels set in Wisconsin. I’ve never read one of them. My understanding is that the are better than average in that genre. Anyone who has read them, pleast share your thoughts in the comments.

Despite the controversies he caused, I think it is safe to say that the face of weird fiction would look very different today if it had not been for Arkham House.

 

Donald Wandrei

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Yes, this one is a bit late, and it’s already tommorrow where some of you are, but I didn’t want to let today (where I am at least) pass without mentioning Donald Wandrei (1908-1987), who was born on April 20.

Wandrei is probably best remembered as the cofounder of Arkham House, along with August Derleth.

He was also a writer in his own right. Fedogan and Bremer published collections of his science fiction and werid fiction in the late eighties and late nineties. He also wrote poetry. More recently, Haffner Press published his Ivy Frost stories.

So there’s a lot there to remember him for. I suspecdt Arkham House iwll be the thing that is most well-regarded in his legacy.

I came to Arkham House late. I was aware of the publisher and eventually ran across some Arkham House books at the Lone Star Science Fiction and Comics that used to be at Park and Preston in Plano back when I was in graduate school. I would have bought some except that I didn’t have any money. I was in gradute school.

Since then, I’ve tried to pick up affordable Arkham editions where I can find them.

It’s been a while since I read any of his fiction, although I do have the Fedogan and Bremer collections as well as the Ivy Frost book. Maybe if I get some time this week…

Derleth

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Yesterday, February 24, was the birthday of Augusts Derleth (1909-1971). I was on the road all day, mostly with work, and didn’t have a chance to post anything.

Entire books could be written about Derleth, and have been. I’m not going to try to get that detailed,  I’ll let other writers talk about Derleth and Lovecraft and whether Derleth harmed or helped Lovecraft with his “posthumous collaborations”.

Derleth wrote more than just Lovecraftian fiction. He wrote a number of novels and stories set in his native Wisconsin at a location named Sac Prairie. He also wrote a number of Solar Pons stories. Those works are outside the scope of this blog.

What some people forget, and many don’t know, is that Derleth also wrote a number of fantasy and horror stories that aren’t Lovecraftian. He also wrote poetry, but I’m not familiar with any of his poetic works. Continue reading →

Brief Reflections on August Derleth

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August Derleth

Today, February 24, marks the birth of August Derleth (1909-1971). He founded Arkham House publisher to keep the work of H. P. Lovecraft in print. For this we all owe him a great debt of gratitude.  Derleth was something of a controversial figure in the field for the way he handled the literary estate of H. P. Lovecraft, especially his “posthumous collaborations” in which he completed some stories Lovecraft left unfinished at his death.

My purpose with this post is not to focus on Arkham House, but on an aspect of Derleth’s legacy that is sadly neglected today, and that’s his work as a writer of weird fiction.

It’s been over a decade since there was a collection of Derleth’s work published. I did a quick check online, and the starting price for a collection of his ghost stories was $200.  Too rich for my blood.

I was going to review a couple of short pieces I have in anthologies, “Muggeridge’s Aunt” and “The Shuttered House”. Both were fairly standard ghost stories.  While not rising to the level of a James or Wakefield, they were still well told and provided a pleasant way to while away a few spare minutes. The problem is the former isn’t readily available in either electronic or print format, and the latter is only in a facsimile of The Avon Fantasy Reader Number 1. For these birthday posts, I’m not going to review stories that aren’t readily available.

I would hope some ambitious publisher would take a chance and produce an inexpensive collection, or better yet a set, of Derleth’s weird fiction.

RIP, April Derleth

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April Derleth, daughter of Arkham House founder August Derleth and current president and CEO of the publishing house, has died at the age of 56.  No cause of death has been announced.  Arkham House was founded by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to promote the works of H. P. Lovecraft and other Weird Tales authors, as well as author who wrote in a similar vein for other publications, including volumes by Ray Bradbury, Clark Ashton Smith, William Hope Hodgson, and Robert E. Howard.  Upon August Derleth’s death, Wandrei and then James Turner ran the publishing company.  When April Derleth became CEO, she tried to return to the company’s roots by publishing more weird fiction.  During her tenure, she published volumes by Nelson S. Bond, Hugh B. Cave’s autobiography Cave of a Thousand Tales,and  the anthology Arkham’s Masters of Horror, among other volumes.  Arkham House has temporarily suspended all sales and unfilled orders.