American Writers (one Hundred Pages At A Time)

This short story, "Two Black Bottles", was written by Wilfred Blanch Talman, with an assist by H. P. Lovecraft. While not one of the revisions that is mostly done by Lovecraft, let's read it anyways. It is a pretty good story. Published in WEIRD TALES in 1927

Like THE EUROPEANS, CONFIDENCE is a light and somewhat comedic novel about Europeans in America or Americans in Europe, or something. Another early novel by James that I found underwhelming but still probably worth checking out.

After a long wait, I am finally looking at "The Very Old Folk", the published version of Lovecraft's dream of ancient Rome. It hits many of the themes Lovecraft was interested in at this time of his career, especially vernacular traditions and their dangers.

In this short comedic novel, THE EUROPEANS, Henry James follows two Europeans-a soon to be divorced woman seeking a new start and a free-spirited young man--in their encounters with a wealthy American family. Decent entertainment.

The second part of my review of "The Dunwich Horror" by H. P. Lovecraft. What is the danger of ignoring the backcountry? What is the blowback to burying the horrible things deep? I think this story gives some of Lovecraft's answers.

Part three and finale of my review of THE AMERICAN by Henry James. It is a highly recommended novel with some real drama and wonderful character growth. Our hero becomes an American while confronting European aristocratic culture.

Part two of my review of THE AMERICAN by Henry James. For much of the middle part of this novel, the hero pursues his courtship with a French aristocrat while learning more of the gap between his world and that of the woman he hopes to marry.

"The Dunwich Horror" is another of my favorite H. P. Lovecraft tales that has a bit of everything; intentional amnesia, folklore, outer gods, body horror, class tensions, and the geography of horror. Part one of my analysis.

"The Color Out of Space" was Lovecraft's favorite story and it is indeed one of his best. The combination of body horror, science, and classic Lovecraftian themes makes for a fascinating, if bleak tale.

Part one of my review of THE AMERICAN by Henry James. It is by far my favorite of the five early novels I will look at in this series. It explores the attempt of a rich American to court a French widow from an aristocratic family.

Part three of my review of RODERICK HUDSON by Henry James. It is his first strong novel but a bit repetitive and banal in the end. I guess the lesson is Americans should stay away from Europe.

The final part of my review of THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD by H. P. Lovecraft. The final chapter is an epic story of the conscious eradication of memory.

We go back to the present in chapter 3 of THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD and witness the consequences of Ward's exploration into his family history. Some strange mysteries are revealed and the horror begins again.

Let's start over with Henry James by looking at his first decent novel, RODERICK HUDSON. In this novel, an aimless rich man adopts a poor artist and brings him to Europe for fame and adventure. What they find is that Europe is a bad place for anyone, especially artists, to be.

A solid second chapter of H. P. Lovecraft's THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD almost works as a stand-alone horror story set in the 18th century, climaxing in the context of the American Revolution. Through this story we see Joseph Curwen as a metaphor for America's founding sins.

More forgettable stuff in the second half of WATCH AND WARD by Henry James. Let's hope his later novels are a bit more interesting. If nothing else, this novel is a good piece of evidence of why certain authors will never be cancelled.

The second of two posthumously published novels by H. P. Lovecraft, THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD also happens to be my favorite Lovecraft story. There is no better place to go for Lovecraft's historical vision.

A new series and a new novel: Henry James' WATCH AND WARD. While it is not a good novel and can be easily forgotten we can at least introduce ourselves to Henry James as we prepare to read his first five novels.