H.P. Lovecraft Books In Order

Publication Order of Dream Cycle Books

Publication Order of Randolph Carter Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Graphic Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of William Meikle Collections

Publication Order of Shadows Over Innsmouth Books

Publication Order of August Derleth's "Posthumous Collaborations" Books

Publication Order of New Annotated Lovecraft Books

Publication Order of Eerie Archives Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, more commonly known as H.P. Lovecraft, was one of the most influential horror authors. Unfortunately he was rather unknown during his life and only became famous after his death.

H.P. was born in 1890 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA and spent most of his life there. He had to see his father being locked up in a mental institution when he was only three years of age. His mother raised him together with his grandfather and two aunts, who all lived together in the family home. He started writing horror stories with eight. His grandfather, who loved storytelling, was an inspiring influence early on and encouraging him to read.

As he suffered from anxiety and didn’t get along with his classmates, his mother decided to keep him at home most of the time. Very early in this life he began suffering from night terrors. He believed that he was being assaulted by “night gaunts”, one of the races he later used in his work.

After his grandfather’s death in 1904 the family had to move into a smaller house, mismanagement having led them into a poor financial situation. Shortly before his high school graduation he suffered a nervous breakdown and never managed to get his diploma. He wanted to become a astronomer but had difficulties with higher math, which was required for it.

Lovecraft lived isolated for many years after having left school. Focusing on writing poetry and not interested in employment or social contacts. This only changed in 1913 after writing a letter to a pulp magazine complaining about the love stories, which he thought were boring and dull. This led to a debate in the letters column of the magazine, which didn’t go unnoticed. The president of the United Amateur Press, who had seen it, asked H.P. to join them.

In 1919 his mother was placed in the same mental hospital her husband had died in. She had been suffering from depression and hysteria for a long time. She stayed in close contact with her son until she died in 1921, due to complications during her gall bladder surgery.

Not long after her death he met Sonia Greene and the two became very close. Despite his aunt’s disapproval they married in 1924 and he moved into her apartment in New York. There he became part of a group of intellectuals, who pushed him into submitting stories to Weird Tales, where many of his “Dream Cycle” stories were published.

Unfortunately soon after their marriage, his wife lost her business and became ill. Though Howard tried to support his wife, the fact that he had no work experience was making things very hard for him. Greene moved several times and her employment forced her to constantly travel. Lovecraft stayed in New York and his wife sent him a weekly allowance. It was during that time that he started writing the outlines of “The Call of Cthulhu”.

In 1926 he moved back to Providence where he worked as a ghost writer and revised other authors’ works. One of his clients tried helping Lovecraft, introduced him to the head of a newspaper syndicate. However when the man died any plans for further project were abandoned.

When he reached the last years of his life, his inheritance, that he had been living on, was almost gone. Working for other authors and selling his own stories was never enough to provide for his life. This forced him to move in with his last aunt. At the beginning of 1937 he was diagnosed with cancer. This resulted in constant pain until he died in March that year. Lovecraft wrote in his diary about his illness close to the moment he died.

Most of his fiction was published by Arkham House, that was originally created to publish the work of H.P Lovecraft. It has since then also published other authors. Currently there are three books available that are collections of his work published by Penguin. “The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories”, “The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories” and “The Dreams in the Witch House and Other Weird Stories”.

“The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories” is based on the short story “The Call of Cthulhu” but contains 17 more stories written by Lovecraft. Many of the stories in this volume are interrelated and sometimes references to each other. This is because they all play in the same fictional world Lovecraft has created. The Necronomicon is referenced in many of these stories. It is a grimoire bound in leather with metal claps, filled with magic spells. In this fictional universe the central figure is Cthulhu, one of the “Great Old Ones”, powerful and ancient creatures. These beings once ruled Earth, but are in a deathlike sleep now. They are worshiped by various cults who work towards their return.

In the “Call of Cthulhu” Francis Wayland Thurston tells the reader about notes that were left behind by his granduncle, who had died unexpected. In these notes the professor talks about Cthulhu and the discovery of a statuette, that got the attention of the American Archaeological Society in Missouri. It was made of an unidentifiable green black stone, that had been captured in a raid on a voodoo meeting. An Inspector Legrasse was asking the Society for help in identifying it. During a search for women and children that had disappeared, the police arrested 47 people that had been involved in killing the missing people. As it turned out these people were worshipers of the Great Old Ones, who were waiting for the great priest Cthulhu to rise again. This cult would be ready for his call so they could liberate him. One of the prisoners identified the statue as the “Great Cthulhu”.

This story together with the “Shadows Over Innsmouth” are considered masterpieces of Lovecraft.

“The Dreams in the Witch House and Other Weird Stories” is the third book in the Lovecraft paperback collection and was released in 2004. This collection includes some of the more fantasy style stories. The Nameless City, perhaps the best known short story of this book, was inspired by a dream. This city is located somewhere in the Arabian Peninsula. At first look it is abandoned but hieroglyphs found tell a story of beings living in the city. They are, however, not humans but are described as a mix of lizard, seal and crocodile. This story is also the first time Abdul Alhazred, the mad Arab, is mentioned.

H.P. Lovecraft has been a influence on a great many things. Other authors have been using the Lovecraft Universe. But he also inspired things Batman and Southpark. He is an inspiration in music as well as games. The “Old gods” in the MMORPG World of Warcraft are influenced by his work. There even is a cult that believes Lovecraft’s tales to be true and wait for the Great Old Ones to rise again.