H.P. Lovecraft
Paperback | Pages: 127 pages Rating: 4.18 | 14759 Users | 672 Reviews
Itemize Books During The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
| Original Title: | The Case of Charles Dexter Ward |
| ISBN: | 0345354907 (ISBN13: 9780345354907) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Charles Dexter Ward, Inspector John Raymond Legrasse, Joseph Curwen, Randolph Carter |
| Setting: | Providence, Rhode Island(United States) |
Ilustration Concering Books The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
Dear Mr. Lovecraft,I, Joseph Curwen, necromancer supreme, have rather a bone to pick (forgive my little joke). I have noticed many problems with your narrative The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. First of all: that title. Surely you realize that I am the protagonist of the tale - not the fey amateur Charles Dexter Ward? I do not think it is too much to ask that the title of your document correctly identify its leading personage. Second: I have noticed a strong bias against scholars of the so-called "dark" arts in your work - a bias that clearly and unfairly slants your narrative in favor of such laughable nonentities as that impressionable youth, his hysterical parents, his meddling doctor, etc, as well as towards questionable groups such as the unimaginative bourgeoisie and the overly imaginative lower classes, and various small-minded institutions including the Church and the Mental Ward. Your insufferable bias against such studies - indeed, against all those who would bravely dig up graves, retrieve bodies, revive those bodies, and proceed to imprison, interrogate, and torture those revived bodies until certain ancient bits of knowledge are at last shared - is not just regrettable and close-minded, but genuinely insulting on a personal and professional level. For shame, sir, for shame! Your prejudices do you no credit. Third: I find your general attitude towards a humble wizard such as myself, as well as towards my peers, we who only wish to remain immortal, even if it means possessing and discarding otherwise useless youths (like Charles Dexter Ward for example), so that we may come to learn ancient knowledge and thus reshape the world and all of mankind, for the better good no doubt, well... I just have to say that your entire attitude towards my lifestyle choice is appallingly narrow-minded and shockingly judgmental. Very unbecoming behavior for a writer of 'horror' fiction!
I will admit that there are many good things within your story. You have been accused of indulging in intensely theatrical purple prose; personally, I find your style of writing to be highly atmospheric, thrilling, and surprisingly enjoyable overall. The narrative itself is involving and even rather intricate. You have also been accused of tellnotshow-itis. I did see some of that in your lengthy flashback to my own story (the tragic tale of an unjustly accused and persecuted investigator of the supernatural - a former pillar of the community! oh how the small-minded love to tear down their betters!)... but that was merely a story within a story, told secondhand, and so I forgave it. Conversely, the last third of the novella - where the insufferable Dr. Willett finds my secret underground cavern and its attendant labs, cells, sacrificial altar, and deep well-cages for the unruly undead - is written in an exciting and tense you are there style that I much appreciated. I was quite pleased with your descriptive powers and I cheered frequently at every gasp of horror uttered by the unimaginative and mulish Dr. Willett. And last but certainly not least, regarding the public accusations that detail your racism: as a necromancer who does not discriminate based on race when choosing my various living, dead, and undead victims, I was specifically on the look-out for any race-based judgments. I am happy to note that I saw no example of that sort of foolishness. Well, save for the black cat unfortunately named "Nig". That made me quite uncomfortable.
But back to my grievances! Most repugnant of all: the ending. You seek to reduce me, sir, to conquer me as I have conquered death! I laugh in the face of that. Ha! Ha! Ha! From tiny particles of dust I shall rise again. And when I do, know that even your currently deceased state shall offer you no refuge.
Declare Appertaining To Books The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
| Title | : | The Case of Charles Dexter Ward |
| Author | : | H.P. Lovecraft |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 127 pages |
| Published | : | April 19th 1994 by Del Rey Books (first published 1941) |
| Categories | : | Horror. Fiction. Classics. Fantasy. Lovecraftian. Mystery |
Rating Appertaining To Books The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
Ratings: 4.18 From 14759 Users | 672 ReviewsAppraise Appertaining To Books The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
Admittedly, a friend of mine and I were suppose to readand of course finishthis last Halloween. Ha, what a turn of events; now that I have finished this. This was my first time reading anything by H. P. Lovecraft even though I have quite plenty of his work on my to-read list, as well as physical copies waiting to be read. I can frankly say that I have enjoyed this one very much, the ending most of all. The descriptive and steady style of writing kept me thoroughly engaged in the story and IThe Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P. Lovecraft is definitely one of his best works and this is a high compliment, as I have liked almost all that I have read from him. This work, first published in 1927, combines most of the themes common to his works: occult, arcanery, unspeakable nighttime horrors, deep dark pits with unknown creatures, etc. even some hints of the Cthulu cult. The other element of this book that is noteworthy is the scope of influence that Lovecraft created. Innumerable
Classic.
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is the only lengthy work of Lovecraft classified as a novel rather than a novella. Lovecraft wrote this story in 1927, and as per legend, When HPL finished writing this novel he was so disappointed with the final draft that he decided to shelve it instead of publishing it, and only after Lovecraft's demise did this work found the light in 1941. (It's not a legend, but a true fact. I just wanted to use "As per legend" in a sentence)So what is it all about? ❝ I
This is my fourth HP Lovecraft story and, so far, it's my favorite. That says a lot. Because, I'm really enjoying discovering his writing and connecting his influences to my favorite horror authors of today. For some odd reason, Lovecraft wasn't happy with his novel. He wrote it in 1927 and he didn't try to get it published. It wasn't until after his death that August Derleth and Donald Wandrei published it in the May and July issues of Weird Tales in 1941 did the story see the light of day. I
Don't Rise Up what you Can't Put Down5 December 2017 - Sydney The first thing that I did when I started to read this book was to jump onto Facebook and search for a 'Charles Dexter Ward', Well, I found one, but he had his account locked down to tightly that you could only send him a message. Actually, I'm not at all that surprised because he probably gets lots of friendship requests (and messages) from Cthulu freaks out there. Actually, I'm almost tempted to set up an account on Facebook called
Lovecraft's only full-length novel (though a short one) and a classic of the genre. It falls just short of masterpiece due to a slightly prosaic feel that never quite attains the scope of something like At the Mountains of Madness and the Shadow Out of time, to name two of his other longer works. Which isn't necessarily a criticism per se since it's a different type of story, more in common with the works of Poe and Hawthorne than Hodgson or Blackwood. It's simply that I prefer his more
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