Howard Phillips Lovecraft is an American writer of the early 20th century, the author of numerous novels and stories in the genre of gothic horror, mysticism, fantasy and science fiction. The writing style of his works is unique. Due to this, sometimes his work is classified as a separate literary subgenre "Lovecraft Horrors".
Biography of Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Howard Philips Lovecraft was born in 1890 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, where he spent most of his life. Howard was the only child of Winfield Scott Lovecraft and Sarah Susan Phillips. The boy's childhood was emotionally difficult.
His father worked as a traveling salesman for a jewelry company. But when the boy was seven years old, Winfield fell ill with a mental breakdown and ended his days in a mental hospital. The boy's mother, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, also had a very volatile and unbalanced character.
At an early age, Howard suffered from nightmares, which would later be reflected in the literary works of the future writer.
Howard Phillips, quick-witted and intelligent by nature, learned to read at the age of three. The maternal grandfather had a great positive influence on the boy, instilled in him an interest in classical literature, as well as physics, chemistry and astronomy. At a very young age, Howard became interested in Greek mythology, Gothic mystery tales, and oriental tales.
In 1904, after the death of his beloved grandfather, the family began to experience serious financial difficulties, which led to a change of place of residence. These circumstances contributed to the fact that Howard experienced a nervous breakdown, as a result of which he could not graduate from school.
Later, Lovecraft took up writing poetry and continued his study of astronomy. He published his poems and essays in various magazines. Howard Philips joined the National Amateur Press Association, which brought him out of his reclusive lifestyle. In addition to publishing poetry and essays, Howard began publishing short fantasy stories. At this time, his mother fell ill with a nervous breakdown and ended up in a psychiatric clinic, where she died in 1921. In the future, Howard led an active creative activity, which cannot be called financially successful.
The writer himself died of a long illness on March 15, 1937 in his native Providence.
The work of Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Throughout his life, the writer has written a large number of stories in the genre of horror, fantasy, mysticism and science fiction. Most of them became recognized only after the death of the author in 1937. His most famous works: "The Call of Cthulhu", "Beyond Time", "Ridges of Madness", "Shadow over Innsmouth", "Dunwich Horror", "Dagon", "Latent Horror" and others.
Many works are reflected in film adaptations. The writer's works have influenced the work of other writers such as August Derleth and Stephen King. Today, Howard Lovecraft's books find their support in reading circles around the world.
Personal life of Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Shortly after the death of his mother, Howard Phillips meets his future wife of Jewish descent, Sonia Haft Green, who owned her own shop selling hats. The couple married in 1924 and Howard moved to Brooklyn. However, soon the writer quickly got tired of such a dynamic city and returned to his native and quiet Providence. In 1929, Lovecraft's marriage falls apart. The reason for this was the negative influence of Howard Philips' aunts, who did not allow Sonya to move after her husband.
