The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories

by H.P. Lovecraft

Book Overview

A definitive edition of stories by the master of supernatural fiction

Howard Phillips Lovecraft's unique contribution to American literature was a melding of traditional supernaturalism (derived chiefly from Edgar Allan Poe) with the genre of science fiction that emerged in the early 1920s. This Penguin Classics edition brings together a dozen of the master's tales-from his early short stories "Under the Pyramids" (originally ghostwritten...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142180033
• ISBN13: 9780142180037
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Not Free SF Reader

A studious version, if you like. There are a large number of notes for each story for you to delve into - some 70 odd pages worth, and a list of texts given for more of a look at Lovecraft. Thing on the Doorstep : The Tomb - H. P. Lovecraft Thing on the Doorstep : Beyond the Wall of Sleep - H. P. Lovecraft Thing on the Doorstep : The White Ship - H. P. Lovecraft Thing on the Doorstep : The Temple - H. P. Lovecraft Thing on the Doorstep : The Quest of Iranon - H. P. Lovecraft Thing on the Doorstep : The Music of Erich Zann - H. P. Lovecraft Thing on the Doorstep : Under the Pyramids ["Imprisoned with the Pharaohs", as Harry Houdini] Thing on the Doorstep : Pickman's Model - H. P. Lovecraft Thing on the Doorstep : The Case of Charles Dexter Ward - H. P. Lovecraft Thing on the Doorstep : The Dunwich Horror - H. P. Lovecraft Thing on the Doorstep : At the Mountains of Madness - H. P. Lovecraft Thing on the Doorstep : The Thing on the Doorstep - H. P. Lovecraft

Penguin's Second Lovecraft Book

If you enjoyed the first book of Lovecraft's work published by Penguin (The Call of Cthulhu) then you will undoubtedly appreciate this one. As before, it is a nice mix of the three areas of Lovecraft's work: the dream cycle, the Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones cycle, and the macabre tales cycle. In this book you will find what I consider to be one of the best Lovecraft's story: At The Mountains of Madness. It's a novella (about a hundred pages)that's just one of the best short story he has ever written. Along with this there's also this other novella: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. The latter is equally interesting (although the beginning is slighlty deterring, it quickly changes). On the whole, I'd recommend this book for anyone interested in Lovecraft; however, if you have never read anything by him I recommend you start with Penguin's first book of his work. Not that it's very important but if you asked me that's what I'd advise you.

The Contents of This Book

Since there are so many different Lovecraft collections out there, it may be useful to prospective buyers to know what's actually in this one:[By S. T. Joshi:] Acknowledgments; Introduction; Suggestions for Further Reading; A Note on the Text; [short stories, except where noted, by H. P. Lovecraft:] The Tomb; Beyond the Wall of Sleep; The White Ship; The Temple; The Quest of Iranon; The Music of Erich Zann; Under the Pyramids [a.k.a. Imprisoned with the Pharoahs]; Pickman's Model; The Case of Charles Dexter Ward [novella]; The Dunwich Horror; At the Mountains of Madness [novella]; The Thing on the Doorstep; [by Joshi:] Explanatory NotesUnlike in THE ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT and MORE ANNOTATED H. P. LOVECRAFT, also edited and annotated (though in the latter case co-edited and co-annotated) by Joshi, the equally copious annotations here are collected at the back of the book (thereby being what are technically known as "endnotes") rather than placed at the bottom of story pages where they're referenced (known as "footnotes"). And also unlike the "ANNOTATED" volumes, THE CALL OF CTHULHU AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES lacks photographs that highlight the relationships between the subjects in the stories and the persons and places of Lovecraft's life; features smaller print, making it slightly harder to read but meaning more stories can be fit into the volume. THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES is something of a sequel to THE CALL OF CTHULHU AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES, a similarly produced and arranged collection of Lovecraft fiction, with an introduction and endnotes by Joshi, put out by the same publisher, Penguin. To his credit, Joshi's respective introductions to both Penguin collections are informative and interesting for readers regardless of previous familiarity with Lovecraft, while repeating little of the same content. Each of these Penguin titles, as well as the two "ANNOTATED" titles published by Dell, presents its selection of narrative fiction in the order written, a practical advantage when reading Lovecraft, and make attractive companion volumes.

Aristocratic horror with a powerful imagination

If you have never read H.P. Lovecraft before, this is an excellent place to start. Each story gets a brief introduction by the Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi. The stories are the corrected versions, and the presentation is tasteful and classic."The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories" is packed with some of Lovecraft's best stories. "The Music of Erich Zann" stands out as one of the best short stories I have ever read. In Paris, in a street that can no longer be found, a student lodger is disturbed by unearthly violin music drifting from the top floors. Who is Erich Zann, and where does he learn these strange tunes? Other classics in this collection are "The Dunwich Horror," featuring the infamous Necronomicon. "At the Mountains of Madness," Lovecraft's longest story is a mixture of Edgar Allen Poes "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" and his own creatures from beyond. Set in the Antarctic, this has been the inspiration for several films. "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" and "The Thing on the Doorstep" are both excellent. I wish this volume had been around when I first started reading Lovecraft. I am happy to have it now.

Lovecraft...Joshi...Penguin Classics...a must-have!

The second Lovecraft collection released under the Penguin Classics imprint, "The Thing On the Doorstep and Other Weird Tales" introduces Lovecraft to a reading population that otherwise would not consider reading his works. Besides the title tale, "The Tomb", "The Dunwich Horror", "At Mountains of Madness" are among the Lovecraft gems included. Edited by top Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi, the collection includes a wonderful brief biographical sketch of Lovecraft that goes beyond the usual scant information usually seen about the author and marvelously detailed notes that not only discuss references in the story itself but give a short history of each story's publication and further reading suggestions. The number of stories included the Penguin editions may not be as vast as the recent Del Ray trade paperback editions. However the true Lovecraft devotee and those new to the Providence Gentleman will be thrilled with the vast amount of information contained between the covers.