H.P. Lovecraft
Vita (e morte) di un gentiluomo. Infanzia, gioventù, e ultimi giorni di Howard Phillips Lovecraft

At first glance, it might seem like a voyeuristic operation (and perhaps even in bad taste) that of Life (and Death) of a Gentleman: Childhood, Youth, and Last Days of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, a volume that makes available the death diary of the American writer. The life of the Recluse of Providence (also thanks to an immense correspondence that includes about 100,000 letters) is one of the most dissected in the history of literature. We practically know everything about him, and in this sense, the biography I Am Providence by S.T. Joshi, recently published by Providence Press also in Italian, has contributed to making every aspect of this extraordinary personality known. In reality, we are faced with a very interesting text that presents us with rare documents both about his youth and his death. The death diary is raw in its description of the symptoms that were progressively leading him to death. Intestinal cancer was the consequence of an absurd diet made of canned food to save as much as possible. In fact, his meager income came from his activity as a ghost-writer. The 2 essays by Kenneth W. Faig dedicated to his parents and his early years are particularly effective in showing us his cultural background and making us understand the genesis of his cult universe. The death of his father due to syphilis (even though this word officially never came up in his family's circle) weighed on little Lovecraft and his mother like a sort of curse. The latter tormented him in every possible way, making him believe he was so ugly as to frighten his peers. And these are not legends: indeed, in the biographical writing The Parents of Howard Phillips Lovecraft by the aforementioned Kenneth W. Faig, we can read the testimony of Clara L. Hess, a former classmate and neighbor of Lovecraft. Hess literally says that, after a visit to Sarah Susann Phillips Lovecraft, she couldn't wait to get out of that house. The air was stale, and the place, in her view, lent itself well to writing horror stories while the mother continually complained about that boy with the horrible appearance. Hess regretted how that boy could not have a healthier existence. But maybe, if not for this, we wouldn't have had the "cosmic Edgar Allan Poe" (a felicitous definition by Jacques Bergier). Although the myth of Lovecraft as a troubled person and a recluse who, even in adulthood, didn't know what normal life was should be debunked. It was not so: undoubtedly we are dealing with a particular (and superior) figure, but in any case, he got married (even though the marriage was unsuccessful) and had many friends. He was able to maintain an immense network of contacts and responded to everyone with endless letters (an activity that took away a lot of time from writing stories). His death left legions of readers and writers in despair as we can read in the comments (faithfully reported here) published posthumously in the magazine Weird Tales where he published most of his stories. Over time, Lovecraft has now become a cult character, entering into legend. Life (and Death) of a Gentleman: Childhood, Youth, and Last Days of Howard Phillips Lovecraft is edited by Pietro Guarriello (currently the best Lovecraft expert in Italy). The introduction is by Gianfranco De Turris. Also noteworthy is the rich photographic apparatus.