[YSDC] Into The Deep - User contributions [en]

Arthur Machen

2006-02-03T21:55:35Z

Theshoveller: /* Legacy and influence */

'''Arthur Machen''' ([[March 3]], [[1863]] – [[December 15th]], [[1947]]) was a leading [[Wales|Welsh]]-born [[author]] of the 1890s. He is best known for his influential [[supernatural fiction|supernatural]], [[fantasy fiction|fantasy]] and [[horror fiction]]. He also is well known for a leading role in creating the myth of the [[Angels of Mons]].

==Biography==

===Early years===

He was born '''Arthur Llewelyn Jones''', in [[Caerleon]] in [[Monmouthshire]]. His father [[John Edward Jones]] became Vicar of the tiny church of [[Llandewi Fach]], near Caerleon, and his son was brought up at the rectory there. Later his father adopted his Mother's maiden name Machen to inherit a legacy becoming "Jones-Machen" and his son just used the name Arthur Machen. Machen's love of the beautiful landscape of [[Gwent]] with its associations with Celtic, Roman and medieval history made a powerful impression on him which are at the heart of many of his works. At the age of eleven Machen boarded at [[Hereford Cathedral School]] where he received an excellent classical education. Family poverty however ruled out attendance at University and Machen was sent to [[London]] where he sat exams to attend medical school but failed to get in. Machen however showed literary promise; publishing in 1881 a long poem "Eleusinia" on the subject of the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]]. Returning to London he lived in relative poverty attempting to work as a journalist, as a publishers clerk and as a children’s tutor while writing in the evening and going on long rambling walks across London.

In 1884 he published his second work, the pastiche The Anatomy of Tobacco, and secured work with the publisher and bookseller [[George Redway]] as a cataloguer and magazine editor. This led to further work as a translator from Old French, translating the [[Marguerite of Navarre]], [[Heptameron]], [[Beroalde de Verville]], ''"Le Moyen de Parvenir"'' (Fantastic Tales) and [[Casanova]], "Memoirs". Machen's translations in a spirited English style became standard ones for many years. In 1887 Machen married [[Amy Hogg]], an unconventional music teacher with a passion for the theatre who had literary friends in London's Bohemian circles. Amy had significantly introduced Machen to [[A. E. Waite]] who was to become one of Machen's closest friends. Machen also made the acquaintance of other literary figues such as [[M. P. Shiel]] and [[Edgar Jepson]]. Soon after his marriage, Machen began to receive a series of legacies from Scottish relatives that allowed him to gradually devote more time to writing.

===Literary decadence in the 1890s===

Around 1890 Machen began to write stories for literary magazines very much influenced by the works of [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], some of which used gothic or fantastic themes. This led to the creation of his first major success [[The Great God Pan]]. It was published in [[1894]] by [[John Lane]] in the noted [[Keynote]] series of novels which were part of the growing [[aesthetic movement]] of the time. Machen’s story was widely denounced for its sexual and horrific content and subsequently sold well, going into a second edition. Machen next produced [[The Three Imposters]], a short novel composed of a number of interwoven tales in [[1895]]. The novel and the stories within it were eventually to become one of Machen’s best known works. However, following the scandal surrounding [[Oscar Wilde]] later that year Machen’s association with works of decadent horror made it difficult to find a publisher for new works. Thus though he wrote some of his greatest works over the next few years some of these were published much later. These included The Hill of Dreams, Hieroglyphics, A Fragment of Life, the story The White People, and the stories which make up Ornaments in Jade.

===Tragedy and acting: 1899-1910===

In [[1899]] Machen’s wife Amy died of cancer after a long period of illness. This had a devastating effect on Machen. He only gradually recovered from his loss over the next year, partially through his close friendship with [[A. E. Waite]]. It was through Waite’s influence that Machen joined at this time the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]], though Machen’s interest in the organization was not a lasting one. Machen’s recovery was further helped by his sudden change of career, becoming an actor in 1901 and a member of [[Frank Benson]]’s company of traveling players, a profession which took him round the country. This led in 1903 to a second marriage to [[Dorothie Purefoy Hudleston]] which brought Machen much happiness. Machen managed to find a publisher in 1902 for his earlier written work Hieroglyphics, which was his analysis of the nature of literature, wherein he came to the conclusion that true literature must convey ecstasy. In [[1906]] Machen’s literary career began once more to flourish as the book [[The House of Souls]] collected his most notable works of the Nineties and brought them to a new audience. He also published a satirical work, “Dr Stiggins – His views and principles”, generally considered one of his weakest works. Machen also was at this time investigating [[Celtic Christianity]], The [[Holy Grail]] and [[King Arthur]]. Publishing his views in [[Lord Alfred Douglas]]’s [[The Academy]] where he wrote regularly, Machen concluded that the legends of the Grail actually were based on dim recollections of the rites of the Celtic Church. These ideas also featured strongly in [[The Secret Glory]] which he wrote at this time. In 1907 [[The Hill of Dreams]], generally considered Machen’s masterpiece, was finally published, though it was not recognized much at the time.

The next few years saw Machen continue with acting in various companies and with journalistic work, but he was finding it increasingly hard to earn a living as his legacies were long exhausted. Machen was also attending literary gatherings like The [[New Bohemians]] and The [[Square Club]] amongst other activities.

===Journalism and the Great War: 1910-1921===

Finally Machen accepted a full time journalist’s job at [[Alfred Harmsworth]]’s [[London Evening News]] in [[1910]]. In February 1912 his son Hilary was born, followed by a daughter Janet in 1917. The coming of war in [[1914]] saw Machen return to public prominence for the first time in twenty years due to the publication of [[The Bowman]] and the subsequent [[Angels of Mons]] episode. He published a series of stories capitalizing on this success, most of which were morale boosting propaganda but the most notable, “The Great Return” (1915), and the novella “The Terror” (1917), were more accomplished. He also published a series of autobiographical articles during the war, later published as “Far off Things”.

In general though Machen thoroughly disliked work at the newspaper, and it was only the need to earn money for his family which kept him at it. The money came in useful allowing him to move to a bigger house in [[St John’s Wood]] in 1919 with a garden, which became a noted location for literary gatherings attended by friends like the painter [[Augustus John]], [[Wyndham Lewis]], and [[Jerome K. Jerome]]. Machen’s dismissal from the Evening News in 1921 came as a relief in one sense though it caused financial problems. However Machen was recognized as a great Fleet Street character by his contemporaries and he remained in demand as an essay writer for much of the twenties.

===The Machen Boom of the Twenties===

Fortunately 1922 also saw a revival in Machen’s literary fortunes. [[The Secret Glory]] was finally published, as was his autobiography “Far Off Things”, and new editions of Machen’s Casanova, [[The House of Souls]] and [[The Hill of Dreams]] all came out. Machen’s works had now found a new audience and publishers in America and a series of requests for republications of books started to come in. [[Vincent Starrett]], [[James Branch Cabell]] and [[Carl Van Vechten]] were American Machen devotees who helped in this process. A sign of his rising fortunes were shown by publication in 1923 of a collected edition of his works and a bibliography. That year also saw the publication of a recently completed second volume of autobiography “Things Near and Far”, the final volume, “The London Adventure” being published in 1924. Machen’s earlier works suddenly started becoming much sought after collectors items at this time, a position they have held ever since. In 1924 he issued a collection of bad reviews of his own work, with very little commentary, under the title ''Precious Balms.''

===Final years: 1926-1947===

By 1926 the boom in republication was mostly over and Machen’s income dropped. He continued republishing earlier works in collected editions as well as writing essays and articles for various magazines, newspapers and contributing forwards and introductions to both his own and other writers works, but produced little new fiction. In 1927 he became a manuscript reader for publisher Ernest Benn which brought in much needed regular income till 1933. In 1929 Machen and his family moved away from London to [[Amersham]] in Buckinghamshire, but they still faced financial hardship. He received some recognition for his literary work when he received a Civil List pension in 1932 of one hundred pounds, but the loss of work from Benns a year later made things difficult once more. A few more collections of Machen’s shorter works were published in the thirties, partially as a result of the championing of Machen by [[John Gawsworth]], who also began work on a biography of Machen only published in 2005.

Machen’s financial difficulties were only finally ended by the literary appeal launched in 1943 for his eightieth birthday. The initial names on the appeal show the general recognition of Machen’s stature as a distinguished man of letters as they included [[Max Beerbohm]], [[T. S. Eliot]], [[Bernard Shaw]], [[Walter de la Mare]], [[Algernon Blackwood]] and [[John Masefield]] amongst others. The success of the appeal allowed Machen to live the last few years of his life till 1947 in relative comfort.

==Machen’s philosophy and religion==

From the beginning of his literary career Machen espoused a [[mystical]] belief that the humdrum ordinary world hid a more mysterious and strange world beyond. His [[gothic novel|gothic]] and [[decadent]] works of the eighteen-nineties concluded that the lifting of this veil could lead to madness, sex, or death, and usually a combination of all three. Machen’s later works became somewhat less obviously full of gothic trappings, but for him investigations into mysteries invariably resulted in life changing transformation and sacrifice. Machen loved the medieval world view because he felt it combined deep spirituality alongside a rambunctious earthiness.

Machen was a great enthusiast for the literature which he felt conveyed the joy inherent in life and thus contained a feeling of ecstasy. His main passions and influences were for writers and writing he felt achieved this, an idiosyncratic list which included the ''[[Mabinogion]]'' and other [[romance (genre)|medieval romances]], [[François Rabelais]], [[Miguel de Cervantes]], [[William Shakespeare]], [[Samuel Johnson]], [[Thomas de Quincy]], [[Charles Dickens]], [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], [[Edgar Allan Poe]], and [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]. Those writers who failed to achieve this or far worse did not even attempt it, received short shrift from Machen.

Machen’s strong opposition to a materialistic viewpoint is obvious in many of his works marking him as part of [[neo-romanticism]]. He was deeply suspicious of [[science]], [[materialism]], [[commerce]] and [[Puritanism]], all of which were anathema to Machen's [[conservative]], [[bohemian]], [[mystical]], and ritualistic temperament. Machen’s virulent satirical streak against things he disliked has been regarded as a weakness in his work, and rather dating especially where it comes to the fore in works such as “Dr Stiggins”. Similarly some of his propaganda based [[First World War]] stories also have little appeal to a modern audience.

Machen, brought up as the son of a [[Church of England]] clergyman, always had Christian beliefs contrasting with a fascination with a sensual [[mysticism]] which led him towards an interest in [[paganism]] and the [[occult]] which was especially seen in his earliest works. Unlike many of his contemporaries, such as [[Oscar Wilde]] and [[Alfred Douglas]] his hatred of the [[reformation]], appreciation of the [[medieval]] world, and its [[Roman Catholic]] ritual and decoration did not fully tempt him away from [[Anglicanism]] nor did he fit entirely easily into the Victorian [[Anglo-Catholic]] world.
The death of his first wife led him to a spiritual crossroads and he experienced a series of mystical events. After experimenting with the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]], the orthodox ritual of the Church became every more important to him, gradually defining his position as a [[High Church]] Anglican who was able to incorporate elements from his own mystical experiences, [[Celtic Christianity]], and readings in literature and legend into his thinking.

== Legacy and influence ==

Machen’s literary significance is substantial, his work having been reprinted in short story anthologies countless times and translated into several languages. More recently the [[small press]] has continued to keep Machen's work in print.

Literary critics see Machen’s works as a significant part of the late Victorian revival of the [[gothic novel]] and the [[decadent]] movement of the 1890s bearing direct comparison to the themes found in contemporary works like [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]’s [[The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]], [[Bram Stoker]]’s [[Dracula]] and [[Oscar Wilde]]’s [[The Picture of Dorian Gray]]. At the time authors like Wilde, [[W.B. Yeats]] and [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] were all admirers of Machen’s works.

His popularity in 1920s America has been noted and Machen’s work was an influence on the development of the pulp horror found in magazines like [[Weird Tales]] and on such notable fantasy writers as [[James Branch Cabell]], [[Clark Ashton Smith]] and [[Robert E. Howard]].

His significance was recognized by [[H.P. Lovecraft]], who in his essay on "Supernatural Horror in literature" named Machen as one of the four "modern masters" of supernatural horror (with [[Algernon Blackwood]], [[Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany|Lord Dunsany]], and [[M. R. James]]). Machen’s influence on Lovecraft’s own work is substantial. Lovecraft’s reading of Machen in the early twenties led him away from his earlier Dunsanyian writing towards the development of what became the [[Cthulhu Mythos]]. Machen’s use of a contemporary Welsh or a London background in which sinister ancient horrors lurk and are capable of interbreeding with modern people obviously helped inspire Lovecraft’s ideas and moved him towards a similar use of a New England background. Lovecraft pays tribute to the influence by directly incorporating some of Machen’s creations and references such as [[Nodens (Cthulhu Mythos)]], and [[Aklo]] into his [[Cthulhu Mythos]], and using similar plot lines most notably seen by a comparison of [[The Dunwich Horror]] to [[The Great God Pan]].

His intense, atmospheric stories of horror and the supernatural have been read and enjoyed by many modern horror and fantasy writers influencing directly [[Peter Straub]], [[Ramsey Campbell]], [[Graham Joyce]], [[Simon Clark]], [[Mark Samuels]] and [[T. E. D. Klein]] to name but a few. Klein's novel ''The Ceremonies'' was partly based on Machen's "The White People", and [[Peter Straub]]'s novel ''Ghost Story'' was influenced by ''The Great God Pan''.

Machen’s influence is not limited to genre fiction however, [[Jorge Luis Borges]] recognized Machen as a great writer and through him he has had an influence on [[magic realism]]. He was also a major influence on [[Paul Bowles]] amd [[Javier Marias]]. He also was one of the most significant figures in the life of Poet Laureate, Sir [[John Betjeman]], who attibuted to Machen his conversion to High Church Anglicanism, an important part of his philosophy and poetry. Obviously Machen's niece [[Sylvia Townsend Warner]] also was influenced by the author.

Machen was also a pioneer in [[psychogeography]] due to his interest in the interconnection between landscape and the mind. His strange wanderings in Wales and London recorded in his beautiful prose make him of great interest to writers on this subject especially those focusing on London such as [[Iain Sinclair]], and [[Peter Ackroyd]]. [[Alan Moore]] wrote an exploration of Machen’s mystical experiences in his work Snakes and Ladders. [[Aleister Crowley]] loved Machen’s works feeling they contained magickal truth, though Machen, who never met him, detested Crowley.

In music [[John Ireland (composer)]] found Machen’s works to be a life changing experience which directly influenced much of his composition. [[Mark E. Smith]] of [[The Fall]] also found Machen an inspiration. Film director [[Michael Powell]] was also strongly influenced by Machen’s works. It is an interest also shared by other directors like [[Guillermo del Toro]] and [[Richard Stanley]]. Other notable figures with an enthusiasm for Machen have included [[Brocard Sewell]], [[Barry Humphries]], and [[Rowan Williams]] Archbishop of Canterbury.

An Arthur Machen Society was established in 1948 in the United States and survived till the sixties. It was followed by Arthur Machen Society based in the UK in 1986 which in turn was replaced by the current literary society, [[The Friends of Arthur Machen]], which is dedicated to preserving Machen's name.

== References ==

* Reynolds, Aidan and William Charlton, ''Arthur Machen'', London: John Baker, 1963. Paperback reprint, Oxford: Caermaen Books, 1988.
* Sweetser, Wesley, D., ''Arthur Machen'', New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc, 1964.
* Valentine, Mark, ''Arthur Machen'', Bridgend: Seren Books, 1995
* Gawsworth, John, ''The Life of Arthur Machen'', Available from the Friends of Arthur Machen, 2005.
* Arthur Machen, ''Tales of Horror and the Supernatural'' [[Tartarus Press]] collects most of the greatest of Machen’s short stories.

There is a substantial critical analysis of Machen's work in a chapter of [[S. T. Joshi]]'s book ''The Weird Tale'' (1990).

== Selected works (with date of publication) ==

* [[The Hill of Dreams]] (1907)
* [[The Great God Pan]] (1890/1894)
* ''The White People'' (1899) — A young girl's diary, recounting tales told her by her nurse, and her increasingly deep delvings into magic. Often described as one of the greatest of all horror short stories. Very subtle in its telling.
* ''The Inmost Light'' (1894) — A scientist imprisons his wife's soul in a shining jewel, letting ''something else'' into her untenanted body, but the jewel is stolen before he can reverse this...
* ''The Three Imposters'' (1895) — A short novel composed of many separate short stories, including 'The Novel of the White Powder' and 'The Novel of the Black Seal'. Centers on the search for a man with spectacles.
* ''The Novel of the Black Seal'' — A precursor of [[H. P. Lovecraft]] in its subject matter, the protagonist gradually uncovers the secrets of a hidden pre- and non-human race hiding in the Welsh hills, and the true nature of a hybrid, idiot child fathered by one of them.
* ''The Novel of the White Powder'' — A man's behavior takes a strange turn after he starts taking a new prescription. His sister doesn't know if this is a good thing or a bad one...
* ''The Red Hand'' — Another story featuring the main characters from 'The Three Imposters'. It focuses on a murder performed with, of all things, an ancient stone axe.
* ''The Shining Pyramid'' — Strange arrangements of stones appear at the edge of a young man's property. He and a friend attempt to decipher their meaning before it is too late...
* ''The Terror'' — In 1916 wartime Britain a series of unexplained murders occur with no sign of who or what is responsible.
* ''The Great Return'' (1915) — The [[Holy Grail]] returns to a Welsh village.
* ''The Bowmen'' (1914) — In this story, written and published during [[World War I]], the ghosts of archers from the [[battle of Agincourt]] lead by [[Saint George]] come to the aid of British troops. This is attributed (by some at least) as the origin of the [[Angels of Mons]] legend.
*[[The Secret Glory]] (1922) — A Public school boy becomes fascinated by tales of the Holy Grail and escapes from his repressive school in search of a deeper meaning to life.

== External links ==

* [http://www.machensoc.demon.co.uk/ The Friends of Arthur Machen — Literary society with a long Machen biography and links]
* {{gutenberg author|id=Arthur_Machen|name=Arthur Machen}}

* {{Gutenberg Australia author|letter=M|name=Arthur Machen}}
* [http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/whtpeopl.htm Gaslight] — ''The White People'' as a free etext
* [http://www.orplex.com/gkcp/readbook.aspx?style=basic.xslt&book=The%20Hill%20of%20Dreams.xml ''The Hill of Dreams'']

[[Category:Writers|Machen, Arthur]]
[[Category:Historic Authors|Machen, Arthur]]

Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

Arthur Machen

2006-02-03T21:54:55Z

Theshoveller: /* Legacy and influence */

'''Arthur Machen''' ([[March 3]], [[1863]] – [[December 15th]], [[1947]]) was a leading [[Wales|Welsh]]-born [[author]] of the 1890s. He is best known for his influential [[supernatural fiction|supernatural]], [[fantasy fiction|fantasy]] and [[horror fiction]]. He also is well known for a leading role in creating the myth of the [[Angels of Mons]].

==Biography==

===Early years===

He was born '''Arthur Llewelyn Jones''', in [[Caerleon]] in [[Monmouthshire]]. His father [[John Edward Jones]] became Vicar of the tiny church of [[Llandewi Fach]], near Caerleon, and his son was brought up at the rectory there. Later his father adopted his Mother's maiden name Machen to inherit a legacy becoming "Jones-Machen" and his son just used the name Arthur Machen. Machen's love of the beautiful landscape of [[Gwent]] with its associations with Celtic, Roman and medieval history made a powerful impression on him which are at the heart of many of his works. At the age of eleven Machen boarded at [[Hereford Cathedral School]] where he received an excellent classical education. Family poverty however ruled out attendance at University and Machen was sent to [[London]] where he sat exams to attend medical school but failed to get in. Machen however showed literary promise; publishing in 1881 a long poem "Eleusinia" on the subject of the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]]. Returning to London he lived in relative poverty attempting to work as a journalist, as a publishers clerk and as a children’s tutor while writing in the evening and going on long rambling walks across London.

In 1884 he published his second work, the pastiche The Anatomy of Tobacco, and secured work with the publisher and bookseller [[George Redway]] as a cataloguer and magazine editor. This led to further work as a translator from Old French, translating the [[Marguerite of Navarre]], [[Heptameron]], [[Beroalde de Verville]], ''"Le Moyen de Parvenir"'' (Fantastic Tales) and [[Casanova]], "Memoirs". Machen's translations in a spirited English style became standard ones for many years. In 1887 Machen married [[Amy Hogg]], an unconventional music teacher with a passion for the theatre who had literary friends in London's Bohemian circles. Amy had significantly introduced Machen to [[A. E. Waite]] who was to become one of Machen's closest friends. Machen also made the acquaintance of other literary figues such as [[M. P. Shiel]] and [[Edgar Jepson]]. Soon after his marriage, Machen began to receive a series of legacies from Scottish relatives that allowed him to gradually devote more time to writing.

===Literary decadence in the 1890s===

Around 1890 Machen began to write stories for literary magazines very much influenced by the works of [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], some of which used gothic or fantastic themes. This led to the creation of his first major success [[The Great God Pan]]. It was published in [[1894]] by [[John Lane]] in the noted [[Keynote]] series of novels which were part of the growing [[aesthetic movement]] of the time. Machen’s story was widely denounced for its sexual and horrific content and subsequently sold well, going into a second edition. Machen next produced [[The Three Imposters]], a short novel composed of a number of interwoven tales in [[1895]]. The novel and the stories within it were eventually to become one of Machen’s best known works. However, following the scandal surrounding [[Oscar Wilde]] later that year Machen’s association with works of decadent horror made it difficult to find a publisher for new works. Thus though he wrote some of his greatest works over the next few years some of these were published much later. These included The Hill of Dreams, Hieroglyphics, A Fragment of Life, the story The White People, and the stories which make up Ornaments in Jade.

===Tragedy and acting: 1899-1910===

In [[1899]] Machen’s wife Amy died of cancer after a long period of illness. This had a devastating effect on Machen. He only gradually recovered from his loss over the next year, partially through his close friendship with [[A. E. Waite]]. It was through Waite’s influence that Machen joined at this time the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]], though Machen’s interest in the organization was not a lasting one. Machen’s recovery was further helped by his sudden change of career, becoming an actor in 1901 and a member of [[Frank Benson]]’s company of traveling players, a profession which took him round the country. This led in 1903 to a second marriage to [[Dorothie Purefoy Hudleston]] which brought Machen much happiness. Machen managed to find a publisher in 1902 for his earlier written work Hieroglyphics, which was his analysis of the nature of literature, wherein he came to the conclusion that true literature must convey ecstasy. In [[1906]] Machen’s literary career began once more to flourish as the book [[The House of Souls]] collected his most notable works of the Nineties and brought them to a new audience. He also published a satirical work, “Dr Stiggins – His views and principles”, generally considered one of his weakest works. Machen also was at this time investigating [[Celtic Christianity]], The [[Holy Grail]] and [[King Arthur]]. Publishing his views in [[Lord Alfred Douglas]]’s [[The Academy]] where he wrote regularly, Machen concluded that the legends of the Grail actually were based on dim recollections of the rites of the Celtic Church. These ideas also featured strongly in [[The Secret Glory]] which he wrote at this time. In 1907 [[The Hill of Dreams]], generally considered Machen’s masterpiece, was finally published, though it was not recognized much at the time.

The next few years saw Machen continue with acting in various companies and with journalistic work, but he was finding it increasingly hard to earn a living as his legacies were long exhausted. Machen was also attending literary gatherings like The [[New Bohemians]] and The [[Square Club]] amongst other activities.

===Journalism and the Great War: 1910-1921===

Finally Machen accepted a full time journalist’s job at [[Alfred Harmsworth]]’s [[London Evening News]] in [[1910]]. In February 1912 his son Hilary was born, followed by a daughter Janet in 1917. The coming of war in [[1914]] saw Machen return to public prominence for the first time in twenty years due to the publication of [[The Bowman]] and the subsequent [[Angels of Mons]] episode. He published a series of stories capitalizing on this success, most of which were morale boosting propaganda but the most notable, “The Great Return” (1915), and the novella “The Terror” (1917), were more accomplished. He also published a series of autobiographical articles during the war, later published as “Far off Things”.

In general though Machen thoroughly disliked work at the newspaper, and it was only the need to earn money for his family which kept him at it. The money came in useful allowing him to move to a bigger house in [[St John’s Wood]] in 1919 with a garden, which became a noted location for literary gatherings attended by friends like the painter [[Augustus John]], [[Wyndham Lewis]], and [[Jerome K. Jerome]]. Machen’s dismissal from the Evening News in 1921 came as a relief in one sense though it caused financial problems. However Machen was recognized as a great Fleet Street character by his contemporaries and he remained in demand as an essay writer for much of the twenties.

===The Machen Boom of the Twenties===

Fortunately 1922 also saw a revival in Machen’s literary fortunes. [[The Secret Glory]] was finally published, as was his autobiography “Far Off Things”, and new editions of Machen’s Casanova, [[The House of Souls]] and [[The Hill of Dreams]] all came out. Machen’s works had now found a new audience and publishers in America and a series of requests for republications of books started to come in. [[Vincent Starrett]], [[James Branch Cabell]] and [[Carl Van Vechten]] were American Machen devotees who helped in this process. A sign of his rising fortunes were shown by publication in 1923 of a collected edition of his works and a bibliography. That year also saw the publication of a recently completed second volume of autobiography “Things Near and Far”, the final volume, “The London Adventure” being published in 1924. Machen’s earlier works suddenly started becoming much sought after collectors items at this time, a position they have held ever since. In 1924 he issued a collection of bad reviews of his own work, with very little commentary, under the title ''Precious Balms.''

===Final years: 1926-1947===

By 1926 the boom in republication was mostly over and Machen’s income dropped. He continued republishing earlier works in collected editions as well as writing essays and articles for various magazines, newspapers and contributing forwards and introductions to both his own and other writers works, but produced little new fiction. In 1927 he became a manuscript reader for publisher Ernest Benn which brought in much needed regular income till 1933. In 1929 Machen and his family moved away from London to [[Amersham]] in Buckinghamshire, but they still faced financial hardship. He received some recognition for his literary work when he received a Civil List pension in 1932 of one hundred pounds, but the loss of work from Benns a year later made things difficult once more. A few more collections of Machen’s shorter works were published in the thirties, partially as a result of the championing of Machen by [[John Gawsworth]], who also began work on a biography of Machen only published in 2005.

Machen’s financial difficulties were only finally ended by the literary appeal launched in 1943 for his eightieth birthday. The initial names on the appeal show the general recognition of Machen’s stature as a distinguished man of letters as they included [[Max Beerbohm]], [[T. S. Eliot]], [[Bernard Shaw]], [[Walter de la Mare]], [[Algernon Blackwood]] and [[John Masefield]] amongst others. The success of the appeal allowed Machen to live the last few years of his life till 1947 in relative comfort.

==Machen’s philosophy and religion==

From the beginning of his literary career Machen espoused a [[mystical]] belief that the humdrum ordinary world hid a more mysterious and strange world beyond. His [[gothic novel|gothic]] and [[decadent]] works of the eighteen-nineties concluded that the lifting of this veil could lead to madness, sex, or death, and usually a combination of all three. Machen’s later works became somewhat less obviously full of gothic trappings, but for him investigations into mysteries invariably resulted in life changing transformation and sacrifice. Machen loved the medieval world view because he felt it combined deep spirituality alongside a rambunctious earthiness.

Machen was a great enthusiast for the literature which he felt conveyed the joy inherent in life and thus contained a feeling of ecstasy. His main passions and influences were for writers and writing he felt achieved this, an idiosyncratic list which included the ''[[Mabinogion]]'' and other [[romance (genre)|medieval romances]], [[François Rabelais]], [[Miguel de Cervantes]], [[William Shakespeare]], [[Samuel Johnson]], [[Thomas de Quincy]], [[Charles Dickens]], [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], [[Edgar Allan Poe]], and [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]. Those writers who failed to achieve this or far worse did not even attempt it, received short shrift from Machen.

Machen’s strong opposition to a materialistic viewpoint is obvious in many of his works marking him as part of [[neo-romanticism]]. He was deeply suspicious of [[science]], [[materialism]], [[commerce]] and [[Puritanism]], all of which were anathema to Machen's [[conservative]], [[bohemian]], [[mystical]], and ritualistic temperament. Machen’s virulent satirical streak against things he disliked has been regarded as a weakness in his work, and rather dating especially where it comes to the fore in works such as “Dr Stiggins”. Similarly some of his propaganda based [[First World War]] stories also have little appeal to a modern audience.

Machen, brought up as the son of a [[Church of England]] clergyman, always had Christian beliefs contrasting with a fascination with a sensual [[mysticism]] which led him towards an interest in [[paganism]] and the [[occult]] which was especially seen in his earliest works. Unlike many of his contemporaries, such as [[Oscar Wilde]] and [[Alfred Douglas]] his hatred of the [[reformation]], appreciation of the [[medieval]] world, and its [[Roman Catholic]] ritual and decoration did not fully tempt him away from [[Anglicanism]] nor did he fit entirely easily into the Victorian [[Anglo-Catholic]] world.
The death of his first wife led him to a spiritual crossroads and he experienced a series of mystical events. After experimenting with the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]], the orthodox ritual of the Church became every more important to him, gradually defining his position as a [[High Church]] Anglican who was able to incorporate elements from his own mystical experiences, [[Celtic Christianity]], and readings in literature and legend into his thinking.

== Legacy and influence ==

Machen’s literary significance is substantial, his work having been reprinted in short story anthologies countless times and translated into several languages. More recently the [[small press]] has continued to keep Machen's work in print.

Literary critics see Machen’s works as a significant part of the late Victorian revival of the [[gothic novel]] and the [[decadent]] movement of the 1890s bearing direct comparison to the themes found in contemporary works like [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]’s [[The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde]], [[Bram Stoker]]’s [[Dracula]] and [[Oscar Wilde]]’s [[The Picture of Dorian Gray]]. At the time authors like Wilde, [[W.B. Yeats]] and [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] were all admirers of Machen’s works.

His popularity in 1920s America has been noted and Machen’s work was an influence on the development of the pulp horror found in magazines like [[Weird Tales]] and on such notable fantasy writers as [[James Branch Cabell]], [[Clark Ashton Smith]] and [[Robert E. Howard]].

His significance was recognized by [[H.P. Lovecraft]], who in his essay on "Supernatural Horror in literature" named Machen as one of the four "modern masters" of supernatural horror (with [[Algernon Blackwood]], [[Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany|Lord Dunsany]], and [[M. R. James]]). Machen’s influence on Lovecraft’s own work is substantial. Lovecraft’s reading of Machen in the early twenties led him away from his earlier Dunsanyian writing towards the development of what became the [[Cthulhu Mythos]]. Machen’s use of a contemporary Welsh or a London background in which sinister ancient horrors lurk and are capable of interbreeding with modern people obviously helped inspire Lovecraft’s ideas and moved him towards a similar use of a New England background. Lovecraft pays tribute to the influence by directly incorporating some of Machen’s creations and references such as [[Nodens (Cthulhu Mythos)]], and [[Aklo]] into his [[Cthulhu Mythos]], and using similar plot lines most notably seen by a comparison of [[The Dunwich Horror]] to [[The Great God Pan]].

His intense, atmospheric stories of horror and the supernatural have been read and enjoyed by many modern horror and fantasy writers influencing directly [[Peter Straub]], [[Ramsey Campbell]], [[Graham Joyce]], [[Simon Clark]], [[Mark Samuels]] and [[T. E. D. Klein]] to name but a few. Klein's novel ''The Ceremonies'' was partly based on Machen's "The White People", and [[Peter Straub]]'s novel ''Ghost Story'' was influenced by ''The Great God Pan''.

Machen’s influence is not limited to genre fiction however, [[Jorge Luis Borges]] recognized Machen as a great writer and through him he has had an influence on [[magic realism]]. He was also a major influence on [[Paul Bowles]] amd [[Javier Marias]][. He also was one of the most significant figures in the life of Poet Laureate, Sir [[John Betjeman]], who attibuted to Machen his conversion to High Church Anglicanism, an important part of his philosophy and poetry. Obviously Machen's niece [[Sylvia Townsend Warner]] also was influenced by the author.

Machen was also a pioneer in [[psychogeography]] due to his interest in the interconnection between landscape and the mind. His strange wanderings in Wales and London recorded in his beautiful prose make him of great interest to writers on this subject especially those focusing on London such as [[Iain Sinclair]], and [[Peter Ackroyd]]. [[Alan Moore]] wrote an exploration of Machen’s mystical experiences in his work Snakes and Ladders. [[Aleister Crowley]] loved Machen’s works feeling they contained magickal truth, though Machen, who never met him, detested Crowley.

In music [[John Ireland (composer)]] found Machen’s works to be a life changing experience which directly influenced much of his composition. [[Mark E. Smith]] of [[The Fall]] also found Machen an inspiration. Film director [[Michael Powell]] was also strongly influenced by Machen’s works. It is an interest also shared by other directors like [[Guillermo del Toro]] and [[Richard Stanley]]. Other notable figures with an enthusiasm for Machen have included [[Brocard Sewell]], [[Barry Humphries]], and [[Rowan Williams]] Archbishop of Canterbury.

An Arthur Machen Society was established in 1948 in the United States and survived till the sixties. It was followed by Arthur Machen Society based in the UK in 1986 which in turn was replaced by the current literary society, [[The Friends of Arthur Machen]], which is dedicated to preserving Machen's name.

== References ==

* Reynolds, Aidan and William Charlton, ''Arthur Machen'', London: John Baker, 1963. Paperback reprint, Oxford: Caermaen Books, 1988.
* Sweetser, Wesley, D., ''Arthur Machen'', New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc, 1964.
* Valentine, Mark, ''Arthur Machen'', Bridgend: Seren Books, 1995
* Gawsworth, John, ''The Life of Arthur Machen'', Available from the Friends of Arthur Machen, 2005.
* Arthur Machen, ''Tales of Horror and the Supernatural'' [[Tartarus Press]] collects most of the greatest of Machen’s short stories.

There is a substantial critical analysis of Machen's work in a chapter of [[S. T. Joshi]]'s book ''The Weird Tale'' (1990).

== Selected works (with date of publication) ==

* [[The Hill of Dreams]] (1907)
* [[The Great God Pan]] (1890/1894)
* ''The White People'' (1899) — A young girl's diary, recounting tales told her by her nurse, and her increasingly deep delvings into magic. Often described as one of the greatest of all horror short stories. Very subtle in its telling.
* ''The Inmost Light'' (1894) — A scientist imprisons his wife's soul in a shining jewel, letting ''something else'' into her untenanted body, but the jewel is stolen before he can reverse this...
* ''The Three Imposters'' (1895) — A short novel composed of many separate short stories, including 'The Novel of the White Powder' and 'The Novel of the Black Seal'. Centers on the search for a man with spectacles.
* ''The Novel of the Black Seal'' — A precursor of [[H. P. Lovecraft]] in its subject matter, the protagonist gradually uncovers the secrets of a hidden pre- and non-human race hiding in the Welsh hills, and the true nature of a hybrid, idiot child fathered by one of them.
* ''The Novel of the White Powder'' — A man's behavior takes a strange turn after he starts taking a new prescription. His sister doesn't know if this is a good thing or a bad one...
* ''The Red Hand'' — Another story featuring the main characters from 'The Three Imposters'. It focuses on a murder performed with, of all things, an ancient stone axe.
* ''The Shining Pyramid'' — Strange arrangements of stones appear at the edge of a young man's property. He and a friend attempt to decipher their meaning before it is too late...
* ''The Terror'' — In 1916 wartime Britain a series of unexplained murders occur with no sign of who or what is responsible.
* ''The Great Return'' (1915) — The [[Holy Grail]] returns to a Welsh village.
* ''The Bowmen'' (1914) — In this story, written and published during [[World War I]], the ghosts of archers from the [[battle of Agincourt]] lead by [[Saint George]] come to the aid of British troops. This is attributed (by some at least) as the origin of the [[Angels of Mons]] legend.
*[[The Secret Glory]] (1922) — A Public school boy becomes fascinated by tales of the Holy Grail and escapes from his repressive school in search of a deeper meaning to life.

== External links ==

* [http://www.machensoc.demon.co.uk/ The Friends of Arthur Machen — Literary society with a long Machen biography and links]
* {{gutenberg author|id=Arthur_Machen|name=Arthur Machen}}

* {{Gutenberg Australia author|letter=M|name=Arthur Machen}}
* [http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/whtpeopl.htm Gaslight] — ''The White People'' as a free etext
* [http://www.orplex.com/gkcp/readbook.aspx?style=basic.xslt&book=The%20Hill%20of%20Dreams.xml ''The Hill of Dreams'']

[[Category:Writers|Machen, Arthur]]
[[Category:Historic Authors|Machen, Arthur]]

Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

Talk:L. Sprague de Camp

2006-02-03T21:43:46Z

Theshoveller:

==Edits==
*Just made a minor edit to the comment on de Camp's bio of Lovecraft. I deleted the line about Lovecraft being 'hard to show in a flattering light' as, in traditional wiki terms, it's opinion not fact. Personally I think Joshi's bio shows HPL in a very flattering light. --[[User:Theshoveller|Theshoveller]] 16:20, 2 February 2006 (EST)
**Keep in mind that much of this was stolen straight from Wikipedia and any change you make here that you believe should be changed for the good of the world should be made on Wikipedia as well. --[[User:Squashua|Squashua]] 16:51, 2 February 2006 (EST)
I wasn't aware of that. Getting my own wikipedia account is on my personal to-do list. --[[User:Theshoveller|Theshoveller]] 16:43, 3 February 2006 (EST)

Talk:L. Sprague de Camp

2006-02-02T21:20:17Z

Theshoveller:

Just made a minor edit to the comment on de Camp's bio of Lovecraft. I deleted the line about Lovecraft being 'hard to show in a flattering light' as, in traditional wiki terms, it's opinion not fact. Personally I think Joshi's bio shows HPL in a very flattering light. --[[User:Theshoveller|Theshoveller]] 16:20, 2 February 2006 (EST)

L. Sprague de Camp

2006-02-02T21:17:37Z

Theshoveller: /* Works (Nonfiction) */

[[Image:l-sprague-de-camp.jpg|thumb|300px|right|L. Sprague de Camp (centre) with Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov]]

'''Lyon Sprague de Camp''', ([[November 27]] [[1907]] – [[November 6]] [[2000]]) was a [[science fiction authors|science fiction]] and [[fantasy authors|fantasy author]] born in [[New York City]]. In a writer career spanning fifty years he wrote over 100 novels, along with notable works of nonfiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors.

==Life==
Trained as an aeronautical engineer, De Camp received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the [[California Institute of Technology]] in 1930 and Master of Science degree in Engineering from [[Stevens Institute of Technology]] in 1933.

He married Catherine Crook in 1940, with whom he collaborated on numerous works of fiction and nonfiction beginning in the 1960s.

During [[World War II]], de Camp worked at the [[Philadelphia Naval Yard]] with fellow authors [[Isaac Asimov]] and [[Robert A. Heinlein]]. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve.

He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the [[Trap Door Spiders]], which served as the basis of [[Isaac Asimov]]'s fictional group of mystery solvers the [[Black Widowers]]. De Camp himself was the model for the Geoffrey Avalon character.

The de Camps moved to [[Plano, Texas|Plano]], [[Texas]] in [[1989]]. De Camp died there on [[November 6]], [[2000]], seven months after the death of his wife of sixty years, Catherine Crook de Camp. He died on what would have been her birthday, three weeks shy of his own 93rd birthday. His ashes were interred with those of his wife in [[Arlington National Cemetery]].

De Camp's personal library of about 1,200 books was acquired for auction by Half Price Books in 2005. The collection included books inscribed by fellow writers such as [[Isaac Asimov]] and [[Carl Sagan]], as well as de Camp himself.

==Works (Fiction)==
De Camp's first published story was "The Isolinguals" in the [[September]] [[1937]] issue of ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]''. He went on to write numerous novels, short stories and non-fiction works in his long career.

De Camp was a [[materialism|materialist]] who wrote works examining [[society]], [[history]], [[technology]] and [[myth]]. His science fiction is marked by a concern for linguistics and historical forces. His most highly regarded works in the genre are his time-travel stories, including ''[[Lest Darkness Fall]]'' ([[1939]]), ''The Wheels of If'' ([[1940]]), and ''The Glory That Was'' ([[1960]]). His most extended work was his Viagens Interplanetarias series, set in a future where Brazil is the dominant power, particularly the subseries of planetary romances set on the planet Krishna. De Camp wrote a number of less-known but significant works that explored such topics as [[racism]], which he noted is more accurately described as [[ethnocentrism]]. He pointed out that no scholar comparing the merits of various ethnicities has ever sought to prove that ''his own'' ethnicity was inferior to others.

De Camp was best known for his light fantasy, particularly the "[[Harold Shea (fictional series)|Harold Shea]]" series and "Gavagan's Bar" series, both written in collaboration with his longtime friend [[Fletcher Pratt]]. He was also known for his sword-and-sorcery, a subgenre he was instrumental in reviving through his editorial work on and continuation of [[Robert E. Howard|Robert E. Howard's]] "[[Conan]]" cycle.

De Camp also wrote [[Historical Fiction]], that is, books that were historically accurate as far as the time the events took place, but in which the story itself was false. Most of his work in this genre was set in the era of classical antiquity. One of his most famous historical novels was ''[[The Dragon of Ishtar Gate]]''.

==Works (Nonfiction)==
De Camp enjoyed [[pseudoscience|debunking]] doubtful history and claims of the supernatural, and to describe how [[ancient civilization]]s produced structures and [[architecture]] thought by some to be beyond the technologies of their time, such as the [[Pyramid]]s of [[Ancient Egypt]]. Works in this area include ''Citadels of Mystery'' and ''The Ancient Engineers''. Among his many other wide-ranging non-fiction works were ''Lost Continents'', ''[[The Great Monkey Trial]]'' (about the [[Scopes Trial]]), ''The Ragged Edge Of Science'', ''Energy and Power'', ''Heroes of American Invention''. ''The Day Of The Dinosaur'' (which argued, among other things, that evolution took hold after Darwin because of the Victorian interest spurred by recently popularized dinosaur remains, corresponding to legends of dragons), ''The Evolution Of Naval Weapons'' (a [[United States|United States of America]] government textbook) and ''Teach Your Child To Manage Money''.

The author also wrote [[biography|biographies]] of many key fantasy writers, most as short articles, but two as full-length studies of the prominent but personally flawed authors [[Robert E. Howard]] and [[H. P. Lovecraft]]. The latter, the first major independent biography of the now-famous writer, was criticized by some [[fanatic|fans]] of Lovecraft as unflattering and unbalanced. Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi characterises this as de Camp's failure to understand his subject and Joshi's own biography is highly critical of de Camp's approach.

==Awards==
L. Sprague de Camp was the guest of honor at the [[1966]] [[Worldcon|World Science Fiction Convention]] and won the [[Nebula Award]] as a Grandmaster ([[1978]]) and the [[Hugo Award]] in [[1997]] for his autobiography, ''Time and Chance''. In [[1976]], he received the [[World Science Fiction Society]]'s [[Gandalf Award|Gandalf Grand Master]] award. In [[1995]], he won the first [[Sidewise Award for Alternate History]] Lifetime Achievement Award.

==Bibliography==

===Science Fiction===

====Series====
=====Viagens Interplanetarias=====
#''[[The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens]]'' (----)
#''[[Rogue Queen]]'' (1951)
#''[[The Stones of Nomuru]]'' (1988) (with [[Catherine Crook de Camp]])
#''[[The Venom Trees of Sunga]]'' (1992)
======'''Krishna Novels'''======
*#''[[The Queen of Zamba]]'' (1977) [expansion of [[Cosmic Manhunt]] (1954)]
*#''[[The Tower of Zanid]]'' (1958)
*#''[[The Search for Zei]]'' (1962)
*#''[[The Hand of Zei]]'' (1963)
*#''[[The Hostage of Zir]]'' (1977)
*#''[[The Prisoner of Zhamanak]]'' (1982)
*#''[[The Bones of Zora]]'' (1983) (with [[Catherine Crook de Camp]])
*#''[[The Swords of Zinjaban]]'' (1991) (with [[Catherine Crook de Camp]])

====Other Novels====
*''[[Lest Darkness Fall]]'' (1941)
*''[[Divide and Rule]]'' (1948)
*''[[The Stolen Dormouse]]'' (1948)
*''[[Genus Homo (novel)|Genus Homo]]'' (1950) (with [[P. Schuyler Miller]])
*''[[The Glory That Was]]'' (1960)
*''[[The Virgin and the Wheels]]'' (1976)
*''[[The Great Fetish]]'' (1978)

===Fantasy===

====Series====
=====[[Harold Shea (fictional series)|Harold Shea]]=====
#''[[The Incomplete Enchanter]]'' (1941) (with Fletcher Pratt)
#''[[The Castle of Iron]]'' (1941) (with Fletcher Pratt)
#''[[Wall of Serpents]]'' (1953) (with Fletcher Pratt)
#''[[Sir Harold and the Gnome King]]'' (1991)
#''[[The Enchanter Reborn]]'' (1992) (with Christopher Stasheff)
#''[[The Exotic Enchanter]]'' (1995) (with Christopher Stasheff)

=====Novarian Series=====
#''[[The Goblin Tower]]'' (1968)
#''[[The Clocks of Iraz]]'' (1971)
#''[[The Fallible Fiend]]'' (1973)
#''[[The Unbeheaded King]]'' (1983)
#''[[The Reluctant King]]'' (omnibus) (1985)
#''[[The Honorable Barbarian]]'' (1989)

=====Incorporated Knight=====
#''[[The Incorporated Knight]]'' (1987)
#''[[The Pixilated Peeress]]'' (1991)

=====Conan=====
#*1 ''[[Conan]]'' (1967) (with Robert E. Howard and Lin Carter)
#*2 ''[[Conan of Cimmeria]]'' (1969) (with Robert E. Howard and Lin Carter)
#*3 ''[[Conan the Freebooter]]'' (1968) (with Robert E. Howard)
#*4 ''[[Conan the Wanderer]]'' (1968) (with Robert E. Howard and Lin Carter)
#*5 ''[[Conan the Adventurer]]'' (1966) (with Robert E. Howard)
#*6 ''[[Conan the Buccaneer]]'' (1966) (with Lin Carter)
#*7 ''[[Conan the Warrior]]'' (1966) (with Robert E. Howard)
#*8 ''[[Conan the Usurper]]'' (1967) (with Robert E. Howard)
#*10 ''[[Conan the Avenger]]'' (1968) (with Björn Nyberg and Robert E. Howard)
#*11 ''[[Conan of Aquilonia]]'' (1977) (with Lin Carter)
#*12 ''[[Conan of the Isles]]'' (1968) (with Lin Carter)
#*''[[Tales of Conan]]'' (1955) (with Robert E. Howard)
#*''[[Conan the Swordsman]]'' (1978) (with Lin Carter and Björn Nyberg)
#*''[[Conan the Liberator]]'' (1979) (with Lin Carter)
#*''[[Conan and the Spider God]]'' (1980)
#*''[[The Treasure of Tranicos]]'' (1980) (with Robert E. Howard)
#*''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' (1982) (with Lin Carter)
#*''[[Conan: The Flame Knife]]'' (1986) (with Robert E. Howard)
#*''[[Sagas of Conan]]'' (2004) (with Lin Carter and Björn Nyberg)

====Other Novels====
*''[[Land of Unreason]]'' (1942) (with Fletcher Pratt)
*''[[The Carnelian Cube]]'' (1948) (with Fletcher Pratt)
*''[[The Undesired Princess]]'' (1951)
*''[[Solomon's Stone]]'' (1957)
*''[[The Undesired Princess and the Enchanted Bunny]]'' (1990) (with [[David Drake]])

===Historical Novels===
*''[[An Elephant for Aristotle]]'' (1958)
*''[[The Bronze God of Rhodes]]'' (1960)
*''[[The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate]]'' (1961)
*''[[The Arrows of Hercules]]'' (1965)
*''[[The Golden Wind]]'' (1969)

===Nonfiction===

====Biography====
*''[[Dark Valley Destiny: The Life of Robert E. Howard]]'' (1983)
*''[[Literary Swordsmen & Sorcerers]]'' (1976)
*''[[Lovecraft: A Biography]]'' (1996)
*''[[Time & Chance: An Autobiography]]'' (1996)

====History====
*''[[Ancient Ruins]]'' (1992)
*''[[Citadels of Mystery]]'' (1972)
*''[[Darwin And His Great Discovery]]'' (1972)
*''[[Great Cities Of The Ancient World]]'' (1990)
*''[[Heroes of American Invention]]'' (1993)
*''[[The Ancient Engineers]]'' (1963)
*''[[The Evolution Of Naval Weapons]]'' (1947)
*''[[The Great Monkey Trial]]'' (1968)
*''[[The Heroic Age of American Invention]]'' (1961)

====Science====
*''[[The Day Of The Dinosaur]]'' (1985)
*''[[Elephant]]'' (1964)
*''[[Energy and Power]]'' (1962)
*''[[Engines]]'' (1959)
*''[[Footprints On Sand]]'' (1981)
*''[[Inventions Patents and Their Management]]'' (1959)
*''[[Man And Power]] (1961)
*''[[The Ragged Edge Of Science]] (1988)
*''[[The Story Of Science In America]] (1967)

====Other====
*''[[Lands Beyond]]'' (1952)
*''[[Lost Continents]]'' (1975)
*''[[Rubber Dinosaurs And Wooden Elephants]]'' (1996)
*''[[Science-Fiction Handbook]]'', Revised (1975, 1977)
*''[[Spirits, Stars and Spells the Profits and Perils of Magic]]'' (1966)
*''[[Teach Your Child To Manage Money]]'' (1974)
*''[[The Ape-Man Within]]'' (1995)
*''[[The Fringe Of The Unknown]]'' (1983)
*''[[The Money Tree]]'' (1972)
*''[[Three Thousand Years Of Fantasy And Science Fiction]]'' (1972)
*''[[To Quebec and the Stars]]'' (1976)

==External links==
* [http://www.lspraguedecamp.com/] - the official L. Sprague de Camp website

[[Category:Writers|De Camp, L. Sprague]]
[[Category:Historical Authors|De Camp, L. Sprague]]

Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

Talk:Cthulhu Mythos

2006-01-18T10:20:10Z

Theshoveller:

I think Joshi's name is being bandied about in a way I think he wouldn't be entirely comfortable with.

In the biography, Joshi is rather scathing about the term 'Cthulhu mythos'. I don't think the 'Lovecraft mythos' reference is too contentious, but I think Joshi would contrast this with the 'Delerth mythos'. I think any considerations of 'pantheons' and suchlike belong more strongly in the Delerth camp, rather than anything that should be attributed to Lovecraft himself.

I'd like to propose moving the 'Delerth involvement' a bit further up the page and getting said discussion out of the way, before launching into discussions of the Cthulhu mythos. We should also think about making the distinction between the mythos in fiction (a bit of a vague concept) and the mythos in the game (a much more concrete, codified thing). --[[User:Theshoveller|Theshoveller]] 15:13, 17 January 2006 (EST)

I am not sure that we can change it- Cthulhu Mythos has become ingrained in our culture. Though personally, I would prefer Yog-Sothery. --[[User:Jeff Campbell|Jeff Campbell]] 00:30, 18 January 2006 (EST)

I'm just suggesting how to clarify what is meant by Cthulhu mythos. I think it has much more weight as a gaming term than a literary one and I think this should be made clear.--[[User:Theshoveller|Theshoveller]] 05:20, 18 January 2006 (EST)

Sandy Petersen

2006-01-17T20:18:46Z

Theshoveller:

[[Image:sandy-petersen.jpg|thumb|256px|Sandy Petersen]]

'''Carl Sanford Joslyn Petersen''' (born [[September 16]], [[1955]]) is a [[game designer]].

Petersen was born in [[St. Louis, Missouri]] and attended [[University of California, Berkeley]], majoring in [[zoology]].

He is a well-known fan of [[H.P. Lovecraft]], whose work he first encountered in a [[World War II]] Armed Services edition of ''[[The Dunwich Horror and other Weird Tales]]'' found in his father's library. In [[1974]], ''[[Dungeons and Dragons|Dungeons & Dragons]]'' brought his interest to [[role-playing game]]s. His interest for role-playing games and H.P. Lovecraft were fused when he became principal author of the game ''[[Call of Cthulhu role-playing game|Call of Cthulhu]]'', published [[1981]], and many scenarios and background pieces thereafter. While working for [[Chaosium]] he co-authored the third edition of ''[[RuneQuest]]'', for which he also co-wrote the critically acclaimed ''Trollpack'', and a number of other [[Glorantha]]n supplements.

He worked some time for [[Microprose]], where he is credited for work between [[1989]] and [[1992]] on the games ''[[Darklands]]'', ''[[Hyperspeed (computer game)|Hyperspeed]]'', ''[[Lightspeed (computer game)|Lightspeed]]'', ''[[Sid Meier's Pirates!]]'' and ''[[Sword of the Samurai]]''. He also made minor contributions for ''[[Civilization (computer game)|Civilization]]''. During this time he also authored a regular computer and console gaming column for DRAGON magazine.

Primarily interested by the [[first-person shooter]] ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'', Petersen joined [[id Software]] about 10 weeks before the [[December]] [[1993]] release of ''[[DOOM]]'' and in that time created 19 [[level]]s for it (of which 8 were based to some extent on early drafts by [[Tom Hall]]). He later created 17 of the levels for ''[[DOOM II]]'', and 7 levels for ''[[Quake]]''. His Lovecraftian influences also affected some of the monster design for these games.

He left id Software for [[Ensemble Studios]] in [[June]] [[1997]]. There, he has worked as a game designer on several of their ''[[Age of Empires]]'' titles, including ''[[Rise of Rome]]'', ''[[Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings|Age of Kings]]'', and ''[[Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion|The Conquerors]]''. During this time, he was a frequent poster on the [[Heavengames]] forums under the username ES_Sandyman. He ran an extremely popular series of threads, "Ask Sandyman", where forummers could ask him about anything they wanted (though there were some questions he did not answer).

Petersen is a [[Mormon]], but his religion has not prevented him from designing games involving Satanic elements. While working on ''DOOM'', he said to [[John Romero]]: "I have no problems with the demons in the game. They're just cartoons. And, anyway, ''they're'' the bad guys." 

==References and further reading==
* David Kushner: ''Masters of DOOM: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture'', Random House Publishing Group 2003, ISBN 0-3755-0524-5
* [http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/august02/gencon/petersen/ GameSpy interview (2002)]
* [http://www.yog-sothoth.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=6 yog-sothoth.com interview]
* [http://www.ensemblestudios.com/ourteam/petersen.shtml ensemblestudios.com profile]
* [http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.php?op=showcreator&creatorid=268 Pen & Paper: Roleplaying Game Credits for Sandy Petersen]
* [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,821/ MobyGames biography]

[[Category:Computer and video game designers|Petersen, Sandy]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saints|Petersen, Sandy]]
[[Category:Role-playing game designers|Petersen, Sandy]]
[[Category:1955 births|Petersen, Sandy]]

[[fi:Sandy Petersen]]
[[zh:桑迪·皮特森]]

Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

Talk:Cthulhu Mythos

2006-01-17T20:13:00Z

Theshoveller:

Talk:Cthulhu Mythos

2006-01-17T20:07:33Z

Theshoveller: lovecraft, delerth and the 'mythos'