The Gothic Tales of H. P. Lovecraft

Bought as gift for adopted son, he loves the writer.

Bought as a gift, very pleased with product, did not realise its a 1st Ed.

It's a lovely book, really. Well-made hardcover, snazzy cover, solid printing job. The contents are about what you'd expect - there are dozens of Lovecraft collections at this point, and this one is in no way special or exciting. You can get the exact same contents and more for about the same price or a little less somewhere else - and you should.Because the editor is a coward. From the introduction:" [...] some of his most famous Gothic stories, such as 'Herbert West—Reanimator' (1922) and 'The Rats in the Walls' (1924) , are disfigured by casual racist remarks or allusions that make contemporary reprintings problematic.* It is broadly acknowledged, even by his fans, that Lovecraft espoused racist views in his writing; and there are references in this collection which readers are likely to find offensive. Their inclusion in this edition in no way implies endorsement by the editor or publisher."Reyes job as editor was not to protect the delicate sensibilities of whatever tender age of reader he thinks might actually pick up this book. His job was to select and print Lovecraft's work on the Gothic. He has failed at this - for the most pissy and trivial of reasons. Yes, Lovecraft was racist. Yes, the name of the cat in "The Rats in the Walls" is offensive to contemporary readers. His job is not to shy away from potentially upsetting topics, but to discuss them - to educate the reader on why Lovecraft wrote some of the things he did. Maybe even do a little research.But Reyes couldn't find the courage to reprint a story which is in the public domain, freely available on the internet, and which dozens of other, better collections have managed to publish without flinching. This book was always nothing more than a cash-cow for the British Library, but I had hopes that at least the editor, who is supposedly a Gothic scholar of some little repute, might have added something to justify the price tag on this...and he didn't.

I was very disappointed expecting to get plenty of horror like that of Poe and James but it did not happen. Several of the stories seem to be simply a close copy of another in the book.