American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)

A solid second chapter of H. P. Lovecraft's THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD almost works as a stand-alone horror story set in the 18th century, climaxing in the context of the American Revolution. Through this story we see Joseph Curwen as a metaphor for America's founding sins.

More forgettable stuff in the second half of WATCH AND WARD by Henry James. Let's hope his later novels are a bit more interesting. If nothing else, this novel is a good piece of evidence of why certain authors will never be cancelled.

The second of two posthumously published novels by H. P. Lovecraft, THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD also happens to be my favorite Lovecraft story. There is no better place to go for Lovecraft's historical vision.

A new series and a new novel: Henry James' WATCH AND WARD. While it is not a good novel and can be easily forgotten we can at least introduce ourselves to Henry James as we prepare to read his first five novels.

The final to my review of DODSWORTH by Sinclair Lewis and the final of my series on Lewis's mid-1920s works. While DODSWORTH is not my favorite, I think it has some interesting things to say about marriage, aging, and the habits of the elite.

A trio of works by Lovecraft are examined in this episode. Two of them explore the mythology of the Necronomicon and the other deals with footnotes.

My final thoughts on Lovecraft's DREAM-QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH appear in this episode. In this part of the story we see the battle between the Men from Leng and their Moon creatures allies and Carter's forces before arriving at the final confrontation between the Dreamer and the Outer Gods.

Part two of my review of DODSWORTH by Sinclair Lewis has us explore a wealthy expat couple in Europe as their marriage begins to fray as the European setting exposes their different dreams. Mr. Dodsworth return to America in these chapters is a nice diversion.

In the third part of my review of DREAMQUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH we explore the realm of the ghouls and other dark places, while learning more about the Men from Leng.

Part one of my review of DODSWORTH by Sinclair Lewis. My least favorite of these novels by Lewis, it centers on a rich American business man who retires to Europe with a restless wife.