The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

by H. P. Lovecraft Narrated by Josh Greenwood

Overview

Fascinated by history, young Charles Dexter Ward begins to delve into the life and activities of his ancestor, Joseph Curwen, who had a reputation as a researcher of dark secrets and a sorcerer. In his research, he goes a step too far, endangering not only his own life and sanity but also the lives of others.

The brevity of the above plot outline does not convey the true wealth of details in Lovecraft's longest work of fiction. The case of Charles Dexter Ward astonishes with an abundance of details, especially concerning the history of Providence (some Lovecraft scholars even argue that the main character is not Charles Dexter Ward but the meticulously depicted hometown of the author). The idea for the work had been on the writer's mind for a year. Initially, Lovecraft wanted to write a novel about Salem, but in September 1925, after reading a historical treatise on Providence titled "Providence in Colonial Times," his imagination was so ignited that he changed the setting to his hometown. The main theme of "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" is a reworking of the subject from "The Tomb" (which Lovecraft later revisits in "The Thing on the Doorstep").

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

British Fantasy Award-winning artist Culbard (At the Mountains of Madness) brings his skill as an adapter to Lovecraft's chilling tale of horror and mistaken identity in this fine graphic version. Opening in media res, the story begins with the assumed disappearance of Charles Dexter Ward from a mental hospital; his family friend and physician, Dr. Willett, is brought in for questioning. Willett recalls what brought Charles to this point: his interest in the occult interests of one of his ancestors, his subsequent descent into madness, and the forces he-and the ancestor he raised from the dead-have brought back into the world. Tentacled creatures and fiery monsters make their appearances, as anyone acquainted with Lovecraft might expect; the illustrated monsters fall short of the horror Lovecraft intended, but the human occultists in the tale are impressively creepy. Willett himself is an excellent guide through the tale of darkness and madness, and his final fate is spine-tingling. Culbard brings the classic tale to life, and his work will very likely entice readers who enjoy the macabre to seek out the original novel.
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From the Publisher

Lovecraft is a dark and baroque prince. I think it is beyond doubt that H. P. Lovecraft has yet to be surpassed as the twentieth century's greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale” —Stephen King

“A complex and well-plotted tale with some wonderful surprises built in, and very entertaining... a gripping, absorbing read. The book itself is a beautiful object (as are all Apollo books) with a striking cover'” —Shiny New Books

Product Details

BN ID:	2940192392553
Publisher:	Gates of Imagination
Publication date:	04/01/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

1

Joseph Curwen, as revealed by the rambling legends embodied in what Ward heard and unearthed, was a very astonishing, enigmatic, and obscurely horrible individual. He had fled from Salem to Providence - that universal haven of the odd, the free, and the dissenting - at the beginning of the great witchcraft panic; being in fear of accusation because of his solitary ways and queer chemical or alchemical experiments. He was a colourless-looking man of about thirty, and was soon found qualified to become a freeman of Providence; thereafter buying a home lot just north of Gregory Dexter's at about the foot of Olney Street. His house was built on Stampers' Hill west of the Town Street, in what later became Olney Court; and in 1761 he replaced this with a larger one, on the same site, which is still standing.

Now the first odd thing about Joseph Curwen was that he did not seem to grow much older than he had been on his arrival. He engaged in shipping enterprises, purchased wharfage near Mile-End Cove, helped rebuild the Great Bridge in 1713, and in 1723 was one of the founders of the Congregational Church on the hill; but always did he retain his nondescript aspect of a man not greatly over thirty or thirty-five. As decades mounted up, this singular quality began to excite wide notice; but Curwen always explained it by saying that he came of hardy forefathers, and practised a simplicity of living which did not wear him our. How such simplicity could be reconciled with the inexplicable comings and goings of the secretive merchant, and with the queer gleaming of his windows at all hours of night, was not very clear to the townsfolk; and they were prone to assign other reasons for his continued youth and longevity. It was held, for the most part, that Curwen's incessant mixings and boilings of chemicals had much to do with his condition. Gossip spoke of the strange substances he brought from London and the Indies on his ships or purchased in Newport, Boston, and New York; and when old Dr. Jabez Bowen came from Rehoboth and opened his apothecary shop across the Great Bridge at the Sign of the Unicorn and Mortar, there was ceaseless talk of the drugs, acids, and metals that the taciturn recluse incessantly bought or ordered from him...

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