''To Quebec and the Stars'' is a collection of seventeen essays written by H. P. Lovecraft, assembled and edited by

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

, who came across them in the course of his research for his

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

of Lovecraft. The collection was first published in hardcover by

Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. is a fantasy and science fiction small press publisher in New Hampshire that was founded in 1964. It is notable for publishing fantasy and horror novels with lavish illustrations, most notably Stephen King's Th ...

in 1976.

Summary

The essays collected in the book cover a variety of subjects, notably astronomy, poetry, literature and travel; the main piece is a

travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, published for the first time in this collection.

Essays

*"Trans-Neptunian Planets" *"November Skies" *"June Skies" *"May Skies" *"The Truth About Mars" *"Metrical Regularity" *"Allowable Rhyme" *"

A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson "A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson" is a short story written in 1917 by American horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychologica ...

" *"The Literature of Rome" *"What Belongs in Verse" *"The Crime of the Century" *"Nietzscheism and Realism" *"A Confession of Unfaith" *"A Descent to Avernus" *"Some Dutch Footprints in New England" *"The Unknown City in the Ocean" *"A Description of the Town of Quebec"

Reception

Richard A. Lupoff Richard Allen Lupoff (February 21, 1935 – October 22, 2020) was an American science-fiction and mystery author, who also wrote humor, satire, nonfiction and reviews. In addition to his two dozen novels and more than 40 short stories, he a ...

praised the collection as "an absolute treasure trove," singling out the title piece as "a delight to read ... like taking a guided tour of the city in the company of a knowledgeable and garrulous friend whose greatest delight is to share with you his own pleasure in the city and its past.""Lupoff's Book Week", ''Algol'' 28, 1977, p.52.

Notes

* 1976 non-fiction books Non-fiction books by H. P. Lovecraft Books by L. Sprague de Camp Essay collections Culture of Quebec City Essays by H. P. Lovecraft Donald M. Grant, Publisher books {{essay-stub