It was with the March, 1914, issue that THE ARGOSY had adopted a policy of no more serial stories. "It means a revolution in the publication of fiction magazines," Bob Davis said, "a move ahead of the times; a sudden departure from the serial method which has been followed by fiction magazines since there were fiction magazines. . . . You will enjoy a good story all in your hands at once much better than if you felt it would be six months before you reached the end."
"The Log-Book," the editor's and readers' column in THE ARGOSY, was a true indicator of reader reaction. The reader had for years received with some expression of pleasure the Hawkins stories of an impractical inventor who contrives invention after invention that always ends him in a mishap. Stories in the series which began with The Hawkins Horsebrake in 1903 even showed up in the competing THE BLUE BOOK MAGAZINE in 1909. The years rolled along, and the number of Hawkins stories passed twenty-five in THE ARGOSY alone, and the readers' attitude became one of grumbling tolerance. All courtesy evaporated when the May, 1912, issue began a five-part novel titled The Hawkins Relapse. This time, Hawkins had invented a yacht that could ride up an island on wheels, and as usual he comes to grief, but not as much grief as the publication of the story was to bring the author.
Though Bob Davis was able to dredge up a few letters that praised the series, to print in the readers' column in the September, 1912, issue, which contained the last installment of the Edgar Franklin serial, he admitted: "I might as well say right here that Hawkins Relapse is the last story about this much-discussed amateur inventor I have in stock, and very probably the last Mr. Franklin will ever write, as he is very busy with other work. Hawkins' foes may rejoice accordingly, and his champions make the most of these final annals."
Davis was not as good as his word, for two more Hawkins short stories did appear, the last, Hawkins-Heat, in the July, 1915, issue. The real blame must be given to Matthew White, Jr., one of the original editors of THE ARGOSY, who took over again when Metcalf left and when Davis was occupied with the ALL-STORY CAVALIER WEEKLY. It was in "The Log-Book" for January, 1916, that Matthew White brought down the curtain on the series in reply to a reader's blast by stating: "1 wish to inform the correspondent whose letter appears below that there will be no more Hawkins stories."
"The Log-Book" showed that it was the dislike for the Hawkins series that resulted in the sharp cutdown in science fiction in THE ARGOSY. "I find that there is a greater division of opinion on fantastic stories than in respect to anything else we serve in THE ARGOSY table of contents," Davis said in the April, 1913, THE ARGOSY. "If a reader doesn't like one 'impossible' story, as they have come to be called, he is very apt not to care for any of them. And the reverse is just as true. That is to say, if he likes one of the brand, he will be very much inclined to like them all. Note in the following letter from Guy Z. F., Washington, Indiana, the leaning toward Hawkins, whose deeds certainly border on the fantastic." He then followed the letter with another, which he prefaced with the statement: "Here, you see, the boot is on the other leg. R. G. C, of Provo, Utah, doesn't care for the fantastic, hence he knocks Hawkins and boosts Terhune, whose specialty is history." The foregoing statements seem to leave little doubt that ALL-STORY CAVALIER WEEKLY was the repository of an inordinate amount of fantasy as a deliberate policy to attract that portion of the readership who liked them, and THE ARGOSY ran much fewer to satisfy the audience that preferred more conventional fiction.
11. H. P. LOVECRAFT AND THE MUNSEY MAGAZINES
IT WAS the readers' departments of THE ALL-STORY MAGAZINE and THE ARGOSY that produced one of the most fascinating sidelights on the literary history of Munsey. H. P. Lovecraft has in recent times won a deserved reputation as one of the great masters of horror and science fiction in American letters. His works, admired by a small but select coterie of devotees, which included August W. Derleth, Donald Wandrei, Frank Belknap Long, Henry Kuttner, Robert Bloch, and innumerable others, has today reached the stage where they are perpetually in print, motion pictures are made from them, and even former detractors come forth with more positive reappraisals.
As prominent a literary commentator as Colin Wilson has become so utterly obsessed by what he has found in Lovecraft's writings that he led off his book The Strength to Dream (Houghton Mifflin, 1962) with a discussion of that author. He did not end there, for in continuing his discussions of W. B. Yeats, Oscar Wilde, August Strindberg, Emile Zola, Nathanael West, William Faulkner, Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, Jean-Paul Sartre, and many others, he evaluated their thinking, methods, and ideas against those of H. P. Lovecraft.
H. P. Lovecraft had been a regular reader of THE ALL-STORY MAGAZINE from its very first issue, January, 1905. Since he was born August 20, 1890, he was fourteen years old at the time he first discovered it. The issue in which THE ALL-STORY MAGAZINE became ALL-STORY WEEKLY, dated March 7, 1914, carried a letter two thousand words long which is an important and revealing document on the reading background and preferences of an H. P. Lovecraft now twenty-three years of age and a faithful reader of the Munsey pulps for nine continuous years. He said in part: "Having read every number of your magazine since its beginning in January, 1905, I feel in some measure privileged to write a few words of approbation and criticism concerning its contents.
"In the present age of vulgar taste and sordid realism it is a relief to peruse a publication such as THE ALL-STORY, which has ever been and still remains under the influence of the imaginative school of Poe and Verne.
"For such materialistic readers as your North-British correspondent, Mr. G. W. P., of Dundee, there are only too many periodicals containing 'probable' stories; let THE ALL-STORY continue to hold its unique position as purveyor of literature to those whose minds cannot be confined within the narrow circle of probability, or dulled into a positive acceptance of the tedious round of things as they are.
"If, in fact, man is unable to create living beings out of inorganic matter, to hypnotize the beasts of the forests to do his will, to swing from tree to tree with the apes of the African jungle, to restore to life the mummified corpses of the Pharaohs and the Jncas, or to explore the atmosphere of Venus and the deserts of Mars, permit us, at least, in fancy, to witness these miracles, and to satisfy that craving for the unknown, the weird, and the impossible which exists in every active human brain.
"...He who can retain in his older years the untainted mind, the lively imagination, and the artless curiosity of his infancy is rather blessed than cursed; such men as these are our authors, scientists, and inventors.
"At or near the head of your list of writers Edgar Rice Burroughs undoubtedly stands. I have read very few recent novels by others wherein is displayed an equal ingenuity in plot, and verisimilitude in treatment. His only fault seems to be a tendency toward scientific inaccuracy and slight inconsistencies. ...
"In the domain of the weird and bizarre, Lee Robinet has furnished us a masterpiece by writing The Second Man. The atmosphere created and sustained throughout the story can be the work only of a gifted and polished artist. Very effective is the author's careful neglect to tell the exact location of his second Eden.
"I strongly hope that you have added Perley Poore Sheehan permanently to your staff, for in him may be recognized an extremely powerful writer. I have seen Mr. Sheehan's work elsewhere, and was especially captivated by a grim short story of his entitled His Ancestor's Head.
"I hardly need mention the author of A Columbus of Space further than to say that I have read every published work of Garrett P. Serviss, own most of them, and await his further writings with eagerness. ..."
Another important letter of one thousand words in length from H. P. Lovecraft was published in ALL-STORY CAVALIER WEEKLY for August 15, 1914, commenting upon the combination of the two publications.
"Many writers, familiar and unfamiliar, good and bad, come from THE CAVALIER to the readers of THE ALL-STORY. Out of these I trust the best will be permanently retained, and the others gradually eliminated.
"T
he greatest benefit derived from the amalgamation undoubtedly will be the return to THE ALL-STORY of George Allan England, who, to my mind, ranks with Edgar Rice Burroughs and Albert Payson Terhtine as one of the three supreme literary artists of the house of Munsey. Mr. England's Darkness and Dawn trilogy is on a par with the Tarzan stories, and fortunate indeed is that magazine which can secure as contributors the authors of both.
"Other CAVALIER authors of extreme merit are Zane Grey, whose novels of the West have such a fund of graphic local color; and Edgar Franklin, whose stories, both serious and humorous, have so long entertained the readers of the Munsey magazines. ...
"I now approach a subject which fills me with trepidation.
"Ever since last August I have been engaged in a wordy warfare with some of the readers of THE ARGOSY concerning an alleged author whose erotic, effeminate stories fill me with the most profound disgust. This author was one of the principal contributors to THE CAVALIER; in fact, his tales formed the reason for my ceasing to read the latter periodical. Now he is to be inflicted upon the readers of THE ALL-STORY. For my somewhat severe criticism of this writer, I have received every imaginable sort of ridicule and opposition, both in prose and in verse, through THE ARGOSY 'Log-Book.'
"In order to avoid another such affray in case this letter should be printed, I will here do no more than to quote and uphold the words of our anonymous correspondent, 'One Who Reads Between Lines,' whose letter appears in THE ALL-STORY for May 16. He says, and I say with him, 'Tell Fred Jackson to can all of his heroines and then send the can to the government to be tested as an explosive. ...' "
The September, 1913, issue of THE ARGOSY had printed a communication from H. P. Lovecraft expressing at some length, with impressive rhetorical vehemence, his contempt for Fred Jackson and the type of story he wrote, and requesting his extirpation from the pages of an otherwise noble fiction magazine. The letter kicked off so elaborate and prolonged a debate in the readers' columns of three Munsey magazines as to the abilities or lack thereof of Fred Jackson as to make Lovecraft's name better known than most of the authors'.
Fred Jackson's frequency of appearance in THE CAVALIER and THE ARGOSY resulted from the fact that his specialty was writing love stories. He wrote them awkwardly, with jolting bluntness, and they could prove sickening to anyone who doted on adventure, but they were clean, with a good story line which sometimes took complex twists that rescued them from sameness. He could write a sound adventure story, too, and had written at least one science-fiction novelette based on the Pygmalion theme, Galatea the Second, in THE CAVALIER for October 5, 1912, in which a statue of a beautiful young woman apparently comes to life and has to be (aught to eat, speak, dress, and perform the most ordinary actions. She turns out to have been the victim of a scientist's experiment with a drug that turns humans almost as hard as stone for three days and then they recover with all memory expunged. This particular story is handled with great technical writing skill, and while it is also a love story, is far superior to most of Jackson's other work. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that he wrote his novels in great haste (three full-length novels by him appeared in eight months in THE ARGOSY) that dissipated a good natural writing talent.
Lovecraft's reaction to Jackson was to some extent prompted by an extremely prudish upbringing, but also quite legitimately by the annoyance of a fan of strange adventure who was being offered an excessive quantity of conventional love stories. His wrath particularly centered upon the novel The First Law, which appeared complete in the April, 1913, THE ARGOSY, a story of a young opera singer who loses her voice after completing a smashing success and who considers marrying a man she doesn't love because her family needs the money, though she is in love with someone else, but is rescued from that fate when he falls in love with and marries her sister, who is his secretary, so his money will still be available to prop up the fading family fortunes.
Letters poured in defending Fred Jackson. The December, 1913, issue had letter headings which read: "Challenge to Lovecraft," "Virginia vs. Providence," "Elmira vs. Providence," "Bomb for Lovecraft."
Miss E. E. Blankenship wrote from Richmond, Virginia: "I think you are very ungenerous in your attitude, Mr. Lovecraft. Your words 'erratic fiction' [she misquoted "erotic"] I fail to acknowledge. Instead I find pages filled with innocence, sweetness, loveliness, and fascination."
Elizabeth E. Loop of Elmira, New York, jumped on Lovecraft's extensive vocabulary: "If he would use a few less adjectives and more words which the general public are more familiar with than 'labyrinthine,' 'laureled,' 'luminary,' 'lucubration,' and many others ... I am an admirer of Mr. Jackson's stories, but this letter of Mr. Lovecraft's filled me with a distaste for our friend from Providence."
However, there were two letter headings which blared: "Agrees with Lovecraft."
From Paris, France, A. Missbaum wrote: "Will you go on reading if I start by saying that I entirely agree—I speak in behalf of many of your readers on this side of the pond—with H. P. Lovecraft, who wrote an arraignment which you printed in September's issue? Yes, Fred Jackson is rotten. Give us less love stories (unless they are live ones) and more scientific mystery tales."
A Los Angeles reader protested "three out of the last live novels" by Jackson and sided with Lovecraft.
H. P. Lovecraft read the fusillades and responded in the January, 1914, THE ARGOSY in verse, which Bob Davis titled "Lovecraft Comes Back Ad Criticos," and which in part read:
What vigorous protests now assail my eyes?
See Jackson's satellites in anger rise!
His ardent readers, steep'd in tales of love
Sincere devotion to their leader prove;
In brave defense of sickly gallantry,
They damn the critic and beleaguer me.
Then, closing:
Tis plain you please the fallen public ear.
As once, in Charles the Second's vulgar age,
Gross Wycherly and Dryden soil'd the stage,
So now again erotic themes prevail,
However loud and sterner souls bewail.
Pure fiction wanes and baser writings rise—
But cease, my Muse! No more I'll criticize.
As the readers' battle continued, the February, 1914, THE ARGOSY found the readers' columns leading off with still another Lovecraft poetical retort, this time titled "Ad Criticos: Liber Secundus."
Still louder bawl the bold Boeotian band,
And seize their arms at sentiment's command:
The lovers' legion, martially array'd,
To tender Jack bears its eager aid.
Their acid quills, fresh pluck'd from Cupid's wing,
At me the Myrmidons of Venus fling.
F. V. Bennett, of Hanover, Illinois, who had sided with Lovecraft, renewed his subscription and commented: "I see by 'The Log-Book' that H. P. Lovecraft is getting his now; well, shake, H.P.L. We got it first; don't care, as we started the ball that called a halt to the rush of Jackson soft stuff; keep the good work up and give them as good as they send, man."
To which Bob Davis replied: "I can promise that you won't get too much Jackson in 1914, if you will overlook the story this month— Winged Feet."
Davis' statement satisfied neither the critics nor the defenders; thousands of word pro and con continued to run each month. Sometimes there were three or four poems an issue aimed at Lovecraft; his use of verse was widely imitated. The greatest bard arrayed against him was John Russell, of Tampa, Florida, a sampling of his technique from the May, 1914, issue going like this:
Lovecraft has dropped from rime to prose,
To Shew that what he knew, he knows.
I say that really to my view
Twas little that he ever knew.
The intensity of the debate reached the point where in the October, 1914, issue, more than a year after Lovecraft's first letter, an entire section, with twenty-four-point boldface type across the page, was titled "Fred Jackson, Pro and Con." Explaining it, t
he editor said: "Fred Jackson, the most liked and hated writer that ever contributed to THE ARGOSY! Never mind, Fred; the fact that no one is indifferent to you is encouraging. It shows that you aren't mediocre or meaningless, anyway. Wishy-washy people don't make folks mad. We'll still keep on printing a story by you now and then, even at the risk of crabbing our stand-in with a section of ARGOSY readers."
The page led off with two columns, one headed "Jackson Boosters" and the other "Jackson Knockers," with two poems, one by John Russell and one by H. P. Lovecraft, the latter promising to quit the fray and stop taking up so much room in "The Log-Book," but also with a letter from F. V. Bennett ending with the crack: "As for John Russell's poetry, it's—well, in the same class with Jackson."
"Fred Jackson's Coming Back," a full-page headline heralded in the December, 1914, issue, with a brace of letters which asked for it. The idea of devoting special sections to authors had proved so well received that the same issue had two pages titled "What They Think of E. J. Rath." Rath, the pen name of a woman, who would go on to great success, had scored a tremendous popular hit with readers of THE ARGOSY with The Man with the 44 Chest in October. There had been a special section on Zane Grey in November, and a number of sections on pros and cons on THE ARGOSY itself.
The Jackson debate was to continue for years, and a complete reprint of the material by Lovecraft and the people who referred to him by name would make a worthwhile small booklet in a limited edition, aimed at special collectors. There is a possibility that the quantity of criticism he received may have been the reason why his letter in ARGOSY WEEKLY for November 15, 1919, appeared under the pen name of Augustus T. Swift. He asked for story endings "without the hugging and kissing," and added, "There is such a thing as being fed up too full with the love business."
His main reason for writing was to praise Francis Stevens, an outstanding writer of fantasy. "Citadel of Fear, if written by Sir Walter Scott or Ibanez, that wonderful and tragic allegory would have been praised to the skies. ... After the profound intellectual and moral impression created by the Citadel of Fear, it is hardly necessary to say that I plunged into Avalon with equal eagerness. I see by the first installment that I am not to be disappointed, for the same masterful evidence of huge mystery, gigantic tragedy, and original and extraordinary situations are immediately shown."
Under the Moons of Mars: A History and Anthology of the Scientific Romance in the Munsey Magazines, 1912-1920 Page 52