Jump to content

A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ruthbrarian (talk | contribs) at 15:31, 20 March 2012 (External links: changed link to a more user-friendly site (previous had glaring red background)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson"
Short story by H.P. Lovecraft
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Horror short story
Publication
Published inUnited Amatur
Publication date1917

"A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson" is a short story written in 1917 by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was first published in the September 1917 issue of the United Amateur, under the pseudonym Humphrey Littlewit, Esq.

The story is a spoof of Lovecraft's antiquarian affectations. Littlewit, the narrator, is born August 20, 1690--200 years to the day before Lovecraft's birthdate-- making him nearly 228 years old as he writes a memoir.

Critic Daniel Harms writes, "While not one of the most inspired of his pieces, it at least shows that HPL realized his pretensions... of being an older, cultured gentleman of an earlier era, and could make fun of himself."