LONG MEMORIES -
Recollections of Frank Belknap Longby Peter Cannon
BFS Chapbook (68pp) £5.00
Frank Belknap Long's first professional story appeared in Weird Tales in 1924. He knew H. P. Lovecraft, who termed Long his best friend. Despite his legendary status, Long was known to only a few, among them the writer Peter Cannon. In this original publication, Cannon presents a picture of Long's final years with his devoted wife Lyda; it is a frank and honest account, not to be missed by those who want to learn about the personalities behind the genre.
REVIEW (from Kimota #8)
Alienation, the loss of one’s mind, the madness of a close relative have all been used by writers of weird tales as part of their stock in trade, This British Fantasy Society publication, by Peter Cannon, tells of his relationship with the author Frank Belknap Long and his wife Lyda during their final years.
It is a sad story of how Lyda’s recurrent mental health problems and Frank’s financial difficulties and failing health led to their losing many of their friends, a tragic case of life imitating art.
It is not, however, merely the story of the decline and death of one of H.P. Lovecraft’s closest friends and a respected author in his own right, it is also the story of Lyda’s and Frank’s love for each other and the courage they showed.
The afterword by, Ramsey Campbell, contains a phrase that sums up my feelings on reading this book, "You can take all this as being horribly funny or horribly sad - more likely both."
Well worth reading.
Keith Marsland
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