---
product_id: 11039855
title: "I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft, Volume 1"
brand: "s. t. joshi"
price: "54379CFA"
currency: XOF
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.sn/products/11039855-i-am-providence-the-life-and-times-of-h-p
store_origin: SN
region: Senegal
---

# I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft, Volume 1

**Brand:** s. t. joshi
**Price:** 54379CFA
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft, Volume 1 by s. t. joshi
- **How much does it cost?** 54379CFA with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sn](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/11039855-i-am-providence-the-life-and-times-of-h-p)

## Best For

- s. t. joshi enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted s. t. joshi brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft, Volume 1

## Images

![I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft, Volume 1 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41JfKReiL0L.jpg)
![I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft, Volume 1 - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51pr9+lVWVL.jpg)
![I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft, Volume 1 - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31KVAN7kvIL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    THE Definitive Biography of Howard Phillips Lovecraft
  

*by D***Z on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 19, 2013*

The title of the review says it all. This two-volume set is a massive expansion of S. T. Joshi's already-monumental 
  
H.P. Lovecraft: A Life







  
  
    , originally printed by Necronomicon Press in 1996. I Am Providence restores more than 150,000 words cut from that previous edition and, at over 1,000 pages (both volumes combined), is THE most detailed, most thorough, and--above all else--most *accurate* biography of H. P. Lovecraft ever published.S. T. Joshi is the world's leading expert on Lovecraft, and immediately upon publication 
  
H.P. Lovecraft: A Life







  
  
     became the definitive bio of the Gentleman from Providence--easily superseding L. Sprague De Camp's loathsome, criminally-inaccurate 
  
Lovecraft; A Biography,







  
  
    . I Am Providence in turn supersedes A Life, and is an absolute must for any scholar of HPL's life and works, and a valuable addition to even the casual Lovecraft fan's library. I Am Providence dispels many myths about Lovecraft, especially those perpetuated by De Camp's vile text. Drawing on literally thousands of primary sources, including Lovecraft's own manuscripts and notes housed at the John Hay Library at Brown University, as well as the *thousands* of surviving letters Lovecraft wrote to his many, many friends and correspondents, I Am Providence is as much an AUTObiography as it is a critical supplement to HPL's own personal revelations.In I Am Providence you shall find the man laid bare (most often in his own words): the spoiled, but brilliantly precocious, boy; the depressed, reclusive young man whose discovery of amateur journalism expanded his horizons and made him literally hundreds of friends; the stuffy New England blue-stocking racist whose utter hatred of "non-Teutonic" foreigners and untermenschen can be seen peeping out of much of his fiction; the horrible poet who wasted many years aping Georgian verse before finally realizing his boundless fictional prowess; the staunch atheist and materialist (practically the Richard Dawkins of his day!) who nonetheless created an entire mythology of "godlike" alien entities; the man intimately tied to his hometown of Providence whose mind, nonetheless, reached into the limitless cosmos and brought back ideas that would come to define not only 20th Century horror, but also science-fiction and fantasy.Throughout the book you will find each and every one of Lovecraft's stories, their content and inspirations and history, discussed at length by Joshi, himself a prodigious literary critic. Though I disagree--sometimes vehemently--with Joshi's opinions regarding certain texts, his analyses of Lovecraft's texts are extensive and provide the reader with a complete view of the evolution of Lovecraft's style, philosophy of composition, and stunning originality.Again, let me reiterate: this is THE definitive critical biography of H. P. Lovecraft, and as such is worth every penny.NOTE: I have no idea why the item title of this volume appends "[Abridged]"--this is the first volume of the completely UNabridged, full biography of Lovecraft!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Overall an unbiased look at the good and bad in Lovecraft
  

*by C***S on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 4, 2019*

Very comprehensive, mostly unbiased. Joshi has spent a large chunk of his life researching this book and has also made efforts to keep it up to date. That's admirable dedication. He does tend to include critique of any works mentioned, which are not always unwelcome. Though S.T. Joshi's opinions on the artistic merits of literature are about as relevant to the material as what I use as a bookmark, it is nice to hear about Lovecraft's growth in technique in an academic sense. Another mild issue is that sometimes Joshi seems unusually divorced from understanding the way the human mind works, often citing patterns of behavior or influences that almost certainly reinforce or explain something, then wondering why that something is the case. He also has a tenancy to flaunt his vocabulary unnecessarily to the slightest detriment to accessibility. Overall, a comprehensive look at Lovecraft that does not try to downplay Lovecraft's negative traits, while also putting those in perspective so that we might judge the man with full context. Also this book led me to Clark Ashton Smith's work, which I thank it for. Good.

### ⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Unintentionally Interesting
  

*by O***S on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 5, 2016*

Part one, of a very long book on a very uninteresting person.  Don't get me wrong, Lovecraft wrote interesting books, and had an interesting impact on the future of horror and weird fiction; but as a human being he was about as boring as a person could possibly be.  Mr. Joshi obviously disagrees, and spends hundreds of pages on minutia (Lovecraft's dietary habits, his wardrobe, numerous day trips to quaint locations, etc...).  On the surface, the book is quite tedious.  Perhaps very interesting in those who are scholars, or obsessed, but for the rest of us... not as much.But... there is something far more interesting and amusing here.  It reads like a bit of existential fiction by someone like Borges; a minute examination of a banal life, thousands of everyday things, all documented in exquisite detail.  There is no end to it, nothing is minor enough to be left out.  It is a thing of beauty, in a perverse way.  It reminds me of a portrait I saw at the Milwaukee Art Museum; the photorealistic work "Nancy" by the artist Chuck Close.  A highly detailed painting of a "comely" woman, every pore and  stray hair painted in loving detail, no flaw left unrepresented, everly blemish tenderly rendered onto canvas...  Though the art of painting, the homely woman becomes beautiful, if through nothing but the loving attention and artistic devotion.  This book can be seen as the literary equivalent of this.Also, I love the unintentional humor of the author stating "this is well known, so I won't cover it in depth", followed by 40 pages of commentary.

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sn/products/11039855-i-am-providence-the-life-and-times-of-h-p](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/11039855-i-am-providence-the-life-and-times-of-h-p)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Senegal*
*Store origin: SN*
*Last updated: 2026-01-28*