"HIGH TIME YOU COME HOME". REVISION OF H. P. LOVECRAFT'S FINAL DAYS THROUGH THE MORTAL EYES OF JACQUELINE BAKER'S THE BROKEN HOURS (2014)

The paper focuses on Jacqueline Baker’s novel The Broken Hours, subtitled “A Novel of H. P. Lovecraft,” and tackles the always problematic relationship between biography and history and the many ruptures that occur in the creation of a biofictional text. Navigating the multifaceted and labyrinthine realm of biofiction, the paper’s main point of departure will be the life of the American weird-tale and horror master Howard Phillips Lovecraft shortly before his death in 1937. With the introduction of an outside observer (who will turn out to be quite involved in the whole business), the novel tries to piece together some loose ends that characterize Lovecraft’s final days and, at the same time, makes bold attempts at a somewhat new reading of the author’s life. Perhaps the greatest strength of the narrative lies within Baker's endeavor to paint the picture of Lovecraft as a human being rather than the otherworldly, beyond-mortal hermit known to scholars and fans through his short stories. The biofictional aspect profits mainly from the subtle and not-so-subtle changes the author decides to introduce to shed light on this extremely gloomy and desolate moment in Lovecraft’s life. The final product is a text that presents a fine blend between past and present, reality and imagination, and between mortality and immortality.