The Miscast Barbarian: A Biography of Robert E. Howard (1906 – 1936)

The Miscast Barbarian: a Biography of Robert E. Howard is a biography by science-fiction writer L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover and trade paperback in 1975 by Gerry de la Ree.

The book is an expansion of de Camp’s article “The Miscast Barbarian”, which appeared in the magazine Fantastic in June, 1971. Later, in collaboration with Catherine Crook de Camp and Jane Whittington Griffin, he expanded the text again, into Dark Valley Destiny: the Life of Robert E. Howard (1983), the first major independent biography of Howard.

The Last Celt

The Last Celt: A Bio–Bibliography of Robert Ervin Howard is a biography and bibliography of Robert E. Howard by Glenn Lord. It was first published by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in 1976 in an edition of 2,600 copies. This is the paperback edition from Berkley Windhover.

Not a standard biography nor bibliography, but more like a compendium of all bits and pieces of minutiae and obscure material about or related to Howard. There are several autobiographical pieces, biographical pieces by H.P. Lovecraft and others.

The Collected Letters of Doctor Isaac M. Howard

This volume collects not only Dr. Howard’s letters, but also responses to his letters (and letters to his son, Robert E. Howard) from some of the major players in fantasy fiction at the time: August Derleth, C. L. Moore, Farnsworth Wright, Otis Adelbert Kline, and E. Hoffmann Price. It includes a lengthy Postscript section containing letters from E. Hoffmann Price discussing his acquisition of “The Trunk,” Robert E. Howard’s biography, his travels in Texas, and more. Also includes documents from the Kline Agency, Dr. Howard’s will, and other letters pertaining to the history of Howard publishing. Fully indexed.

The Annotated Guide to Robert E. Howard’s Weird Fantasy

The Annotated Guide to Robert E. Howard’s Weird Fantasy scrutinizes this full range of Howard’s dark fiction by listing, summarizing, and critically analyzing more than 50 tales. Surveyed not only are widely anthologized horror classics like “Pigeons from Hell” and “The Black Stone,” but also many lesser-known tales that further illuminate Howard’s genius for creating “real emotions of spectral fear and dread suspense,” as the great H.P. Lovecraft said.

The Annotated Guide to Robert E. Howard’s Sword & Sorcery

The purpose of this book is twofold. First, and foremost, it is to provide a reading guide to the sword-and-sorcery fiction of Robert E. Howard. The second purpose of the book is to provide some critical commentary on the fiction and Howard’s writing in general. While much has been made of sword-and-sorcery, little critical writing has ever been done on the subject. Too long sword-and-sorcery, perhaps even all fantasy fiction, has been ignored by critics. Hopefully this work will be the first of many dealing with such aim.

The Last Celt

The Last Celt: A Bio–Bibliography of Robert Ervin Howard is a biography and bibliography of Robert E. Howard by Glenn Lord. It was first published by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in 1976 in an edition of 2,600 copies. Not a standard biography nor bibliography, but more like a compendium of all bits and pieces of minutiae and obscure material about or related to Howard. There are several autobiographical pieces, biographical pieces by H.P. Lovecraft and others.

Anniversary: Glenn Lord and The Howard Collector

Dennis McHaney put together a book Anniversary: Glenn Lord and The Howard Collector that he published through Lulu last summer. He solicited and received tributes to Glenn from a number of Howard fans. This is a tribute to Glenn Lord from 2011, winner of Robert E. Howard Foundation Award. Subtitled “For the 50th Anniversary of The Howard Collector and the Eightieth Birthday of Glenn Lord”.
An earlier edition of 50 numbered copies, were signed by Glenn Lord and published in June 2011.

The Robert E. Howard Guide

This is the English translation of ‘Le Guide Howard’ by Patrice Louinet. Too bad I missed out on the limited, signed edition of the hardcover version. Patrice Louinet is the editor of the definitive, three-volume, Conan series (Rising Star and Del Rey books). He is also on the board of directors of the Robert E. Howard Foundation and is a well-known Howard scholar.

Blood & Thunder: The Life & Art of Robert E. Howard

Mark Finn has written one of the very best biographies about Robert E. Howard. Mark Finn sets the record straight on Howard’s character. First published in a trade paperback edition in November 2006 by MonkeyBrain Books. A second, expanded and corrected edition was published in hardcover by The Robert E. Howard Foundation Press in January 2012; a trade paperback followed from the same publisher in 2013.