“… when I last see him” — The de Camp Interviews on Robert E. Howard is one of two free books prepared by Bobby Derie for Howard Days. The volume draws on the de Camp files held at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas, which preserve the raw research material gathered by L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine Crook de Camp during their work on Robert E. Howard.

The archive contains hundreds of pages of material: typed and handwritten transcripts, shorthand notes, letters, questionnaires, corrections, comments, and other working documents. This book does not attempt to reproduce the entire archive. Instead, it focuses specifically on the interviews conducted by the de Camps in person, by telephone, and by mail, along with supplementary letters written by the de Camps themselves.

Material outside that scope—such as miscellaneous notes, letters from interview subjects, and letters from Jane Whittington Griffin—is not included, largely because of copyright and permissions issues. The result is a carefully selected collection of working interview documents rather than a polished narrative biography.

Because these materials were never originally intended for publication, Derie has applied a consistent editorial format to make them readable while still preserving the character of the original documents. Handwritten additions and notes are marked in brackets and italicized, unclear words are identified, editorial comments are kept distinct, and unnecessary cross-outs or duplicate material have generally been removed. In cases where several versions of the same interview exist—such as shorthand notes, typed transcripts, tape transcriptions, and additional interviewer notes—only selected material is reproduced.

The book offers a fascinating look at the de Camps’ research process and at the recollections of people who knew Robert E. Howard, giving readers access to primary-source material that has usually remained buried in the archive.

Table of Contents

• 1 – Introduction by Bobby Derie
• 5 – Fannie “Faye” Adamson & Dorothy Murray
• 53 – Earl Baker
• 57 – Robert Baker & Marie Baker Andrews
• 58 – Paula Bond
• 61 – Ruth Baum Browning
• 62 – Zora May & Elliott Bryant
• 81 – Leroy Butler
• 110 – Sam Buzbee
• 111 – Norris R. Chambers
• 146 – Joe Henry Childs
• 174 – Annie Newton Davis
• 202 – Ollie Lorene Davis
• 203 – Veda DeBusk
• 204 – Novalyne Price Ellis
• 255 – Mary Robertson Gensley
• 256 – Wallace C. Howard
• 268 – Alma Baker King
• 270 – Charlotte Laughlin
• 272 – J. D. McClure & Nona Green
• 277 – Birdie Martin
• 280 – Kate Merryman & Alice Younglove
• 332 – L. L. Morgan & Deoma Morgan
• 358 – A. R. Morris
• 359 – Austin Newton
• 362 – Vera Baker Nichols
• 375 – E. Hoffmann Price
• 378 – Jack Scott
• 402 – Gomer Thomas
• 403 – Frank Thurston Torbett
• 405 – Lindsey Tyson
• 444 – Truett Vinson
• 447 – Tom Ray Wilson
• 449 – Eula Woolridge
• 450 – Miscellaneous Notes

Appendix

• Photo of Leroy Butler, Faustine Butler and Robert E. Howard
• “Howard’s Home” by Leroy Butler (from Abilene Reporter-News, June 19, 1987)
• “Robert Howard Wrote Poem Before Suicide” (from The Cross Plains Review, July 3,1936)
• “Author’s Query” by L. Sprague de Camo (from The New York Times Book Review, November 18, 1979)
• “Robert E. Howard as a Boy” by Mrs. T. A. Burns (from The Cross Plains Review, July 10, 1936)