Transcribe
Translate
Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 11, Summer 1946
Page 284
More information
digital collection
archival collection guide
transcription tips
284 FANTASY COMMENTATOR more to our world than meets the eye? Since each possibility is equally stressed, the choice is up to the reader. Unquestionably this adds to the stature and effectiveness of "The Tool," which probably best exemplifies the author's talent for the dually interpreted climax. VII Outside of the popularity gained by "August Heat" and "The Beast with Five Fingers" Harvey's work has been accorded little critical recognition. Neither Dorothy Scarborough's Supernatural in Modern English Fiction nor H.P. Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature so much as mention these two tales, to say nothing of the author's others. As ample evidence exists to show that both of these critics were well aware of Harvey's efforts, such neglect is difficult to excuse. Newspaper reviewers of Midnight House and Moods and Tenses appear to have been favorably impressed with the stature of his fiction, but somehow their enthusiasm was never shared by either the public at large or that smaller group within it which revels in tales of the uneasy. With the publication of the author's third volume, however, he came into his own in no uncertain fashion. Doubtless the immense popularity and wide anthologizing of the title tale in The Beast with Five Fingers can be held responsible. In any event, the book saw countless reprintings in many editions, and initiated republication of his two earlier collections. To "The Beast with Five Fingers" can likewise be traced an adverse effect: so much attention has been focussed on this story that Harvey's other shave not received their due acclaim. It is unjust to cite this as the only mitigating circumstance, however; the subtlety and indirection of plot development of many would be bound to appeal less to the general reading public than those following forthright and conventional patterns. Their wide variety hinders accurate comparison of Harvey's stories according to quality. Choosing of the better ones is not difficult, but to line up these in one-two-three order would involve considerable exercise of individual taste. "The Tool," "The Ankardyne Pew," "Miss Avenal," "The Clock," "The Devil's Bridge" and "August Heat" all belong in the very first rank of supernatural fiction. Placing "The Tool" in first place has been no easy choice, for praise-worthy qualities of its companions are but slightly inferior; but, after careful consideration, it seems to t his writer that it is the one which best combines a unique plot with an admirable stylistic vehicle. To split hairs and list the remaining five stories in order of merit would be an all but impossible task, for they are literally abreast of one another in quality. A possible influence of Oliver Onions and a certain influence of M. R. James on Harvey's prose has already been noted. As far as this critic is able to judge, the stamp of no other writer of the supernatural can be clearly discerned there. It is true that Walter de la Mare, Edith Wharton, A. M. Burrage and several others have produced similar cloakings of the themes encountered here or ones closely akin to them; but if there were no others, chronological barriers alone would be sufficient to prevent closer identification of these authors with Harvey. And complicating any literary comparison is of course the author's ambidexterity, his successful toyings with so many treatments of the outre. Similarly, these factors operate against attempts to point out more modern authors who might have been influenced by Harvey. This critic feels that he can safely commit himself in only a single instance: it seems quite certain that Clark Ashton Smith's "Return of the Sorceror" shows derivation from "The Beast with Five Fingers." That his other influences on workers in the field are too minor to be perceived is genuinely regrettable, for along with James, Blackwood, Lovecraft, de la Mare and Wakefield, William Fryer Harvey---almost forgotten creator of ghosts through he may be---yet ranks among the half-dozen greatest supernatural writers of the twentieth century.
Saving...
prev
next
284 FANTASY COMMENTATOR more to our world than meets the eye? Since each possibility is equally stressed, the choice is up to the reader. Unquestionably this adds to the stature and effectiveness of "The Tool," which probably best exemplifies the author's talent for the dually interpreted climax. VII Outside of the popularity gained by "August Heat" and "The Beast with Five Fingers" Harvey's work has been accorded little critical recognition. Neither Dorothy Scarborough's Supernatural in Modern English Fiction nor H.P. Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature so much as mention these two tales, to say nothing of the author's others. As ample evidence exists to show that both of these critics were well aware of Harvey's efforts, such neglect is difficult to excuse. Newspaper reviewers of Midnight House and Moods and Tenses appear to have been favorably impressed with the stature of his fiction, but somehow their enthusiasm was never shared by either the public at large or that smaller group within it which revels in tales of the uneasy. With the publication of the author's third volume, however, he came into his own in no uncertain fashion. Doubtless the immense popularity and wide anthologizing of the title tale in The Beast with Five Fingers can be held responsible. In any event, the book saw countless reprintings in many editions, and initiated republication of his two earlier collections. To "The Beast with Five Fingers" can likewise be traced an adverse effect: so much attention has been focussed on this story that Harvey's other shave not received their due acclaim. It is unjust to cite this as the only mitigating circumstance, however; the subtlety and indirection of plot development of many would be bound to appeal less to the general reading public than those following forthright and conventional patterns. Their wide variety hinders accurate comparison of Harvey's stories according to quality. Choosing of the better ones is not difficult, but to line up these in one-two-three order would involve considerable exercise of individual taste. "The Tool," "The Ankardyne Pew," "Miss Avenal," "The Clock," "The Devil's Bridge" and "August Heat" all belong in the very first rank of supernatural fiction. Placing "The Tool" in first place has been no easy choice, for praise-worthy qualities of its companions are but slightly inferior; but, after careful consideration, it seems to t his writer that it is the one which best combines a unique plot with an admirable stylistic vehicle. To split hairs and list the remaining five stories in order of merit would be an all but impossible task, for they are literally abreast of one another in quality. A possible influence of Oliver Onions and a certain influence of M. R. James on Harvey's prose has already been noted. As far as this critic is able to judge, the stamp of no other writer of the supernatural can be clearly discerned there. It is true that Walter de la Mare, Edith Wharton, A. M. Burrage and several others have produced similar cloakings of the themes encountered here or ones closely akin to them; but if there were no others, chronological barriers alone would be sufficient to prevent closer identification of these authors with Harvey. And complicating any literary comparison is of course the author's ambidexterity, his successful toyings with so many treatments of the outre. Similarly, these factors operate against attempts to point out more modern authors who might have been influenced by Harvey. This critic feels that he can safely commit himself in only a single instance: it seems quite certain that Clark Ashton Smith's "Return of the Sorceror" shows derivation from "The Beast with Five Fingers." That his other influences on workers in the field are too minor to be perceived is genuinely regrettable, for along with James, Blackwood, Lovecraft, de la Mare and Wakefield, William Fryer Harvey---almost forgotten creator of ghosts through he may be---yet ranks among the half-dozen greatest supernatural writers of the twentieth century.
Hevelin Fanzines
sidebar
