William Hope Hodgson Popular Books
William Hope Hodgson Biography & Facts
William Hope Hodgson (15 November 1877 – 19 April 1918) was an English author. He produced a large body of work, consisting of essays, short fiction, and novels, spanning several overlapping genres including horror, fantastic fiction, and science fiction. Hodgson used his experiences at sea to lend authentic detail to his short horror stories, many of which are set on the ocean, including his series of linked tales forming the "Sargasso Sea Stories". His novels, such as The House on the Borderland (1908) and The Night Land (1912), feature more cosmic themes, but several of his novels also focus on horrors associated with the sea. Early in his writing career Hodgson dedicated effort to poetry, although few of his poems were published during his lifetime. He also attracted some notice as a photographer and achieved renown as a bodybuilder. He died in World War I at age 40. Life Early years and life at sea Hodgson was born in the hamlet of Blackmore End near Braintree in Essex, the son of the Reverend Samuel Hodgson, an Anglican priest, and Lissie Sarah Brown. He was the second of 12 children, three of whom died in infancy. The death of a child is a theme in several of Hodgson's works including the short stories "The Valley of Lost Children", "The Sea-Horses", and "The Searcher of the End House". Hodgson's father was moved frequently and served 11 different parishes in 21 years, including one in Ardrahan, County Galway, Ireland. This setting was later featured in Hodgson's novel The House on the Borderland. Hodgson ran away from his boarding school at age 13, in an effort to become a sailor. He was caught and returned to his family, but eventually received his father's permission to be apprenticed as a cabin boy and began a four-year apprenticeship in 1891. Hodgson's father died shortly thereafter, of throat cancer, leaving the family impoverished; while William was away, the family subsisted largely on charity. After his apprenticeship ended in 1895, Hodgson began two years of study in Liverpool and was then able to pass the tests and receive his mate's certificate; he then began several more years as a sailor. At sea, Hodgson experienced bullying. This led him to begin a program of personal training. According to Sam Moskowitz, The primary motivation of his body development was not health, but self-defence. His relatively short height and sensitive, almost beautiful face made him an irresistible target for bullying seamen. When they moved in to pulverize him, they would learn too late that they had come to grips with easily one of the most powerful men, pound for pound, in all England. The theme of bullying of an apprentice by older seamen, and revenge taken, appeared frequently in his sea stories. While away at sea, in addition to his exercises with weights and with a punching bag, Hodgson also practised his photography, taking photographs of aurora borealis, cyclones, lightning, sharks, and the maggots that infested the food given to sailors. He also built up a stamp collection, practised his marksmanship while hunting, and kept journals of his experiences at sea. In November 1898, he was awarded the Royal Humane Society medal for heroism for saving another sailor who, in March of the same year, had fallen from the topmast into the sea in shark-infested waters off the coast of New Zealand. Physical culture, essays and poetry In 1899, at age 22, he opened a School of Physical Culture in Ainsworth Street, Blackburn, England, as "the inventor and teacher of a system that will cure indigestion". The School offered tailored exercise regimes for personal training. Among his customers were members of the Blackburn police force. In 1902, Hodgson himself appeared on stage with handcuffs and other restraining devices supplied by the Blackburn police department and applied the restraints to Harry Houdini, who had previously escaped from the Blackburn jail. His behavior towards Houdini generated controversy; the escape artist had some difficulty removing his restraints, complaining that Hodgson had deliberately injured him and jammed the locks of his handcuffs. Hodgson was not shy of publicity, and in another notable stunt, rode a bicycle down a street so steep that it had stairs, an event written up in the local paper. Despite his reputation, he eventually found that he could not earn a living running his personal training business, which was seasonal in nature, and shut it down. He began instead writing articles such as "Physical Culture versus Recreative Exercises" (published in 1903). One of these articles, "Health from Scientific Exercise", featured photographs of Hodgson himself demonstrating his exercises. The market for such articles seemed to be limited, however; so, inspired by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, H. G. Wells, Jules Verne and Arthur Conan Doyle, Hodgson turned his attention to fiction, publishing his first short story, "The Goddess of Death", in 1904, followed shortly by "A Tropical Horror" (1905). He also contributed to an article in The Grand Magazine, taking the "No" side in a debate on the topic "Is the Mercantile Navy Worth Joining?" In this piece, Hodgson laid out in detail his negative experiences at sea, including facts and figures about salaries. This led to a second article in The Nautical Magazine, an exposé on the subject of apprenticeships; at the time, families often were forced to pay to have boys accepted as apprentices. Hodgson began to give paid lectures, illustrated with his photography in the form of colorized slides, about his experiences at sea. Although he wrote a number of poems, only a handful were published during his lifetime; several, such as "Madre Mia" (1907), appeared as dedications to his novels. Apparently cynical about the prospects of publishing his poetry, in 1906 he published an article in The Author magazine, suggesting that poets could earn money by writing inscriptions for tombstones. Many of his poems were published by his widow in two posthumous collections, but some 48 poems were not published until their appearance in the collection The Lost Poetry of William Hope Hodgson (2005). Career in fiction, and marriage Hodgson's first short story was "The Goddess of Death" (1904), in which he utilised a statue of Flora which stood in Corporation Park, Blackburn, as the focus of a tale in which a Hindu statue, seized from an Indian temple, stood in a small English town. The statue comes alive to take its revenge on the people who stole it. The Royal Magazine published the story in April 1904. In 1906, the American magazine The Monthly Story Magazine published "From the Tideless Sea", the first of Hodgson's Sargasso Sea stories. Hodgson continued to sell stories to American magazines as well as British magazines for the remainder of his career, carefully managing the rights to his work in order to maximize his remuneration. While he still lived with his mother in relative poverty, his first published novel, The B.... Discover the William Hope Hodgson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular William Hope Hodgson books.
Best Seller William Hope Hodgson Books of 2024
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William Hope Hodgson and the Rise of the Weird
Timothy S. MurphyThe first comprehensive study of the works of William Hope Hodgson, one of the true innovators of Weird fiction, this book examines the Weird novels and stories upon which his post...
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The Greatest Horrors of William Hope Hodgson
William Hope Hodgsoneartnow presents to you this unique collection, designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices.Novels:The Boats of the Glen Car...
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Essential Novelists - Arnold Bennett
Arnold Bennett & August NemoWelcome to the Essential Novelists book series, were we present to you the best works of remarkable authors. For this book, the literary critic August Nemo has chosen the two most ...
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Essential Novelists - William Morris
William Morris & August NemoWelcome to the Essential Novelists book series, were we present to you the best works of remarkable authors. For this book, the literary critic August Nemo has chosen the two most ...
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The White People and Other Weird Stories
Arthur MachenMachen's weird tales of the creepy and fantastic finally come to Penguin Classics. With an introduction from S.T. Joshi, editor of American Supernatural Tales, The White People and...
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Works of William Hope Hodgson
William Hope Hodgson12 works of William Hope Hodgson English author (18771918) This ebook presents a collection of 12 works of William Hope Hodgson. A dynamic table of contents allows you to jump dire...
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Essential Novelists - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Hodgson Burnett & August NemoWelcome to the Essential Novelists book series, were we present to you the best works of remarkable authors. For this book, the literary critic August Nemo has chosen the two most ...
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5 Books By William Hope Hodgson
William Hope HodgsonThe Boats of the "Glen Carrig" Carnacki, The Ghost Finder The Ghost Pirates The House on the Borderland The Night Land
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Essential Novelists - William Hope Hodgson
William Hope Hodgson & August NemoWelcome to the Essential Novelists book series, were we present to you the best works of remarkable authors. For this book, the literary critic August Nemo has chosen the two most ...
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3 books to know Feminist Fiction
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Mrs. George Corbett & August NemoWelcome to the3 Books To Knowseries, our idea is to help readers learn about fascinating topics through three essential and relevant books. These carefully selected works can be fi...
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Essential Novelists - Nellie Bly
Nellie Bly & August NemoWelcome to the Essential Novelists book series, were we present to you the best works of remarkable authors. For this book, the literary critic August Nemo has chosen the two most ...
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7 best short stories - Victorian Romance
William Schwenck Gilbert, Anthony Trollope, Elizabeth Gaskell, Margaret Oliphant, George Moore & August NemoThe Victorian era is the perfect setting for a good love story. The romantic tales of the time could besweet, dramatic orbreathtaking there are stories for all tastes! August Nemo...
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The Works of William Hope Hodgson
William Hope HodgsonThe essential works of early science fiction author William Hope Hodgson with an active table of contents to help you quickly find each work. The Boats of the 'GlenCarrig' Carnacki...
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La Porte du monstre
William Hope HodgsonCarnacki a accepté d’aller étudier un problème de maison hantée dans une demeure peu éloignée de Londres. Trois personnes y ont trouvé la mort un siècle et demi plus tôt, étranglée...
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The Strange Journeys of Colonel Polders
Lord DunsanyAn inspiration to many for his style and prose, Lord Dunsany was a pioneer for fantasy fiction, inspiring such famous writers as H. P. Lovecraft, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Neil Gaiman ...
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THE COMPLETE PARENTICIDE CLUB SERIES
Ambrose BierceThis ebook is a collection of series of rather morbid and grotesques tales, depicting family murders and related by the murderers. The tales include: "My Favorite Murder"....
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Collected Works of William Hope Hodgson. Illustrated
William Hope HodgsonWilliam Hope Hodgson was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, photographer, lecturer, sailor, soldier, and bodybuilder. He produced a large body of work, consisting of es...
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The Baumoff Explosive and Other Fiction Works of William Hope Hodgson
William Hope HodgsonThe Baumoff Explosive and Other Fiction Works of William Hope Hodgson is an anthology of weird fition by William Hope Hodgson. A time of quietness follows, and presently I see th...
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7 best short stories - Classic Sci-Fi
Jack London, Stanley G. Weinbaum, Neil Ronald Jones, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Edward Bellamy, Nathaniel Hawthorne & August NemoScience fiction, whose roots go back to ancient times, is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction, and includes many subgenres. Science fiction have become popular and in...
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7 best short stories - Feel-Good Stories
George Ade, H.G. Wells, Anton Chekhov, T. S. Arthur, Oscar Wilde, O. Henry, Nathaniel Hawthorne & August NemoSometimes life can be discouraging and exhausting. For those moments there are stories that are heartwarming and give us the daily dose of joy and encouragement that we all need. C...
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7 best short stories by Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard & August NemoRobert E. Howard was one among the greatest writers of adventure and fantasy stories. In a writing career that thrived for over a period of twelve years, Howard authored more than ...
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Carnacki, The Ghost Finder
William Hope HodgsonCarnacki, The Ghost Finder William Hope Hodgson Carnacki the GhostFinder is a collection of occult detective short stories by English writer William Hope Hodgson, featuring the ti...
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The Collected Works of William Hope Hodgson
William Hope HodgsonWilliam Hope Hodgson was a master of supernatural horror, dark fantasy, grim adventure, and weird imaginings. His works of cosmic horror and supernatural fiction helped transform G...
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The Greatest Horrors of William Hope Hodgson
William Hope HodgsonMusaicum Books presents to you this unique collection, designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices.Novels:The Boats of the G...
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THE WILLOWS
Algernon BlackwoodThis eBook edition of "The Willows" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. The Willows is one of Blackwood's b...
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Essential Novelists - Julian Hawthorne
Julian Hawthorne & August NemoWelcome to the Essential Novelists book series, were we present to you the best works of remarkable authors. For this book, the literary critic August Nemo has chosen the two most ...
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The Collected Works of Algernon Blackwood
Algernon BlackwoodThis unique eBook edition of: "The Collected Works of Algernon Blackwood" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. C...
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THE COMPLETE JOHN SILENCE CASES
Algernon BlackwoodThis carefully edited collection has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Algernon Blackwood (18691951) was an ...
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JOHN SILENCE SERIES - Complete Collection
Algernon BlackwoodThis carefully crafted ebook: "JOHN SILENCE SERIES Complete Collection: A Psychical Invasion + Ancient Sorceries + The Nemesis of Fire + Secret Worship + The Camp of the Dog +...
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The William Hope Hodgson Megapack
William Hope HodgsonFrom classic novels like "The Ghost Pirates" and "The House on the Borderland" to short stories to even a pair of poems, "The William Hope Hodgson Megapack" presents 35 classic wor...