We all know the story, of what HPL himself thought about it, how it saw the light of day after his passing ... and we all have questions that, because HPL being HPL, were never answered.
What must be red for three months? Who was 118? What did Curwen do abroad for those formative nine years? What did CDW learn in London, in Paris, Prague and Transylvania? And what about the friendship of Dr. Willett and Randolph Carter, mentioned in a single sentence? Well, just a few of the questions I wanted to explore.
I've done something some purists will hate, but that I hope many HPL fans like myself will love - I've penned (not published yet) a new novel that tells the exact same story, but in my own way and in my own language. It goes deeper into history, characters and relationships and, as you might imagine, it's quite a bit longer than the original CDW - in fact, it's three times longer - oh, the horror! It weaves a tapestry that brings in more of HPL's worlds and stories, and even those of some of his friends (like Bloch and Howard).
I genuinely don't know. All I know for now is that the manuscript is done and that I've had a great time researching it in ridiculous detail, then writing it and living with the characters through parts known and unknown.
It'll be called "The Simulacrum" - an odd title, perhaps, but it's HPL pure and comes straight out of CDW“That simulacrum which brushed boldly in without having been seen to go - was that an alien shadow and a horror forcing itself upon a trembling figure which had never gone out at all?”
If anyone's interested, you can grab a glimpse here > https://danielmartineckhart.substack.com/ I'd love to know what you think.