To Quebec and the Stars is a collection of seventeen essays by H. P. Lovecraft

H. P. Lovecraft

Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....

, assembled and edited by L. Sprague de Camp

L. Sprague de Camp

Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...

, who came across them in the course of his research for his biography

Lovecraft: a Biography

Lovecraft: a Biography is a 1975 biography of the writer H. P. Lovecraft by science-fiction writer L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Doubleday in February 1975. A later hardcover edition was issued by Barnes & Noble in January 1996. The first paperback edition, corrected and...

 of Lovecraft. The collection was first published in hardcover by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in 1976.

The essays cover a variety of subjects, notably astronomy, poetry, literature and travel; the main piece is a travelogue to Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

.

Contents

• "Trans-Neptunian Planets"
• "November Skies"
• "June Skies"
• "May Skies"
• "The Truth About Mars"
• "Metrical Regularity"
• "Allowable Rhyme"
• "A reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson"
• "The Literature of Rome"
• "What Belongs in Verse"
• "The Crime of the Century"
• "Nietzscheism and Realism"
• "A Confession of Unfaith"
• "A Descent to Avernus"
• "Some Dutch Footprints in New England"
• "The Unknown City in the Ocean"
• "A Description of the Town of Quebec"

Reception

Richard A. Lupoff

Richard A. Lupoff

Richard Allen Lupoff is an American science fiction and mystery author, who has also written humor, satire, non-fiction and reviews. In addition to his two dozen novels and more than 40 short stories, he has also edited science-fantasy anthologies. He is an expert on the writing of Edgar Rice...

praised the collection as "an absolute treasure trove," singling out the title piece as "a delight to read . . . like taking a guided tour of the city in the company of a knowledgeable and garrulous friend whose greatest delight is to share with you his own pleasure in the city and its past."