The Fantastic Fiction of Abraham Merritt

Abraham Grace Merritt was born on January 20th, 1884 in Beverly, New Jersey. He was originally steered towards a career in law but this later diverted to journalism. It was an industry where he would excel. Eventually he would edit The American Weekly but even from his early years he was remarkably well paid. Merritt was also an avid hobbyist and loved to make collections of his interests and, of course, also found time to write. As a writer Merritt was undeniably pulp fiction and heavily into supernatural. He first published in 1917 with Through the Dragon Glass. Many short stories followed including novels that were published whole as well as serialized. His stories would typically take on board the conventional pulp magazine themes: lost civilizations, hideous monsters and their ilk. His heroes were almost always brave, adventurous Irishmen or Scandinavians, whilst his villains were usually treacherous Germans or Russians and his heroines often virginal, mysterious and, of course, scantily clad. Many pulp fiction writers had a terse, spare style that never got in the way of plot but Merritt was more considered. His style was lush, florid and full of adjective laden detail. He was, in essence, a remarkable talent.