A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson by H. P. Lovecraft

Told by a narrator who claims to have been born in 1690 and still lives today, this short piece is a playful and absurd reflection on literary longevity. With sly references to historical figures and Lovecraft’s own idol, Dr. Johnson, the story is more comedic than eerie. It parodies overly formal prose and the eccentricities of scholarly memoirs. A humorous oddity, this brief tale reveals Lovecraft’s literary wit and fondness for 18th-century stylings.