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Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was a prolific American author and poet. He wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres and is today most famous for the creation of the character of Conan the Cimmerian.
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“ It may sound fantastic to link the term "realism" with Conan; but as a matter of fact - his supernatural adventures aside - he is the most realistic character I ever evolved. He is simply a combination of a number of men I have known, and I think that's why he seemed to step full-grown into my consciousness when I wrote the first yarn of the series. Some mechanism in my sub-consciousness took the dominant characteristics of various prize-fighters, gunmen, bootleggers, oil field bullies, gamblers, and honest workmen I had come in contact with, and combining them all, produced the amalgamation I call Conan the Cimmerian. ” — Letter to Clark Ashton Smith, 23 July 1935Selected character
Dark Agnes de Chastillon (The Sword Woman) is the heroine of three stories set in 16th Century France, which were not printed until a long time after Howard's death. The first two were full, historical adventures while the third is an unfinished fragment with a weird element.
Agnes was beaten by her father and almost forced into an arranged marriage, before killing the bridegroom and running away. She meets Etienne Villiers, who at first attempts to sell her to a brothel, and Guiscard de Clisson, a mercenary captain who trains her as a swordswoman. When de Clisson is killed, Agnes heads for Italy with Villiers. The character may be partially based on Novalyne Price. Fictional prototypes include Jirel of Joiry, created by C. L. Moore, who was enthusiastic about the first of these stories.
Selected story
Read The Black Stone on Wikisource Related article
The Hyborian Age is a fictional time period created by Howard as a setting for his Conan the Cimmerian stories. After writing three Conan stories, and selling the first, he created the essay The Hyborian Age in order to properly define the world and its history. The age is in prehistory, before the Ice Age that would shape the modern world and after a great cataclysm that caused the sinking of Atlantis and other disasters. The name comes from the Hyborian people, the dominant race of the time who, according to the essay, would be almost wiped out by the coming of the Ice Age. Howard used the period, both as a setting and by reference, in his other stories and it has been referenced in works by other authors, such as H.P. Lovecraft.
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Cover of Weird Tales (December 1935, vol. 26, no. 6) featuring the first printing of the first installment of tbe Conan novel The Hour of the Dragon. The picture depits Zenobia helping Conan to escape. Selected poem
Fables For Little Folk
He was six foot four and wide as a door
And he weighed two hundred pounds
And he laughed as he spoke, "I’ll cool that bloke.
I’ll flatten him in two rounds."
Ah, the crowd they cheered, but the crowd they jeered
When his foeman stepped in the ring;
They hissed and jowled and the giant scowled
And rushed with a round-house swing.
Yes, he came full tilt but the beans were spilt
For the smaller man timed him fair
And knocked him out with a left hand clout
And the crowd gave him the air.
So the moral is this: make your foeman miss
And never lead with your right,
But the first that you’re to do is be sure
That it’s not Jack Dempsey you fight.Related portals
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