The Original House of Moonlight
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August Derleth�s novella was first published in 1953, in a limited edition from The Prairie Press. This haunting and hypnotic story concerns the musician Joel Merrihew, and his return to Sac Prairie under some sort of cloud that is not only to do with his self-perceived imperfections as a creative artist.
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Derleth tells the story through the eyes of the adolescent Steve Grendon, an alter ego character that he used in many stories and novels. These include one of Derleth�s best novels (and the author�s favourite) Evening in Spring (1941) as well as his most ambitious and interesting, but most flawed, novels The Shield of the Valiant (1945).
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Joel and Steve form a sort of friendship, as they are often brought together through the friendship of Joel�s widowed mother with Steve�s grandfather, the retired village doctor, Jasper Grendon. It soon becomes clear, to both the wise Dr Grendon, and his young but highly observant grandson, that Joel fighting an intense mental and psychical battle for his very self. This aspect of the story mirrors many of Derleth�s own thoughts about the relationships between artist and his world and its inhabitants, and the relationships that an artist can have with other people that threaten or enhance his art.
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Joel has returned home to resolve the conflicts inside himself. It soon becomes obvious that only one ending is possible -- and it is
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