The metal monster

Abraham Merritt (1884-1943), who published under the byline A. Merritt, was an American editor and author of works of fantastic fiction. Originally trained in law, he turned to journalism, first as a correspondent, and later as editor. He was assistant editor of The American Weekly from 1912 to 1937 under Morrill Goddard, then its editor until his death. He was a major influence on H. P. Lovecraft, and highly esteemed by his friend and frequent collaborator Hannes Bok. Merritt's stories typically revolve around conventional pulp magazine themes: lost civilizations, hideous monsters, etc. His heroes are gallant Irishmen or Scandinavians, his villains treacherous Germans or Russians and his heroines often virginal, mysterious and scantily clad. What sets Merritt apart from the typical pulp author, however, is his lush, florid prose style and his exhaustive, at times exhausting, penchant for adjective-laden detail. His fondness for micro-description nicely complements the pointillistic style of Bok's illustrations. He wrote Through the Dragon Glass, and The People of the Pit (1917), The Moon Pool (1918), The Metal Monster (1920), and Three Lines of Old French.