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The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a short novel by H. P. Lovecraft, written in 1927 but not published until 1941, four years after his death, when an abridged version ran in Weird Tales. It is one of his longest works and is steeped in the history and streets of his home city, Providence, Rhode Island.

The book opens with a puzzle: Charles Dexter Ward, a young man from a well-to-do family with a passion for antiquarian research, has vanished from a private mental hospital, and his doctors cannot agree on what was wrong with him. The story then goes back to explain. While studying his genealogy, Charles discovered an ancestor named Joseph Curwen, a wealthy merchant who lived in Providence in the eighteenth century and was feared by his neighbours for his unnatural youthfulness, his mysterious cargoes and the strange sounds from his farm. Charles's growing fascination with Curwen leads him to seek out old documents and travel abroad, and the family physician, Dr. Marinus Bicknell Willett, watches with alarm as the young man's habits and manner change.

The novel combines a detective-style investigation with colonial history and occult horror, and it shows Lovecraft's affection for old New England architecture. Readers who enjoy slow-building supernatural mysteries and historical horror will find it one of his most absorbing works.

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The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is a short horror novel (51,500 words) by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in early 1927, but not published during the author's lifetime. Set in Lovecraft's hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, it was first published (in abridged form) in the May and July issues of Weird Tales in 1941; the first complete publication was in Arkham House's Beyond the Wall of Sleep collection (1943). It is included in the Library of America volume of Lovecraft's work. The novel, set in 1928, describes how Charles Dexter Ward becomes obsessed with his distant ancestor, Joseph Curwen, an alleged wizard with unsavory habits. Ward physically resembles Curwen, and attempts to duplicate his ancestor's Qabalistic and alchemical feats. He eventually uses this knowledge to physically resurrect Curwen. Ward's doctor, Marinus Bicknell Willett, investigates Ward's activities and is horrified by what he finds. - Summary by Wikipedia