Peter Straub
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- This article is about Peter Straub the novelist. For the German statesman, see Peter Straub (politician).
Peter Francis Straub, born March 2, 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a writer of fiction and poetry, best known as a prolific horror author.
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[edit] Literary career
After mixed success with two attempts at literary mainstream novels in the mid-1970s (Marriages and Under Venus - the latter not even published until he had gained fame as a horror writer), Straub dabbled in the supernatural for the first time with Julia (1976). He then wrote If You Could See Me Now (1977), and came to widespread public attention with his fifth novel, Ghost Story (1979), which was a critical success and was later loosely adapted into a 1981 film starring Fred Astaire. Several horror novels followed, with growing success, including The Talisman and Black House, two fantasy-horror collaborations with Straub's long-time friend and fellow author Stephen King.
After a fallow period, Straub re-emerged in 1988 with Koko, a nonsupernatural (though horrific) Vietnam novel. Koko was followed in the early '90s by the related novels Mystery and The Throat, which together with Koko make up the "Blue Rose Trilogy". These complex and intertwined novels extended Straub's explorations into metafiction and unreliable narrators.
Straub followed 1996's ambitious mainstream thriller The Hellfire Club, which applied the lessons learned in the Blue Rose period to a more overtly gothic plot, with Mr. X, dealing with a doppelgänger theme. In 2001, Straub and King reteamed for Black House, a loose sequel to The Talisman tying that book in with King's Dark Tower Series. 2003 saw the publication of a new Straub novel Lost Boy, Lost Girl followed by the related In the Night Room (2004). Both of these novels won Stoker awards.
Straub is the editor of the Library of America selection of the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. His novel Mr. X also paid tribute to Lovecraft's distinctive writing style, as the eponymous Mr. X wrote in a similar style.
Straub has also published several books of poetry.
Significant detail about the two collaborations with King may be found at http://www.horrorking.com. A critical essay on Straub's horror work can be found in S. T. Joshi's book The Modern Weird Tale (2001). At the Foot of the Story Tree, by Bill Sheehan, discusses Straub's work before 2000.
Rumors continue to circulate that King and Straub may collaborate on a final novel, finishing the tale of Jack Sawyer and the Talisman.
[edit] Bibliography
- 1973: Marriages
- 1976: Julia
- 1976: If You Could See Me Now
- 1979: Ghost Story
- 1980: Shadowland
- 1983: Floating Dragon
- 1984: The Talisman (with Stephen King)
- 1984: Wild Animals (collects Julia, If You Could See Me Now, and Under Venus)
- 1985: Under Venus
- 1988: Koko (novel) - World Fantasy Award (1989)
- 1990: Mystery
- 1990: Houses Without Doors
- 1993: The Throat - Bram Stoker Award (1993)
- 1995: The Hellfire Club
- 1999: Mr. X - Bram Stoker Award (1999)
- 2000: Magic Terror
- 2001: Black House (with Stephen King)
- 2003: lost boy lost girl - Bram Stoker Award (2003)
- 2004: In The Night Room - Bram Stoker Award (2004)
- 2006: Sides"(collection of non-fiction essays)
- 2007: 5 Stories
