Robert E. Howard was one of the best writers of adventure and fantasy stories. He was a legend in the world of pulp fiction and the genius behind the famous fictional character “Conan the Barbarian.” Howard had a successful writing career for more than a decade. During that time, he wrote more than 100 stories that were published in pulp magazines. Howard is known as the “Father of Sword and Sorcery” because he started this subgenre of fantasy fiction, which is also called “heroic fantasy.” People have said that his character Conan is similar to Tarzan, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Batman, and James Bond. This author wrote a lot and was one of the most talented and skilled storytellers of his time. His works are still being printed today because they are so popular. His work is still a source of inspiration for fantasy and pulp fiction writers today.
Early years and childhood
Robert E. Howard was born in Peaster, Texas, on January 22, 1906, to Dr. Isaac Mordecai Howard, a traveling doctor, and Hester Jane Ervin Howard. His father was a doctor, and his mother was a nurse. Because of his father’s job, he moved around and lived in different parts of Texas when he was young.
His mother was a big part of his intellectual growth and gave him a love of poetry and literature. Even though he read a lot, he didn’t like going to school.
Since he was nine years old, he wanted to be a writer and was interested in writing. By this time, he had written a number of short stories and works of historical fiction.
Aside from writing, he was very interested in boxing, which was a very popular sport at the time. It was one of his interests, and he soon became a good amateur at it.
Work and Later Years
His first paid job as a writer was for a magazine called “Weird Tales.” After too many rejections, the magazine finally accepted his story “Spear and Fang.” This was the first money he had ever made on his own.
He then took a course in bookkeeping and finished it in 1926. That same year, he began working on his piece of writing called “The Shadow Kingdom.” This became one of his best works in the long run.
In August 1928, the magazine “Weird Tales” printed his short story “Red Shadows.” Later, the title was changed to “Solomon Kane.”
In August 1929, the magazine “Weird Tales” published his story “The Shadow Kingdom” for the first time. The story took place in a made-up time called the “Thurian Age.”
Later in 1929, the magazine “Ghost Series” published his story “The Apparition in the Prize Ring.” This was one of his first stories to appear in a magazine other than “Weird Tales.” One of his stories, called “Crowd-Horror,” came out in the “Argosy” in July 1929.
When he made the character of Sailor Steve Costigan for the pulp magazine “Fight Stories,” he hit it big. The series was a big success and made him known as a writer. It was different from the other stories because he told it from the first person and used both traditional and slapstick humor.
From 1930 on, some of his best and most popular stories were published in the pulp magazine “Oriental Stories.” His stories were based on stories from the Middle East and took place between the fall of Rome and the fifteenth century.
In February 1932, he wrote a poem called “Cimmeria.” It took place in a country he made up and gave the same name. This is where the character called “Conan the Barbarian” lived.
After he first wrote about Conan in December 1932 for Weird Tales, he wrote seventeen Conan stories for magazines between 1933 and 1936.
In December 1932, he put out a short story called “The Phoenix on the Sword” in a magazine called “Weird Tales.” This was one of the original “Conan the Cimmerian” short stories.
Later, in 1932 and 1933, he published the stories “The Frost Giant’s Daughter,” “The God in the Bowl,” “The Slithering Shadow,” and “The Scarlet Citadel.”
In 1935, his book “The Hour of the Dragon,” which was also called “Conan the Conqueror,” came out. It was published in parts in the magazine “Weird Tales” from 1931 to 1936.
Works of note
He came up with the idea for the famous fictional character “Conan the Barbarian.” This character has been used in a lot of different comics, books, video games, and even cartoons. The movies “Conan the Barbarian” and “Conan the Destroyer” were also based on the character.
Personal History and Legacies
He was seeing Novalyne Price, and they went on and off dates. But because his mother was sick, he didn’t pay her much attention. She later went out with Truett Vinson, who was his best friend.
People think that he had mental illnesses and depression his whole life. People thought that this was one of the reasons he killed himself later. Some people also thought that he had an Oedipal complex.
On June 11, 1936, after hearing that his mother was in a coma and that she wouldn’t wake up, he shot himself in the head. At the time of his death, he was 30 years old. Some people think that he killed himself because he was stressed out and not because he had a mental illness.
His house in Cross Plains, Texas, has been turned into a museum and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places for Callahan County, Texas.
Estimated Net worth
Robert is one of the wealthiest authors and is on the list of the most popular authors. Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider all say that Robert E. Howard is worth about $1.5 million.
Trivia
This author of “pulp fiction” was afraid of getting old and also had a fear of getting old. In many of his works, he chose to have his characters stay young forever.