"Inventory and Appraisement Of The Estate Of Robert E Howard..."
Robert E Howard created
Conan the Barbarian, but that didn’t stop him from dying, leaving an estate
worth less than $3,000. At the end of
his life, none of his creations could save him, and even though his vision and
work has endured for over 75 years, he never really reaped the benefits that
others have enjoyed down the years. As
can be seen from these documents, the bulk of Howard’s estate was,
surprisingly, money, with two bank accounts containing over $2,500 of the final
sum. Howard’s estate went to his next of
kin, in this case his father, Issac Howard.
Issac Howard must surely have had the worst of weeks, first his son
fatally shoots himself in the head and then his wife passes away shortly after,
never waking from a coma, resulting in a double burial. Such is the price of devotion to one’s
mother, and Howard's actions have created conversation amongst his many admirers
ever since.
Luckily, for the world at
large, Howard had a vivid imagination and gave us several creations which are
still in use today, chief amongst them Conan the Barbarian. If he’d done nothing more than that he’d
still be remembered, but he also gave the world Solomon Kane, Kull and many
more, characters that writers, artists and film-makers still play with
today. He may never have published an
actual book in his lifetime, but he lives on as one of the greats of the 20th
century. Howard’s work was so good that
when writers of the comic strip ever became stuck, and this includes Roy
Thomas, they merely went back to Howard's work and sought both ideas and
inspiration, and Howard’s works have provided some of the best Conan stories
that the world has seen, giving rise to the cliché, often imitated, never
surpassed. Conan may be owned by a
corporation today, but he’s still there for all to enjoy. The real shame is that Howard decided to
leave the world at such a young age and so early in his career. The ‘what if’s’ that remain are maddening as
the potential was more than there and it would have been more than interesting
to see what Howard could have done once released from the shackles of a pulp
magazine and given the freedom of unlimited pages. Still, some things are destined to remain
unknown…and therein lies their appeal.
These documents might be old - hell, they date from 1936 - and I'm sure they exist somewhere else and others with far more knowledge about Howard than I'll ever have would be able to dissect and discuss them, but they're well worth another peek, for the curious at least. And to think, Issac Howard had to file two of these in the same week, one for his wife and one for his son - so when you stop and think about the tragedy of Robert E Howard taking his life in a fit of depression, also spare a strong thought for his father, who remained behind and buried his family.
Possibly the best of all of the Conan adaptations, by the best of the adaptors |
Comments
Also happens to be one of Howard's best stories.
Just an FYI, remember that was 1936. In 2010 money, that estate would have been just under $39,000. Not a million by any stretch, but frankly more than the average American has saved today, especially one as young as REH.
I'm just shocked that none of his books were published in his lifetime; they must've all been as chapters in pulp magazines? In that respect he's almost like Van Gogh. (Except better IMO.)
Thanks,
Mike Pascale