I’m pleased to discover, via an ancient aside on an Archive.org fanzine, a Lovecraftian author of quality who was completely unknown to me.

Jeffrey E. Barlough produced a well-regarded trilogy in the 1990s and early 2020s, and has followed it up with a regular series of books. Anchorwick is a kind of prequel and said to be the best to start with, though The House in the High Wood has an affordable ebook.

The setting is an alternate history in which the last Ice Age never ended and our current interglacial warm period never arrived. A sliver of the olde British civilisation that managed to emerge now clings on down the coastline of North America. Surrounded by Ice Age megafauna, no less. A gaslamp/steampunk blend of Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft, but with an appealing-sounding dash of eccentric and imaginative whimsy added to the mix.

Sadly no audiobook version, despite the avid fan-base, or even other ebook editions. His website has the full list for the Western Lights series…

Dark Sleeper (2000)

The House in the High Wood (2001)

Strange Cargo (2004)

Bertram of Butter Cross (2007)

Anchorwick (2008)

A Tangle in Slops (2011)

What I Found at Hoole (2012)

The Cobbler of Ridingham (2014)

Where The Time Goes (2016)

The Thing in the Close (2018)

Hooting Grange (2021)

Rose of Picardy (in preparation)