William Hope Hodgson (November 15, 1877 April 1918) was an Englishauthor. He produced a large body of work, consisting of essays, short fiction, andnovels, spanning several overlapping genres including horror, fantastic fictionand science fiction. Early in his writing career he dedicated effort to poetry,although few of his poems were published during his lifetime. He also attractedsome notice as a photographer and achieved some renown as a bodybuilder. Hedied in World War I at the age of 40. Hodgson was born in Blackmore End, Essex,the son of Samuel Hodgson, an Anglican priest, and Lissie Sarah Brown. He wasthe second of twelve children, three of whom died in infancy. The death of a childis a theme in several of Hodgson's works including the short stories "The Valleyof Lost Children", "The Sea-Horses", and "The Searcher of the End House".
