Joseph Payne Brennan - Common Themes

Common Themes

Almost all of Brennan's work takes place in or around New England, especially coastal and northwestern Connecticut. Many of Brennan's best tales are set within the environs of New Haven and East Hartland, and feature seemingly semi-autobiographical elements throughout. He often goes to great lengths describing vast stretches of forest, scenery, small towns, and so on. His characters are often reclusive, and stick to these desolate places.

In the tradition of the psychic or paranormal detective, Brennan introduced his character, the sarsaparilla-sipping occultist Lucius Leffing in the story "The Haunted Housewife", which made its debut in the Winter of 1962-63 issue of MACABRE. For several decades Brennan championed Leffing's skill, the results of which can be found in the three collections, CASEBOOK, CHRONICLES, and the ADVENTURES, as well as a full length investigation into the bizarre happenings at the First World Fantasy Convention in 1975 Act of Providence. The 40 or so stories comprising the Lucius Leffing canon are amongst Brennan's best-loved work. In the stories Leffing's adventures are chronicled by his protege and friend - Brennan himself.