It's notable that Asa and Hanna are treated with respect by both the narratorial voice and the Wards. I think we're owed some hint why a creature capable of obliterating the catacombs and wrecking vengeance on Orne and Hutchinson can't or won't deal with Curwen itself. I also find the business with the being accidentally resurrected by Willett disappointing. Did it manage to keep the essentials(!) while cutting down the architectural details? (I'm afraid the delights of New England colonial architecture are almost wholly wasted on me.) Regarding the length, I'm afraid I find it excessive for the amount of story to be told - I find myself curious what the abridged version originally published in WT was like. This one is one of those HPL stories I hadn't re-read since first reading it a dozen years ago or more, and I recalled little beyond the central conceit of "essential salts" and Curwen tricking Ward from beyond to grave to resurrect him.
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