The Pit and the Pendulum and Other Stories: The Whole Story [Mass Market Paperback]

Edgar Allan Poe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 1999 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Whole Story

This selection of Poe's critical writings, short fiction and poetry demonstrates an intense interest in aesthetic issues and the astonishing power and imagination with which he probed the darkest corners of the human mind. The Fall of the House of Usher describes the final hours of a family tormented by tragedy and the legacy of the past. In The Tell Tale Heart, a murderer's insane delusions threaten to betray him, while stories such as The Pit and the Pendulum and The Cask of Amontillado explore extreme states of decadence, fear and hate.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-This series entry presents Poe's unabridged text accompanied by annotated color and black-and-white illustrations and reproductions of various aspects of life during the stories' time periods. The selections include "The Gold-Bug," "The Oval Portrait," "The Cask of Amontillado," "Some Words with a Mummy," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." In some instances, as when there is a historical connection, the annotations are particularly enlightening, e.g., the information about the Inquisition and its relationship to "The Pit and the Pendulum." To maintain continuity, readers may prefer to read through the stories first and then return to the sidebars or vice versa. Libraries that own anthologies of Poe tales will not be denying readers the most important material-the stories themselves-if they pass on this one.
Joanne K. Cecere, Highland High School, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Travelman Publishing Editorial Board: Martin Amis, Mark Amory, Beryl Bainbridge, Alexander Chancelor, Dame Muriel Spark, William Trevor, and Auberon Waugh --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; First Edition edition (September 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670887250
• ISBN-13: 978-0670887255
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #879,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pit and the pendulum, October 30, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Pit and the Pendulum (Audio Cassette)

I thought this short story was very good! It is about a man(with an unknown name) that is sent to the spanish inquisistion and is stuck there for many nights. One night he later awakes and is awoken by a swinging pendulum coming down to slice him. The only way out is through a never ending pit or to be killed by a spiked pendulum...which way will he choose...read it and you will find out!

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, November 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pit and the Pendulum (Paperback)

I think that this was a very exciting book. It's one of those books where you need to keep reading to find out what happns next and it's like you can't stop. The narrator is stuck in the Spanish inquisition and he discovers a pit--no one knows whats down there, but you can guess by context clues. Then he awakens to a pendulum swinging over him, that comes down so slow. Will he be cunning enough to escape? Read and find out!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book, October 14, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Pit and the Pendulum (Paperback)

Chelsea Hall

October 13, 2005

This year I read The Pit and the Pendulum, by Edgar Allen Poe. It's about a guy who is captured and tortured by a pendulum, but shortly after is thrown into an abyss. My favorite artist, Griss Grimly makes drawings from Poe's stories. So since I love Griss so much I decided to check Poe out. I'd recommend this story to any one who likes Griss Grimly's art who is over the age of thirteen. If you don't like guar, crazy, magical, scary, mystery books you wouldn't like this story, but if you do like everything I said you like this book.

This book was wonderful because of all the torture. The guy in this book was hearing people that really weren't there. For example he said "I saw the lips of the black robed judges. They appeared white whiter then this sheet upon which I write these words and thin even grotesquely. Also another scary moment in this story is when the pendulum gets closer and closer to his rob, it was very suspenseful. It said "down steadily down it crept. Down certainly, relentlessly down". The only thing wrong was it was a little hard to understand. Like "it enveloped my limbs and body close in all directions, save in the path of the destroying crescent".

My over all opinion was a wonderful experience. It was fun and not boring, unlike all the other books I've read. Anyone looking for horror stories, which love terror scary and fun you will like this book.