Tales of Mystery and Imagination [Paperback]

Edgar Allan Poe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1993

This title includes an introduction and notes by John S. Whitley, University of Sussex. This collection of Poe's best stories contains all the terrifying and bewildering tales that characterize his work. As well as the Gothic horror of "The Pit and the Pendulum", "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Premature Burial" and "The Tell-Tale Heart", all of Poe's Auguste Dupin stories are included.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Award-winning fantasy illustrator Gary Kelley writes, "I have selected three of Edgar Allan Poe's best short stories.... I chose 'The Fall of the House of Usher' for its classic Gothic images and its dark, melancholic central characters, including the house itself. 'The Black Cat' is ... appealing to me for its use of mystery and foreboding that takes us to a horrifying climax. 'The Cask of Amontillado' ... my personal favorite, [is] a simple narrative of revenge set in the contrasting worlds of carnival and catacomb." Click on the book's cover for a closer look, but the reproduction doesn't really do justice to the richness of color in Kelley's shadowy, atmospheric paintings. (The cat's eye is green, and its tongue is pink.) This gorgeous edition has 20 full- and double-page paintings, including a melancholy portrait of Poe; each page of text is surrounded by subtle decorative frames. The images of Roderick and Madeleine Usher are especially effective. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Publisher

Founded in 1906 by J.M. Dent, the Everyman Library has always tried to make the best books ever written available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible price. Unique editorial features that help Everyman Paperback Classics stand out from the crowd include: a leading scholar or literary critic's introduction to the text, a biography of the author, a chronology of her or his life and times, a historical selection of criticism, and a concise plot summary. All books published since 1993 have also been completely restyled: all type has been reset, to offer a clarity and ease of reading unique among editions of the classics; a vibrant, full-color cover design now complements these great texts with beautiful contemporary works of art. But the best feature must be Everyman's uniquely low price. Each Everyman title offers these extensive materials at a price that competes with the most inexpensive editions on the market-but Everyman Paperbacks have durable binding, quality paper, and the highest editorial and scholarly standards. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wordsworth Classics (December 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853260134
• ISBN-13: 978-1853260131
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,583,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here is where greatness lies!, November 25, 2005

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Hardcover)

I had read some of Mr. Poe's tales at different times during the course of my life, but I had never before sat down to read all of his most important ones before I picked up this book. I found this an incredible thing to do, because I was faced with the genius that was Poe. Most of us know that he was the father of the short story genre, and that many famous authors (not the least of which were Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie) tried to follow in his footsteps. This is an almost impossible task because the genius of Poe was his poet's nature which allowed him to write very beautiful prose too. He also had the gift of mixing his impalpable shadows of mystery which run through all his tales with an almost obsessive attention to detail. This brought his stories to life when he wrote them, and this power still brings them to life today. It is difficult to pick a favourite tale out of so many gems, but I'd have to go with "The Black Cat", I think. In this tale Poe's protagonist allows a very intimate glimpse of the darkest recesses of his souls, and we descend into madness with him. This is an eerily beautiful world here and not for the faint of heart.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly a masterpiece! Full of horror and graphic imagination., April 16, 1998

By 

Paulette Doremus ([e-mail]) (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Hardcover)

I felt chilled reading this collection of Poe's all time best stories. I especially loved the eerieness of The Cask of Amontialldo and the insanity of the narrator in the The Balck Cat, all so frightly believable. The illustrations top it off by adding a magical touch of frightful imagery to the collection.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars E. A. Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination, December 15, 2003

By 

collin (Meridian, Id) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales of Mystery & Imagination (Hardcover)

Having never read Edgar Allen Poe I was quite pleased with his writing. One of my favorite stories out of the plethera of choices was the Gold Bug. At first I was relucant to continue with the book. It was going slow and was hard to interpret. Then in the middle of the story it picked up pace and had some mystery and magic in it. I became fixed with reading it and figuring out how they found the treasure and how it was all possible. The process of the way the treasure was found was fantastic. This book has many of Poe's greatest writings. And that is what made it great. You didn't ahve to get a lot of books to read many of his stories, you could simply just get one and read many. This book contained many great short stories. It is a must read.