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The Doubtful Guest
 
 
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The Doubtful Guest (Hardcover)

by Edward Gorey (Author) "When they answered the bell on that wild winter night, There was no one expected - and no one in sight..." (more)
4.5 out of 5 stars  (17 customer reviews)

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Better Together

Buy this book with The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey today!

The Doubtful Guest The Gashlycrumb Tinies
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Originally published in 1957, The Doubtful Guest serves as a prime example of the beauty, eccentricity, and brilliance of Edward Gorey's work. If the book was read aloud without revealing the accompanying black-and-white drawings, you might guess the tale came from the quirky genius of Dr. Seuss. The rhyming couplets and nonsensical verse (about an even more nonsensical creature) feel familiar, but in Gorey's skilled hands, the experience becomes altogether new.

The doubtful guest shows up unannounced and unwelcome, yet its presence is accepted after only a brief interlude of screaming. The staid, pale, Victorian inhabitants of the mansion alternately stare and glare at the doubtful guest as it tears out whole chapters from books, peels the soles of its white canvas shoes, and broods while lying on the floor ("inconveniently close to the drawing-room door"). Strangely, or rather, typically, as this is a Gorey book, the stymied occupants never ask the guest to leave--and in 17 years it has still "shown no intention of going away." Maintaining a matter-of-fact tone in spite of true oddity is pure, delicious Gorey, and his trademark drawings are not to be missed. The ghostly, stark, and undeniably amusing illustrations make The Doubtful Guest an entrancing tale in which reserved, insular lives meet with the unexpected and bizarre. (Ages 5 and older) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

“An artist and writer of genius” (New Yorker) gives us a small-format edition of one of his favorite tales-a deliciously twisted comedy of manners.

Product Details
  • Hardcover: 32 pages
  • Publisher: Harcourt (June 15, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0151003130
  • ISBN-13: 978-0151003136
  • Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.6 x 0.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: