The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings (Bantam Classics) (School & Library Binding)

by Edgar Allan Poe (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Suspense, fear and the supernatural provide the center for these tales by the master prose writer. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

About the Author
In his short, troubled life Edgar Allan Poe originated the mystery story, brought new psychological depth to the tale of horror, and made inimitable contributions to Romantic poetry and literary criticism. Born in Boston in 1809 to itinerant actors, Poe was orphaned as an infant and sent to live with a Richmond merchant, John Allan. Allan sent him to the University of Virginia in 1826, but Poe withdrew because of gambling debts. In 1830, with his first book of poems already published, he entered West Point but was dishonorably discharged the next year. In 1835 Poe was chosen editor of the Southern Literary Messenger. Poe was already established as an author when, in 1845, the publication of "The Raven" made him famous. He began to lecture, engaged in a celebrated feud with Longfellow, and became sole proprietor of his own magazine, Broadway Journal. But in 1846 the magazine went bankrupt, and in 1847, after years of suffering, Poe's wife died of consumption. His ill health and drinking worsened. In October 1849 he was found semiconscious outside a polling place in Baltimore; a few days later he died without regaining consciousness.

Ignored for the most part by his countrymen, he was idolized by the French Symbolists, who thought of him as the first modern poet and helped to win him the recognition that is now his. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• School & Library Binding
• Publisher: Topeka Bindery (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613366964
• ISBN-13: 978-0613366960
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,471,622 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Tell-Tale Heart By The Weirdo Edgar Allan Poe, March 9, 2001

By	"amyanderso" (Menlo Park, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tell-Tale Heart (Bantam Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Imagine that you are working for someone. Working for some one that has something that vexed you. What if the thing that vexed you, drove you into doing something crazy? Mentally crazy, that is if you can stand the pressure. Well, that's what happened to a man in the story of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe.

This story is about a man that takes care of / works for an older man. The old man's eye is like a vultures eye, and the eye vexes the other man. The eye drives the other man so crazy that it urges him to attack the old man in the middle of the night. The story takes place in the old man's house. The old man's house is very old and creaky, at least that's how I have pictured it in the last thousand times that I have read this story.

The characters are the old man and the man that gets vexed by the old man's eye. The old man has an eye like a vulture, a pale blue eye with a film over it. The other guy is a mad man. He denies it though. The theme is basically horror. It's not exactly scary, it's scary and thrilling.

If you like books that are thrilling and sort of scary or sort of give you the spooks; if you like murder stories; if you like stories that are sort of abnormal, then you will want to check out The Tell-Tale Heart.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Edgar Allan Poe's works, June 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tell-Tale Heart (Bantam Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

I think that Edgar Allan Poe is a really great Author. He completely mastered the style that he wanted to achieve. His style is somewhat of a creepy, cold feeling one. A coldness that grasps you while you read it. While you read his stories, you really can feel the creepy sense in each one. It's a great style of writing, that doesn't always appeal to everyone, but it's still a great style to accomplish, and he did it very, very well. I enjoyed reading most of his works, because they have a vocabulary on them like you wouldn't believe. I had to look up a few words that he used, but it was still nice to read. Anyways, have fun reading his books, and let them live on. :-D

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Tell-Tale Heart, January 9, 2002

By	Rachel (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tell-Tale Heart (Bantam Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ive read this book in one of my classes at school. I would suggest it to anyone that has a wider vocabulary. Basically its about a man, the narrator, who has an obsession with another man's eye. The eye resembles that of a vulture's or in simpler terms it has a glazed look to it. The eye drives the narrator crazy. After many nights of waiting he finally gets the chance to kill him. He hides the body underneath the floorboards in the house. When the police investigate the narrator believes that he can hear the beating of the heart underneath the floor. He is sure the police can hear it to. It ocercomes him, and since he is so sure that they hear it, he confesses. When in all reality, it is his own guilt which leads him to confess... But thats a reader's digest version. :)