Product Description
This annotated and illustrated editon of the entire stories and poems of Edgar Allan Poe brings Poe to life as never before. It contains a great foreword by Andrew Barger and includes his annotations, word definitions, foreign language translations, and background information about Poe's stories and poems that provide insight into their underlying meaning. Photographs of Poe's many loves and the literary figures he satired in his stories are included. The timeless artwork of Harry Clarke and Gustave Dore, two of Poe's best illustrators, are also provided. Poems sent to Poe by his many romantic interests and his poems in response are also included. These are very telling about the man who was engaged three times and married to his thirteen-year-old first cousin. The poems are ordered by person and then organized chronologically under that person so that readers can see the exchange of poetry from and to Poe as it unfolded a century and a half ago. The book contains the little-known Poe tales: "[The Bloodhounds]," "Morning on the Wissahiccon," "[The Rats of Park Theatre]," and "Some Secrets of the Magazine Prison House." Here is but a sampling of the other remarkable tales and poems included: "Annabel Lee," "The Bells," "The Black Cat," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Conqueror Worm," "A Descent into the Maelstrom," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Gold-Bug," "The Haunted Palace," "Lenore," "The Masque of the Red Death," "MS. Found in a Bottle," "Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Oblong Box," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Premature Burial," "The Purloined Letter," "The Raven," "Some Secrets of the Magazine Prison House," "Some Words with a Mummy," "The Swiss Bell-Ringers," "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "Thou Art the Man," and "Ulalume." If you are new to Edgar Allan Poe or already have a compilation of his sitting on your bookshelf, here is an opportunity to uniquely experience the poems and stories of the author who invented the mystery genre and defined the horror genre. Read the works of America's most brilliant and mysterious author as you never have before. Experience the Poe revival firsthand. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not Very Well Illustrated.
I agree with Richard Desimone, if you are looking for an illustrated Poe, this is not it. The only section that is illustrated is "The Raven". There are a few very small black and white illustrations scattered through out, but be prepared to be disappointed. My other complaints are that the text is very small and the "Index of Real Names" at the back of the book is the only index and of limited usefulness.

Poe Explained Like Never Before
What gives here? An Amazon Top 10 reviewer has raved about his Poe book and given it 5 stars. Another reviewer doesn't like the illustrations so he pans it. I side with the Top 10 reviewer and also give this 5 stars. My Amazon copy was well-done with tons of background information for each story and poem. I liked seeing photographs of the ladies in Poe's life and the authors he fought with.

The illustrations are black-n-white as that is how the illustrators of the 1800s drew them. They are also more tasteful without the blood and guts. If you are looking for glossy color Poe illustrations, buy a Poe book with modern illustrations. I'll take the classics and 800+ pages of Poe bliss.

Horrible Production
I just re-read the 5-star review of this book after finishing the steps required a refund.I don't normally write reviews despite purchasing 3-4 books per month from Amazon but this book is so poorly produced and the contrary to the5-star review that I must say something. First off, the literature is great, that's without question. However, the excellent artwork that typically accompanies these poems and stories is an absolute abomination. No care whatsoever was made in the making of this "handsome book" (I'm quoting the 5-star reviewer) and that includes the printing. All the images seem to be low resolution 72dpi images grabbed from the web, I wish I were kidding. Some are even stretched horizontally to fit a desired space within the page layout. An illustrated portrait comes to mind as it looked as if one was staring into a funhouse mirror. I was SO looking forward to this book for the literature AND the amazing artwork of Clarke, Dore, etc. You can imagine my shock when receiving this tome and seeing such poor presentation. For example, back in the day, Dore's illustrations were made into engravings (high contrast black and white images) with exquisite line work so they'd be suitable for printing. In this book, the images are so pixelated and the printing so cheap that the engravings are blurry masses of choppy gray tones. The amateurishly photo-shopped low resolution cover of this book was a red flag but for the price I thought I'd take a chance on this book as it seemed a good value. I suppose it is if you want all of Poe's stories in on place this book is worthwhile but damn, this book is hard to look at especially if you're a fan of art. It earns 2 stars because the literature is great but brought down by the extremely poor production. The publisher should be ashamed...buyer beware.

The Definitive Edgar Allan Poe Collection
Andrew Barger opens his hefty book that includes all of the prose and poetry of Edgar Allan Poewith an introduction 'Demystifying Poe', an essay so well written and informative that it sets the tenor for the important collections of his book EDGAR ALLAN POE ANNOTATED & ILLUSTRATED ENTIRE STORIES & POEMS: 'Edgar Allan Poe is arguably our most important original and brilliant author of American letters and most misunderstood. His combination of industriousness, minuteness for detail, originality, and respect for his craft are unparalleled.'Barger then proceeds to offer all of the written works of Poe (many of these will be discoveries to the casual Poe reader), offering annotations to clarify the time and setting and influences on each work.This is an ambitious work and one that immediately becomes the scholar's gold standard for research on this major writer of mystery and thrills.

If for no other reason than to have a solid selection of the works of Poe on the shelf, this beautifully designed and handsomely printed book will serve that intent. But once the reader thumbs through this book, pausing to re-read favorites such as 'The Fall of the House of Usher', 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', 'The Pit and the Pendulum', and 'The Raven', there are many little known gems of short stories, articles, essays, and poemsin addition to the stories that are less familiar to the larger audience to discover.

Barger adds 'guidance' to his method of presenting these works by such devices as listing all of the poems under the subheadings of 'Women in Edgar Allan Poe's Life', 'Miscellaneous Poetry both Before and After Age 25', 'Autobiographical', and 'Men in Edgar Allen Poe's Life.' These may seem like minor adjustments to the collections, but in Barger's hands the divisions add meaning and context to the works.

In addition to all of the written works of Poe, this handsome book contains photographs and many of the famous illustrations for his works - especially those of Harry Clarke and Gustave Dore. The fine art of these two men is also honored with annotations adding to their importance to Poe's popularity as a writer.This is simply a splendid book, handsomely written and produced, and a fine tribute to the literature of Poe - and to the scholarship of Andrew Barger!Highly Recommended.Grady Harp, June 2008 ... Read more

Product Description
Compiled here are over 50 of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories and tales in one giantbook. This includes an active table of contents to make finding stories easy.

This edition includes the following stories:
The Angel of the Odd
The Assignation
The Balloon Hoax
Berenice
Bon-Bon
The Black Cat
The Business Man
The Cask of Amontillado
Colloquy of Monos and Una
Conversation of Eiros and Charmion
A Descent Into the Maelström
The Devil in the Belfry
Diddling
The Domain of Arnheim
Duc De L'Omelette
Eleonora
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
The Fall of the House of the Usher
Four Beasts in One
The Gold-Bug
Hop Frog
How to Write a Blackwood Article
The Imp of the Perverse
The Island of the Fay
King Pest
Landor's Cottage
Landscape Garden
Ligeia
Lionizing
Loss of Breath
Maelzel's Chess-Player
Man of the Crowd
Man that was Used Up
The Masque of the Red Death
Mellonta Tauta
Mesmeric Revelation
Metzengerstein
Morella
Ms. Found in a Bottle
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Mystery of Marie Roget
Mystification
Never Bet the Devil Your Head
Oblong Box
The Oval Portrait
Pit and the Pendulum
The Power of Words
Predicament
The Premature Burial
The Purloined Letter
Shadow -- A Parable
Silence -- A Fable
Some Words with a Mummy
Spectacles
Sphinx
System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether
A Tale of Jerusalem
Tale of the Ragged Mountains
The Tell Tale Heart
Thou Art the Man
The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade
Three Sundays in a Week
The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaal
Von Kempelen and His Discovery
Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling
William Wilson
X-ing a Paragrab ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Horrible Kindle Edition
Save your 89 cents (or whatever this costs, now).The "Kindle edition" (obviously imported from some other eReader format), is unusable.Short stories are named "Chapter 1", "Chapter 2", etc. in the table of contents, so it's impossible to find a particular work.Worse, the navigation links are clearly broken, jumping from place to place for no apparent reason.This version is a complete waste of a download.

The downside of Amazon
If you want a book of poetry, go to a bookstore. If you want a text only "green version" with no table of contents, no formatting, and a pixelated low-resolution blown up picture on the cover, then pay for this piece of garbage, or save yourself the time and money and just print it out yourself.

Kindle version review
I mainly wanted to give my review on the digital Kindle version of this book since at this point you know how good Edgar Allan Poe is from all the other reviews on this book.This is a great Kindle version that has all of Poe's works (novel, essays, and poems which are formatted correctly) in one file with a usable linked table of contents and for less than $1!This is well worth the small price you pay for it!I have a nice hard cover edition of Poe's complete works but it is quite thick and heavy so it's almost impossible to take any where to read so it is so awesome to have all of his works on my Kindle.

One of the Best Collections of All Times
I am so enthusiastic about collections of complete works. The probability of hating all the works of one certain writer is so small that it is negligible. So when I bought this book I knew deep in my mind that I would at least like about a hundred pages of the book. I did not. I enjoyed all the book except for possibly 40-50 pages which is more than impressive.

When I say I like all of the book, I mean to say all of the prose section. I hate poetry, sorry for that but I cannot help it. This review here is concerned with the prose section.

The book begins with the only novel Poe wrote, namely "Narrative of A Gordon Pym." (For a complete review of the novel, please click on the blue "a_mathematician" to view it in the proper place). The novel takes one fifth of the prose section, and is followed by a subsection called "Tales of Deduction."

The first short story of that section is "The Gold Bug," an interesting story. As a matter of fact, Doyle based "The adventure of the Dancing Men," a Sherlock Holmes's short story, on it. Then it goes into introducing Dupin the French, the first unofficial detective ever. (For a complete review of the novel please click on the blue "a_mathematician" to view it in the proper place).

Then comes "Tales of Horror," and, oh my, this part is the most wonderful of the whole collection. Even though Poe was the first to write in this genre, there still no one superior to him. I am not sure about HP Lovecraft, but I am sure King is not up to him. Poe can bring the chill to your heart. I heard he used to eat much on dinner just to bring nightmares to his night sleep, and when he wakes up in the morning he would record every single detail of his dreams to use it in his short stories.

The stories I prefer are: "The Black Cat," which ruined the life of a very wretched man; "The Pit and the Pendulum," which speaks about the pains of one prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition; "The Masque of the Red Death," whose story I would not have actually liked if not for the marvelous description, Poe provides, for every single bit of occurrence. "The Fall of the House of Usher," which speaks about the life of a very singular person and his sister (This one is considered by many to be the best short story Poe has every written); and "The Oblong Box," which is exactly what Doyle would have written had he got the idea first.

Then comes "Tales of Imagination." This section was the one I did not like that much. He started with a few very descriptive emotional stories (I would only consider them nonsensical, no offense).

The stories I liked here were: "Manuscript Found in A Bottle," which is a pretty funny story about someone being in a foreign ship without people feeling his presence; and "The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfall," which explores the reasons behind Pfall's wanting to forsake the earth for the moon on his balloon. The latter is more of a novella than a short story.

The next section is "Satirical Tales and Hoaxes." This was the second best section I enjoyed. The best stories were: "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether," which is an insane story, no one could have ever produced such a comedy before; "Some Words with A Mummy," and for those of you who are familiar with the Egyptian novelist Naguib (or Najib) Mahfouz, I may tell you that he had used a similar idea in his first collection of short stories; "The Man that was Used Up," which I can describe with no other word than ABSOLUTELY FUNNY with a very twisted end; "Loss of Breath," is another example for the genius of Poe; "Never Bet the Devil Your Head," HaHa; "The Spectacles," I read this one so long ago and it still possessed its charm with its funny twisted conclusion; "The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq," which was a satirical and wonderful one; and finally "X-ing A Paragraph," which was the best one in the section.

Then come some articles, the best of which were 'Didling' and 'Maelzel's Chess Player.' They were nice to read despite their being out of date.

In the end I would like to apologize for this long review, but you cannot describe - or better yet, review - about a thousand pages in a two liner. I like the book and there is no reason you should not. Poe has affected so many writers, some of whom are: RL Stevenson, AC Doyle, Roald Dahl, HP Lovecraft, Steven King, and so many others, so if you read for any of those you would definitely enjoy this book.

speechless...
...that's what this book makes me. I honestly do not know what there is left to say about one of the greatest horror writers of all times. this book is essential - so if you like reading horror, gothic, etc. stories and you have never read a story by EAP, shame on you.

If you never even heard of EAP, shame on you even more!

But if you don't own this book, "you shalt not be suffered to live"!!!!(sorry for dramatizing, but buy this (*) book!!!!!!!! And read it of course, not only buy it and put it on your shelf because it looks nice and when you show it to people, they all say, wow, you got a great collection - they say this, at least one of them says this, because he knows what proud 'n' lucky son you are to own such a beautiful book -> not beautiful because it is thick hardcover edition bound in leather with golden renderings on the pages on golden imprints on the front and back cover.

Legite: (Amazon does not provide pictures for The Complete Works of EAP, and because there are several books in hardcover bearing this title, I do not know which of these books matches the description of the book's design featured in the end, so do not blame me if you buy THIS book because you liked how it does look - if you care for design, take a look around. There has to be some way to retrieve information about the book's design.) ... Read more

Product Description
Edgar Allan Poe's works, with their gothic and often obsessive themes, have had a significant influence on American literature. In this Norton Critical Edition, G. R. Thompson has fully introduced, annotated, and edited each text.

"Backgrounds and Contexts" includes fifty-seven carefully chosen documents that illuminate Poe's prolific but short career, among them reviews, prefaces, and correspondence by Poe as well as thematic pieces dealing with Transcendentalism and alternative romanticism, sciences of the mind, sensation fiction, and the South and slavery.

Fourteen judiciously selected critical essays address Poe's poetry, fiction, politics, and psychology. Contributors include Floyd Stovall, Robert C. McLean, Richard Wilbur, James W. Gargano, Joseph J. Moldenhauer, Paul John Eakin, Grace Farrell, Liahna Klenman Babener, Barton Levi St. Armand, Joseph N. Riddel, J. Gerald Kennedy, John Carlos Rowe, Terence Whalen, and John T. Irwin.

A Selected Bibliography is also included.

About the series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A great collection
Edgar Allan Poe isn't known simply for his eloquently eccentric writings but also for his crass behaviour. I was surprised to find - through the thoughtful and thorough biography contained in this volume - that much of this may have been pure conjecture and hearsay. What remains, however, are Poe's wonderfully creative and provocative short stories and poems.

As mentioned already, this edition is helpful if you're interested in getting to know who Poe was as a person, but it also contains a lot of useful annotations and critical essays. Many of the unfamiliar terms and ideas are nicely explained, while the essays at the back provide information fit for lengthy rumination. All the favourites are here: 'The Raven', 'Anabel Lee', 'Ligeia', 'The Fall of the House of Usher', and the revolutionary 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue'. The major works are accompanied by a short introduction, which offers extra information about the publication of the text and popular views of the time. Of course if you want the full Poe then Mabbott is your man, but this edition makes note of any textual deviations from Mabbott's and contains those helpful critical essays.

Thus far my only criticism stems from just how thin the paper is. The problem here is that the text written on the reverse side of the page of the one you are reading can be seen, but it never makes the writing illegible and is of only minute annoyance. It is understandable that Norton wanted to fit it all into one volume and, as such, it is a neccessary drawback. Simply put, if you are looking for a fine selection of Poe's writings with additional material, this is the edition to buy.

The Immortal Poe
Poe's writings are the most stable part of his life.They are incredible, read over and over again.None dispute his genius and if you've only read "the Raven" or something the length of time of a pop song, read a good short story and see how you look at people afterward.What secrets they hide and in it's fiction Poe relates the truth of the human condition.Must have for anyone.

A generous selection of Poe's works and a full picture of his interests and achievments?For 16 bucks?Oh, man!
If you're looking for a "complete" Poe, you have two sensible choices, the first being Thomas Ollive Mabbott's 3 volume edition (richly annotated, and each of the works introduced with an account covering composition, publication, aesthetic aims and critical consensus), and the second the delightful and portable Library of America volume.I put "complete" in quotes because even these miss Poe's "Eureka" and some of his own reviews and sketches.The market offers countless other "complete" Poes, often available in the remaindered section of book stores, but these two options serve him (and you) best--if you want all his poems and tales.

But if you want a selection, this Norton Critical Edition is your single best choice.It's far from complete--30 poems, 35 stories, a novel and then a collection of letters and articles.But all your favorites are here, and they are also well annotated, which is not just scholarly fluff but a way of filling you in on all of Poe's now obscure knowledge of pseudo-science, his views about slavery (an issue in The Narrative of Gordon Pym), theories of the mind, 18th century gothic precepts, etc etc.These things really preoccupied Poe and they inform his stories, and knowing about them honors his intentions while only increasing our appreciation for the tales and poems.People in a huff about footnotes can just skip them, and people who wish to know what Poe was drawing on--what often inspired the tales--can read them, and if you know about it already, more power to you.Anyway, these notes are really useful and pretty thorough, often including info about publication, alternate versions Poe later wrote, motives for writing it, plus of course all that now lost cultural context that Poe was so much a part of.

This volume opens with one of my favorite features in any Norton Critical Edition I know, and that is a 37-page overview biography of Poe.It's incisive, analytical, and knowing, and it's broken down further into headings that cover particular segements of his life.It's also written in a lucid, engaging way, and it covers the American history and politics relevant to Poe's own life.It serves as a nice median between an ecyclopedia or anthology bio and a full-scale bio, and I've really enjoyed it.

So you get 65 works by Poe, a novel and other letters and articles, that awesome biography of him, but then you get a great selection of writing ABOUT Poe from the years when he was publishing, reviews and mentions by Whitman, Hawthorne, Baudelaire, Longfellow, Lowell, and many many others.How illuminating to hear the other great figures from the American Renaissance (and from Europe) discussing the man's works as they come out.This volume then offers more in-depth articles, both from the time and from later scholars, concering those "sciences" and brain theories and other issues that Poe filled his writing with, so you can read the sources from his day and voices from our day talking about what fascinated Poe as a writer.If you already just like sitting down and enjoying the stories and poems, this would be a great next step for you.I would liken it to listening to your favorite band's influences, or your favorite director's favorite movies--you read what Poe himself found so compelling, and it lets you "get" him more completely.

Finally, the volume concludes with a great number of more recent discussions of Poe, some of the articles covering a particular story or poem, and some discussing some aspect of Poe more generally.In short, this book offers a total experience of Edgar Allan Poe.While it offers a smaller selection of his writings than a complete Poe does, you still get 75 pages of his poetry and over 500 pages of his prose, and then all the other material!And that other material presents a full picture of Poe's interests, how his contemporaries thought of him, and some views from today.The book itself is handsome, with fine typesets and a generous but portable pagecut that stays open readily (especially when it's laying in your hands) due to a good, flexible binding.All this for 16 bucks?Why wait? ... Read more

Product Description
Who is the uninvited guest wearing a creepy costume at Prince Prospero's ball? Can a man be driven mad by the "sounds" of the crime he has committed? These spine-tingling stories and others by Edgar Allan Poe are adapted for a first chapter book reader. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Quite accessible
I checked out this book from the library this summer trying to find an easy version of Poe.This version is very simple.There are few words that need explanation for struggling readers.I liked it so much that I decided to buy 20 copies for use in my classroom.October will be great! ... Read more

Product Description
If you think that poetry has to be sweet and romantic, or at least serene, think again. Step into the dark world of Edgar Allan Poe. Well known for his spine-tingling, spooky stories that are even more chilling than today's horror films, Poe also wrote poems that expressed the shadowy regions of his mind. More than 20 of his poems and selections from his stories are accompanied by mood-setting, full-colour drawings and notes that make his work easier to understand. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Careful! Not Complete!
Amazon says this is a volume of Poe's complete works.Uh-uh.Only the poetry.

Edgar Allen Poe for Young People
The poetry of Edgar Allen Poe is often taught in school because kids enjoy the horror aspect and the fact he is one of the first major writers in the US.This is a great guide for the poetry of Poe.The book explains the background of the poem nicely and provides a good introduction to his writing.Highly recommended.

Homework review
This is a great book by Edgar Allan Poe that is filled with great "Poe"ms.My favorite is the poem called "The Raven." Some of the poems are a bit scary, and there are some scary pictures. I would recommend it for ages 8+. There are also poems that you can't find in any of Poe's books because they are shortened versions of larger, unabridged poems. Also, some of the poems have to do with death. Thanks to Brod Bagert, (editor) Carolynn Cobleigh, (illustrator) and of course, Edgar Allan Poe.

the dreaded poetry book
I would not recommend this poem book to people unless they like reading this type of poetry, or poetry in general.While I was reading these poems, I found it very hard to concentrate on the poem I was reading, because the poems didn't really catch my interest.I don't think I would enjoy reading another poetry book bye Edgar Allen Poe because I don't really like his type of poetry.My mind wandered a lot while I was reading Poe's poems because they weren't exciting, they were sad, scary, and gloomy.

Life of Edgar Allan Poe
I use this video in my composition two literature classes.We read "Fall of the House of Usher," "The Raven," and "Hop Frog" and look for similarities between the lives of the characters Poe created and Poe's life.The video brings a great deal in insight to poe's work by revealing that his characters are not too far removed from his own circumstances. ... Read more

Product Description
A chilling compilation of some of Edgar Allen  Poe's best-loved stories, edited by Vincent Price and  Chandler Brossard and with an introduction by  Vincent Price, including:

The Black  Cat - The Fall of the House of Usher - The Masque  of the Red Death - The Facts in the Case of M.  Valdemar - The Premature Burial - Ms. Found in a Bottle  - A Tale of the Ragged Mountains - The Sphinx -  The Murders in the Rue Morgue - The Tell-Tale Heart  - The Gold-Bug - The System of Dr. Tarr and  Prof. Fether - The Man That Was Used Up - The Balloon  Hoax - A Descent Into the Maelstrom - The  Purloined Letter - The Pit and The Pendulum - The Cask of  Amontillado ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Great writing; cheap facsimile edition
Poe's writing has stood the test of time. This edition, however, literally looks like a photocopy of an older, overinked edition. The type is small with a small x-height (relationship of lower case letter to capital letters), which is difficult to read, looks dirty and cluttered, and is indicative of a publisher going CHA-CHING and cashing in on a reproduction of someone else's work -- honestly, in this day and age, would it have taken so much to re-set this book? Make it a bit easier to read?!

The stories are excellent. This is a cheaply-printed edition, however, dated and difficult to read.

A Great Book For Halloween
In order to appreciate Poe's writing, it is important to understand that he writes in a Victorian style.

Having lived in Charlottesville - where Poe went to college at the University of Virginia - I can tell you that he was a product of his environment.Chivalry is still very alive in the South, as well as formal address, and a hierarchal social society.

With that understanding, Poe's writing vibrantly comes to life.This collection of short stories includes three of his best:

"The Fall of the House of Usher" - A decaying manor in the country side harbors the melancholy of a dying noble bloodline.

"The Masque of the Red Death" - The aristocracy think they are safe from the plague as they gather in their castle to celebrate.

"The Cask of Amontillado" - This story contains brilliant foreshadowing as to the demise of a mortal enemy.

Another note for the reader is that Poe's greatest fear was to be buried alive, as you work your way through this collection of short stories this theme will appear again, and again.This is a great book for Halloween.I recommend reading these stories at night for a thrill.

Prepare to be Scared
One of the first and best murder mystery authors of all time is brought out in these wonderful pieces of art. To think of the demons and struggles this man went through in his life and to be able to get them on paper, just makes them more realistic and scary. Edgar A. Poe, as he liked to call himself, needs to be read and interpreted in a group setting. Therefore, you are able to bounce all the different little aspects of the story or poem off one another. Some may say that all the foreshadowing and little pieces of clues he gives you are coincidence. That is for you to determine.

When reading these pieces of work, be sure to pay attention and take in all he gives you. You are guaranteed to miss lots of hints in your first reading. Which means you need to read many many times. Each time you are given a different perspective and find those little hints. But in the end, readers will never really know what Edgar A. Poe was feeling or thinking while writing these masterpieces.

Eighteen of Poe's best tales.
This book was given to me by a friend that was trimming down her library, and a more fitting book it could not have been.Editors Vincent Price (yes, THAT Vincent Price) and Chandler Brossard (no, not THAT Chandler Brossard) have gathered together some of Poe's finest tales of horror, mystery, and fantasy, with a comedy or two thrown in for balance.Poe's horror stories were, for the most part, short and placed emphasis on the pyschological rather than the mystical.His narrators were always driven by inner demons that they recognized, but could not control, and focused on emotion rather than story.The Black Cat and The Tell-Tale Heart are the most famous examples of these.But the author also used his sharp insight into the mind to craft brilliant tales of mystery, it is these tales that remain my favorite.The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Gold Bug are my choices for Poe's best work, the mystery The Purloined Letter is also contained within the anthology.On the fantasy end, we are offered A Tale of the Ragged Mountains and MS Found in a Bottle, which seems to be a sort of a dry run for Poe's only attempt at a novel length story - The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym.Poe also had a wicked sense of humor, and The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether, The Man That Was Used Up, and The Balloon-Hoax are excellent examples of that alomst forgotten side of a complex and talented writer.No matter what edition of Poe you get, any collection of his tales is an essential for a well read personal library.Highest recommendation.

Aaron's Corner
Vincent Price and Chandler Brossard do a great job of collecting some of Edgar Allan Poe's finest works, in their story collection 18 Best Stories by Edgar Allan Poe.Edgar Allan Poe's short stories left me in suspense and surprise (it was the first time I ever read Poe literature).I could not put the book down.Since the first time I picked this book up, I've become fascinated with Poe's literature.I can thank Price and Brossard for their wonderful choice in stories, but can mainly thank the writer, Edgar Allan Poe, for bringing such great literature. ... Read more

Product Description
Edgar Allan Poe's Gothic tales have establishedthemselves as classics of horror fiction, and as theinventor of the modern mystery, Poe created many of theconventions which still dominate the genre of detectivefiction.Attentive to the historical and politicaldimensions of these very American tales, this newselection of twenty-four tales places the mostpopular--"The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Masqueof the Red Death," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," and"The Purloined Letter"--alongside less well-known travelnarratives, metaphysical essays, and political satires. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

His horrible heart
I've always had a liking for Edgar Allan Poe, with his tales of horror, mystery and suspense, done in the atmospheric prose of a master writer. Since I live close enough, I've even made some trips to his gravesite, a place that is always surrounded by a sense of sadness.

Poe was a tormented genius who died young, under mysterious circumstances, and at the time of his death he wasn't deservingly popular. Certainly his work was not cute romances for the masses -- he explored the darkness of the human heart, love, satire, and the earliest whodunnit stories. And "Selected Tales " brings together some of his best-known and most influential stories.

Poe's fiction writings include short stories and novellas, which tend to be rather weird -- a treasure-hunt and a golden insect, a man who loses his love in the Valley of the Many-Colored Grass, and stories of despair, madness, and occasionally beauty. There is also his trilogy of Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin stories, which were the first to feature a brilliant detective solving an impossible crime.

And, of course, the horror. This is what Poe is best known for, including such well-known stories as "The Fall Of The House Of Usher." But there are also lesser-known gems -- tales of a plague invading a party, being buried alive, a woman returned from death, a murderer haunted by the heartbeat of his victim, and a ghastly house with its doomed inhabitants.

Don't read too many of Poe's stories all at once. It's too intense. It's better to soak it in a little at a time, so that you can get a better feel for the different kinds of writing that Poe did, and how he excelled at pretty much everything he put down on paper. Most great writers can't boast of that much.

Poe's writing is what makes even his least story or poem come alive -- he brought a gothic, misty vibrancy to his stories, and could make his quiet words seem utterly chilling ("But the echoes of the chime die away... and a light, half-subdued laughter floats after them as they depart"). It's not hard to see why he was an influence on authors such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle and Franz Kafka.

Poe's "Selected Tales " is a must-have for anyone with an appreciation for great literature and beautiful, dark writing -- and a good place for newbies to start.

Sickening brilliance.
I used to loathe Poe's style, whose involutions seemed to drain his work of all their professed horror, while admiring the way he smuggled hugely complex ideas into popular modes - no wonder Hitchcock adored him.Now, as I grow older, I begin to value Poe more, recognise his obsessions and fearsin myself, while marvelling at a style that manages to convey hothouseexoticism with remarkable, chilling precision.

Of the three stories Iread recently in this volume, Morella is the least successful, a rehash ofLeonora (a dead wife is reincarnated in her daughter), but there abrilliance in Poe's dramatising of an idea that is admirable.

The Factsin the Case of M. Valdemar is truly disgusting and horrifying.A hynotistexperiments on a dying man to see if he can prolong life after death.Thecool analytic style lead contemporaries to confuse it with a medicaltestcase (it was published in a scientific journal), but what is mostmemorable is the anguish of the dead man who cannot rest.

Best of allthough is the immortal Black Cat.Violent and unconsionable, thebrutalities in this story are among the most grotesque in literature, bothto animals and to people.Poe's style is at his most poetically sustainedas he describes the most vile barbarities with his character'sobjectionable self-pity.What is most sublime, though, is the note ofblack comedy that is laced throughout, which would be foregrounded in RogerCorman's hilarious version in Tales Of Terror.

Van Leer's introduction isinformative enough, but there is a note of begrudgery and a refusal to takePoe altogether seriously, that is aggravating. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Poe!
So Mr. Poe is pretty much the master of terror, am I right? That is fairly proven in this sample of some of his most famous stories. It may not be a complete collection, but if you need a shorter version of his work this is excellent to have at hand.

Published by Scholastic, Classic Poe
Eerie ... Weird ... Terrifying ... Chilling stories by Edgar Allan Poe, the master of terror: "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Mask of the Red Death," "The Cask of the Amontillado," and five other tales that hover on the edge of madness and pull you into a nightmared world -- from the back cover. ... Read more

Product Description
The finest poetry of Edgar Allan Poe is collected in an anthology that encompasses "Annabel Lee," "Eldorado," "The Raven," "The Conqueror Worm," "Alone," "Sonnet--To Science," and many other works. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

ESSENTIAL POETS
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS SHORT, LITTLE BOOK IS THAt it it contains all the best poe poems in the literary canon. this makes it great for college teachers like me who need an inexpensive, thorough Poe survey.

Best poems include: Alone, Annabel Lee, The Raven, The Sleeper & Dream within a dream. Students tend to love these, as does every poet and prof. I know! ... Read more

Product Description
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title—offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords.

This edition of Edgar Allan Poe includes a Foreword, Biographical Note, and Afterword by S. T. Joshi.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

What's there to say?
Poe's done it again. This author always finds the way to steal the reader's mind play wit it and then just leaves it to its own. This book is no different. The only thing is that Poe makes it so that teenagers can getmore into it. It is definitely easy to read and very intriguing.

A teen! ... Read more

Product Description

Universally acclaimed as the maestro of horror and the morbid, Edgar Allan Poe's dark gift has for more than a century and a half set the standard for the genre.

Now, Caedmon Audio presents a classic collection of Poe's most terrifying tales performed by two of the most brilliant interpreters of his work ever to be recorded: Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone.

Between them, they perform 20 of Poe's chilling stories and poems, creating an unforgettably intense listening experience.

Customer Reviews (41)

Poe fans
If you are a "Poe" fan and especially if you remember listening to the old radio stories that gave you the chills you will love this! The readings are done in such a way that you cannot help but visualize in your mind being right there in each scene that is being told. What a great way to relax away a bad day!

disappointed
I love Edgar Allan Poe and I thought it would be extra spooky and fun to have the likes of Price and Rathbone, but they did not captivate me at all.I would rather read my book than listen to this collection. It is now sitting on a shelf untouched after one run through - bummer.

perfect casting
Excellent collection. Basil Rathbone and Vincent Price are the perfect readers. Great listen on a dark and stormy night!

Could Have Been Much Better
Yes the recordings are as good as the other reviewers say they are.However a couple of nits:

1. The recordings run into one another. Not having listened to these works for many years, several times it took me a bit to realize that one had ended and I was now listening to another masterpiece.A little breathing room between pieces or even a quick title announcement would have been appreciated.

2. There is no listing of what is on what disk on either the box or the CD holder insert.That means you have to use the paper insert to find what you want or scan the tiny silver font on green disk labels.Unfortunately my insert was missing.It would have been so much nicer to have the play list printed on the cd holder where it would be handy whenever I pulled one out.

phooey
Audiobooks are books meant to be read aloud, enunciation and clarity are among the most important.

Using these very old recordings done for a 'dramatic appeal' has left me with a feeling of wanton waste of money.

Basil Rathbone's renditions are from a Shakespearean attempting to do Poe. If he would simply read. Alas, he acts, not reads.

All of his recordings are:Volume too low, adjust up, volume to high, adjust down, yelling, adjust down again, whispering, adjust up again, etc. etc. ad nauseum.One cannot possibly hear using one setting of volume.

It is a waste of money. Find a human who can read it and enunciate and let me do the fantasizing and imagining and conjuring. The poetry and prose should stand up alone and by itself, not acted upon. Rathbone died in 1967. The recording is over 50 years old!!

Anyone who needs it play acted is not getting the correct message. It's about the words, not the actor. ... Read more

Product Description

This collection was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices. It is indexed alphabetically and by category, making it easier to access individual books, stories and poems. This collection offers lower price, the convenience of a one-time download, and it reduces the clutter in your digital library. All books included in this collection feature a hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes. The collection is complimented by an author biography. Author's biography and free poems in the trial version.

Customer Reviews (5)

The Master of the Macabre
The power of Poe's dark vision is virtually unprecedented in world literature. The manifestation of deep, intuitive symbols and archetypes, ones of such clarity, prophesy and terror that even his incredible craftsmanship in language becomes transparant, is a gift given to only the most blessed and tormented of writers. To read a story like the Masque of the Red Death is to be flung into an allegorical morality play which fits perfectly into the modern context. Poe's stories and poems travel through time and rap ceaselessy on the window of your conscious thoughts. An ominous pall of expectation and retribution permeates all of his work.

works of edgar allen poe
what are they talking about? i cannot get to contents easily. i highlighted the raven and got some other poem. waste of money as user unfriendly.

Excellent Book
Wonderful!Definitely get this book.The table of contents work very well and you will have most of everything Poe has written at your fingertips.If you haven't read Poe before, this is the book to get.You won't regret this purchase.

A very solid Poe collection
Works of Edgar Allan Poe. (100+ works) Incl: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket,The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of The Red Death, Tales ... & more.Published by MobileReference (mobi)

I love this ebook! Edgar Allan Poe is one of the undisputed giants of American literature. If you want a good feeling for what Poe has to offer you should read this ebook.

Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe. Huge collection. (100+ works) FREE Author's biography and poems in the trial version.

A fantastic collection. Kindle-friendly ebook. Thanks! ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Four short stories of murder and mystery. Edgar Allan Poe wrote about terrible people who lead strange lives. If you have a black cat yourself, watch out!Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849) - the master of the macabre - is one of the best-known writers of horror stories in the English language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Find the Beauty in the Macabre
Edgar Allan Poe(1809-1849) may be considered the master of the mystery/horror story.His life, fraught with tragedy, shows through in his works, both short stories and poetry. He writes morbidly but beautifully of love and death, fantastick images, and guilt among other things. In "The Black Cat" for instance he writes beautifully about a man's love for all creatures, and a page later this man is morbidly brutalizing a beloved cat, and in a bizarre turn of events,including a grotesque murder, the cat comes back and gets revenge in the end.

The book is an unabridged compilation of Poe's most memorable short stories and poems. It includes such masterpieces as "Ligeia", a very beautiful story of a man's love for a woman, which also turns tradgic and gruesome,"The Tell Tale Heart", a man's guilt over a murder gets the best of him,'The Mask of Red Death", and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue".Some of the wonderful poetry you will be treated to includes "The Raven","Tamerlane", and "Annabel Lee", about the death of his young wife. There are many more stories and poems to be enjoyed and to be scared by. The book also includes informative essays on Poe by George Bernard Shaw, and William Carlos Williams.

Many of Poe's works were made into terrific horror films,"The Fall of the House of Usher"/"The Pit and the Pendulum",(both also found in this book) to name a couple and his poetry can be found being quoted in thrillers such as 'Play Misty for Me"("Annabel Lee").(Where would Vincent Price and Elvira be without Poe?)

If you are a fan of Poe or of this genre of stories, or if you would like a great introduction to Poe, you will love this book.You can pick it up again and again to read any of his stories(which make good campfire fare) and poems.

"And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, Still is sitting...." Laurie

charlie's review
I think that this book is a great book for all ages it exprecises the feelings of poe. ... Read more

Product Description
This biography of Edgar Allan Poe, a giant of American Literature who invented both the horror and detective genre, is a portrait of extremes: a disinherited heir, a brilliant bu underpaid author, a temerate man and uncontrollable addict. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Edgar Allan Poe Book Review
This book was purchased because my 13-year old chose it for a book report. She learned about Edgar Allan Poe's early life, his parents, his wife, things he wrote, influences on his writings and lots of other things.She found it to be a little slow and tiresome at times but after all she is only 13. She should be writing this review instead of her mom.

Edgar Allan Poe - the Original Punker?
Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy is a biography that focuses both on Poe's personal life and his literary legacy. While it doesn't go into great detail about the writing process of Poe's tales and poems, the book does discuss in detail the impact that his work had on other authors of the time and in the future, such as Baudelaire and Arthur Conan Doyle. The book also discusses Poe's contribution to modern writing styles, such as the detective story and the adventure tale. When dealing with Poe's personal life, the author wrote about the negative as well as the positive in what seemed to be an attempt to present the facts about Poe's life and temperament in a sympathetic fashion - though the author does have a few obvious "What the hell was Poe thinking?!" moments when writing about Poe's self-destructive behavioral tendencies. Overall, I found the account to be a fascinating and enlightening read, and I highly recommend it for Poe fans who are curious about the man behind the tales.

A truly great biography.
besides being a thorough biography on Poe this book describes his influence on American and European literature.I hadn't realized before how many writers were influenced by Poe's writings and consciously or subconsciouly tried to imitate him.The way that Poe liked to accuse authors of plagiarism he would have a field day on the authors both major and minor who "borrowed" his ideas and style.Some of these authors after criticizing Poe's work either are shown by the author this book as "copycats" or insignificants.The better authors however have given Poe his do and acknowledge that he broke the ground for a new style of literature more the "art for arts sake" type works.Also for his exploration into the deeper(and sometimes sinister) levels of the human psyche.This is a great book,from the descriptions of the cynical sneers from Poe's asymmetrical face to the strategic, boyish,vulnerable,charm he displayed at times.You'll be glad a person like Poe came along and glad that someone was able to tell his story the way this author has.In a side note it is comforting to know that from Poe's honorable military service that had he lived today he would qualify for assistance from the VA,and perhaps this would have alleviated alot of his suffering in regard to his family.

Edgar Allan Poe rocks!
This book was great it shows all sides of Poe. I learned a lot about Edgar Allan Poe by reading this book. Anyone who wants to know anything about Poe should reasd thsi book.A great choice.

Unsympathetic
I know a lot more about the life of Edgar Allan Poe after having read this book, and for that reason I�m glad I read it.

It�s not, however, the most flattering of biographies.It would be an exaggeration to call Jeffrey Meyer�s biography a hatchet job, but not much of one. You get the sense that the author wanted to take Poe�s reputation down a peg or two.He portrays the troubled writer as not much more than a hypocritical, back-stabbing, often insincere hack who had the good fortune of stumbling upon a few brilliant turns of phrase.I don�t doubt any of the factual information that Meyers provides about Poe�s life.I just question the author�s intent in piling high so many unflattering details.After a while, you get to wondering why Meyers even bothered writing a three hundred page book about the man.

I recommend this book to fans and scholars alike for the facts it provides about Poe�s life, but with a warning regarding the biographer�s unsympathetic and often harsh tone. ... Read more

Product Description

Renowned as the creator of the detective story and a master of horror, the author of "The Red Mask of Death," "The Black Cat," and "The Murders of the Rue Morgue," Edgar Allan Poe seems to have derived his success from suffering and to have suffered from his success. "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" have been read as signs of his personal obsessions, and "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Descent into the Maelstrom" as symptoms of his own mental collapse. Biographers have seldom resisted the opportunities to confuse the pathologies in the stories with the events in Poe's life. Against this tide of fancy, guesses, and amateur psychologizing, Arthur Hobson Quinn's biography devotes itself meticulously to facts. Based on exhaustive research in the Poe family archive, Quinn extracts the life from the legend, and describes how they both were distorted by prior biographies.

"

Customer Reviews (7)

I worship at the altar of Poe.
As a lifelong fan of Edgar Allan Poe, I admit that I worship at the altar of Poe. Therefore it was a delight to discover this most excellent bio, extensively researched by another worshipful fan (from an earlier era) of American's greatest short story writer.This is a must for your reference library.I read and absorbed every single page.I'm grateful that the author followed his own lifelong passion for Poe and went against the grain of Poe bashing biographers of his time, and produced this work that extols Poe's positive character features while not neglecting the negatives.Compare this bio with other "negative" Poe bios of the past (esp. early 20th century), still available in libraries, and you'll understand why it was such a pleasure for me to find this particular book which provides a more balanced picture of the artist's life and career.

Edgar Poe died for your sins.
if you agree alot with the title you would love this book.Before copyright laws and respectability for writers,authors unless they were connected with money would literally peddle their offerings like a door to door magazine subscription salesperson.So the story of Poe goes. Needless to saythe hardships attendant on such a life. there are alot of primary sources here in fact a goldmine for readers unwilling to take anyones suspect interpretations.The rev. griswold letters are here exposed in all their distortions with a column showing what Poe actually wrote and then as Griswold reprinted them adding his own "spin". If education without religion creates clever devils then education with religion can at times create even cleverer devils as proved by the Reverend Griswold.An excellent biography,you might even run the Poe category (or potent potables) on Jeopardy and make the first payment on that student loan---NAAAA!!.You just choked and for Rev. Griswold you answered Gus Griisom(the astronaut)!! Alex sent you packing and that what you get for treating Poe as trivia. This book right up there with the Silverman bio.

An Exhausting Accumulation Of Often Superfluous Facts
First published in 1941, Arthur Hobson Quinn's critically acclaimed Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography is a dry, strictly academic work which presents its readership with over 700 dense pages containing thousands of thoroughly researched 'hard' facts concerning the life of one of America's greatest literary figures, but which completely neglects to create a vibrant, three-dimensional, shadow-casting portrait of the writer himself.

Throughout the volume, its human subject remains little more than a blank, three-letter sieve endlessly referred to as "Poe": "Poe lived up to his standard...", "Poe signalized his departure from the editorial staff of...", "Poe wrote the critical notices for October and November...", "Poe did not lecture, however....", "Poe was still hearing echoes of his visits to Mrs. Whitman's home..."

The problem, of course, is that, despite the avalanche of facts, many of which are utterly superfluous, the reader comes no closer to gaining an understanding of the man behind them. "Who was Edgar Allan Poe?" is a fundamental question the text never comes close to providing a genuine answer to.

As Quinn's evaluation of Poe's prose and poetry is routinely perfunctory and unexceptional, Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography is a work that few readers, with the exception of committed Poe scholars, are likely to find worthwhile or engrossing.

A perfect narration of Poe's Life.
This is the best biography about Edgar Allan Poe I have ever seen. Meticulous and clear, Arthur H. Quinn take us to the real world that E.A.POE lived and show us with facts that Poe was more than a writer, a Genius.

A perfect narration of Poe's Life.
This is the best biography about Edgar Allan Poe I have ever seen. Meticulous and clear, Arthur H. Quinn take us to the real world that E.A.POE lived and show us with facts that Poe was more than a writer, a Genius. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

POE & WILSON MAKE A GREAT TEAM
You'd have to be at least in your mid-40s or so to remember Classics Illustrated comics.Started in 1941, Classics Illustrated took some of the great novels of literature and adapted them into a format that was more digestible for kids, namely comic books.The series continued until 1971 and in the years following, various publishers have brought the line back to life, the latest being Papercutz who is reprinting some of the earlier titles as well as doing new adaptations.

The Raven features nine adaptations of poems written by the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe and illustrated by the similarly ghastly cartoonist, Gahan Wilson.The title story leads off the book which also includes "The City in the Sea", The Haunted Palace", and the Conqueror Worm".This match of Poe and Wilson was made in Heaven.Wilson's illustrations are just bizarre and innocent enough to appeal to kids while not dulling the edge of Poe's words.I would think the book would be perfect for kids aged maybe 8 - 12 or so.It's a great medium to keep the works of Poe alive!

An excellent, inexpensive introduction to Poe's immortal work
Part of the "Classics Illustrated" series presenting great works of literature in a vivid new format, The Raven and Other Poems offers nine dark poems by legendary American visionary of horror and despair Edgar Allan Poe. The poems presented here are "The Raven", "Annabel Lee", "Lines on Ale", "The City in the Sea", "The Sleeper", "Eldorado", "Alone", "The Haunted Palace", and the "Conqueror Worm", each accompanied by gleefully ghoulish color illustrations. An excellent, inexpensive introduction to Poe's immortal work sporting a sturdy hardcover binding, The Raven and Other Poems is especially recommended for public library collections.
... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more