Review of Poe's Tales of Mystery & Imagination

When I was in my teens and suffering from depression, I was enthralled with Edgar Allen Poe. When my great-grandfather passed away and the family was sorting through his house, I inherited a volume of Poe's short stories that was printed in the 1940's. It's illustrated by Arthur Rackham in a manner that befits the macabre stories.


The volume includes "The Tell-Tale Heart," "Masque of the Red Death," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "Ligea," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Gold Bug," "The Purloined Letter," "The Murders In the Rue Morgue," "The Mystery of Marie Roget," and many others.


The illustrations are gorgeous. The volume includes both full-color and black-and-white illustrations.


I'm guessing my book is valuable, but I couldn't bear to part with it, so I guess it doesn't really matter what it's worth. It'd be interesting to find out, though.

Poe is a celebrated author for good reason. When I picked up this volume recently to explore the tales I loved so much twenty years ago, I was reminded of how incredibly talented he was. My personal favorite of his short stories is "The Tell-Tale Heart," though on my recent read of this book, I was struck by "Ligea" as well as a few others.

My recent journey into Poe's imagination was delightful, made all the better by the beauty of the book I was reading.


Photo Credit: Katherine Elizabeth

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