Selected Works, Deluxe Edition

by Edgar Allan Poe

The collected tales of America’s foremost master of mystery and the macabre in one handsome volume - - 67 tales and 30 poems in all. You’ll find such classic tales as The Fall of the House of Usher, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Masque of the Red Death, The Pit and the Pendulum and many, many more. What collection would be complete without the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe which includes The Raven, Annabel Lee, A Dream Within a Dream, The Haunted Palace just to name a few of the 30 poems include in this Library of Literary Classics edition. Other titles in this series Charlotte & Emily The Complete Novels; Charles Four Complete Novels; Mark Selected Works; Jane The Complete Lewis The Complete, Fully Illustrated Works; and William The Complete Works. This Library of Literary Classics edition is bound in padded leather with luxurious gold-stamping on the front and spine, satin ribbon marker and gilded edges.

Genres: Classics, Horror, Fiction, Short Stories, Poetry, Gothic, Mystery

768 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

The name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.

Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.

The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...

Reviews

[Edward Gwynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great selection of stories here, with the classIc The Raven to finish the collection off. I loved the tone that Poe was able to create for each short story within just a few sentences. Excellent writer who I’ll be reading much more of.

[Hux · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories, some wonderful, some slightly forgettable, but all written in utterly sublime prose. Personally speaking, I was mostly impressed with the stories that dealt with guilt rather than straight-up horror. That being said 'The Black Cat' stood out as the most macabre and haunting (and the creepy nature of 'The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar' was fun). And I enjoyed 'The Pit and the Pendulum.' But the more famous stories (The Fall of the House of Usher and The Tell-Tale Heart) didn't entirely bowl me over (maybe because I had higher expectations for those). I was especially pleased with 'William Wilson.' This story immediately made me think of 'Fight Club.' The protagonist dealing with a doppelganger/alternative version of himself, one who torments and frustrates him at every turn.

And speaking of inspiring other works, I must confess I knew nothing of the character Dupin, the genius French detective who is patently the origin of Sherlock Holmes. As I was reading 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' I instantly wanted to shout... 'but this is clearly Sherlock!' I mean, it's so transparent. How did Doyle get away with that? Having read a couple of Holmes stories, I was entirely in the grips of experiencing deja vu as I read the piece. I was slightly perplexed by the bizarre reveal of the guilty party in the story but was utterly entranced by the writing and the narration by Dupin's unnamed friend (the Watson character). And then, in 'The Purloined Letter' all that was missing was a pipe and a deer stalker.

Some of the stories (like 'The Balloon Hoax' and 'The Duc L'Omelett') left me somewhat underwhelmed. But even when I was reading these less appealing entries, Poe's style and flourish was always engaging. The prose always gives the impression of great intelligence at work, a mind exploring all manner of dark and fanciful ideas with rich, wonderful language. I think this collection contains a good mixture of his work (it ends with the fantastic 'The Raven') and I would highly recommend it.

[Jessica (Odd and Bookish) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher (Canterbury Classics) for promotional purposes. 

Prior to reading this book, I hadn’t read much of Edgar Allan Poe’s work. I had read a few of his poems and The Tell-Tale Heart, but I was very eager to read more of his work. This book features a wide selection of his short stories as well as some of his poetry.

It was very evident to me within the first few short stories that he was so creative. His stories were so well thought out and crafted beautifully. He also had a range. He didn’t just write gothic horror stories and poems, he also wrote sea tales (MS. Found in a Bottle), a science fiction hoax (The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall), and detective stories (The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Roget, and The Purloined Letter). I can see why people love him. He truly was a literary genius and a master of poetry and prose.

I enjoyed practically all of his stories. There was something unique that I loved about each of them. As for the poetry, there were some poems that I really loved and some that I just didn’t get.

Overall, I’m so glad I finally decided to read his work. I can now say that I am a fan of Edgar Allan Poe.

[Dev Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

In terms of horror/occult stuff, this collection has some truly excellent short stories. To name just a few, "The Fall of the House of Usher", "The Pit and the Pendulum", "The Tell-Tale Heart", and "The Imp of the Perverse" were all so, so good. Each of these stories has a slow-burn quality that gives the reader this sense of a creeping, pervasive gloom or dread. It really made me hang on every word, and I found the book difficult to put down mid-story.

This collection had a lot of stuff from other genres too, which was a neat surprise for me. In particular, I never knew Poe wrote detective stories - the Dupin mysteries "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined Letter" were among my favorites in this collection, and are not any less strong exemplars of the genre than any Sherlock Holmes mysteries I've read.

Unfortunately, this edition/collection kind of sucks because it lacks any editorial notes, interpretation, or contextualization of the writing. I found myself struggling at times with the semi-frequent and untranslated (but thankfully short) French and Latin interpolations. Honestly, I just ended up skimming past these because I didn't want to run to Google every ten minutes. I also think it's impossible for readers to really 'get' stories like "The Balloon Hoax" unless prior context is provided. Finally, a couple of the stories right near the end of the book really did nothing for me; I think they could safely have been left on the cutting room floor ("Le Duc de l'Omelette" being a prime example).

Overall, this has been the book I've enjoyed the most out of everything I've read this year (thus far). I'd maybe recommend a different collection or edition of Poe's works - but still, really solid stuff!

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is masterful, original writing upon which several current genres are based.

[Melissa Symanczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall impression: The X-Files, 1840s-style. ;-)

Also, 1840s fake news, detective fiction, cryptography... Poe was definitely writing at the cutting edge of a wide range of topics. Fun read, but a bit frustrating because this edition didn't offer translations of any of the French or Latin sprinkled liberally throughout Poe's writings, and omitted the (30+) footnotes on one of the stories.

[Ely · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed by this—I'd expected to love these stories. I think that I'm much more interested by Poe's poetry so I'm going to be sticking to that.

[Adrian Kidd · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of 19 of Poe’s most famous short stories from detective tales to the macabre. Somewhat anchored in their time and written in a style that demanded concentration to fully appreciate the narrative. Some tales have aged much better than others. I must confess I was somewhat relieved to fall over the finishing line for this collection. Some brief notes on the individual stories below:

The Gold Bug - a short tale of uncovering pirate treasure which is most noticeable for its fascinating, given the time this was written, introduction to the basics of cryptography.

The Balloon Hoax - interestingly this tale of crossing the Atlantic via balloon really was a hoax created by Poe which apparently did fool the New York Sun in 1844. Also interesting to note that this feat was actually only achieved via a helium balloon in 1978 and took a 137 hours much slower than Poe’s 75 hour fictional journey.

The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar - a rather macabre tale of experimenting with hypnosis to delay an encroaching death.

MS. Found in a Bottle - our unnamed composer of the message finds himself through misfortune trapped on a strange ghost like ship which rushes ever southward to its terrifying terminus. Inspired by Mercator’s (famed for the Mercator projection of many maps still in use today) early maps in the sixteenth century where Mercator draws the Arctic as four large chunks separated by channels of flowing water, which meet in the middle in a giant whirlpool. "Without cease, it is carried northward, there being absorbed into the bowels of the Earth," Mercator wrote on his original map.

The Black Cat - another macabre tale of the descent into violence and rage due to alcoholism.

The Fall of the House of Usher - a gothic tale of a malevolent house and mental illness.

The Pit and the Pendulum - recounts the torments endured by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition.

The Cask of Amontillado - for some unnamed slight the narrator seeks to carry out a horrifying act of revenge on an unwitting friend.

The Imp of the Perverse - we sometimes perpetrate acts merely because we feel we should not. Beyond or behind this there is no intelligible principle. From this premise our condemned narrator reveals how he was compelled to confess to what was otherwise a perfect murder.

The Tell-Tale Heart - the imagined beating of a dismembered heart impels our narrator to confess his hideous crime.

William Wilson - a sustained character study of the doppelgänger- the inspiration for Fight Club?

The Murders in the Rue Morgue - the first modern detective story. A Holmes and Watson like duo solve a mystifying and particularly brutal murder in Paris.

The Purloined Letter - another detective story exploring the concept of hiding in plain sight.

The Oblong Box - our narrator mistakenly interprets the contents of an oblong box during a long sea journey.

How to write a Blackwood Article - a satirical take on the formulaic gothic style prevalent at the time. I’m sure much more humorous at the timing of writing within the broader context of the time.

The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade - its Poe... as you may expect the 1002nd night doesn’t end well for our famous narrator.

The Duc De L’Omelette - this may have made sense 150 years ago but has not aged well. Ostensibly about a rich man who dies and finds himself in hell whereby he cheats the devil in a game of cards to escape damnation. This was largely impenetrable and completely forgettable.

Three Sundays in a Week - an interesting tale of a grumpy uncle who refuses to give his blessings to a union until there are three Sundays in a week. A seemingly impossible hurdle overcome by two sailors travelling in opposite directions around the world.

The Raven - Poe’s most famous poem. Quoth the raven “Nevermore”.

[Emily Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

God, only took me over a year to get through this. I think what Poe has going for him is his brilliant descriptions, macabre locations and situations, and ability to write weird stories. Where he went too far... pages and pages of usless details or maritime locations that I'll never remember.

I'm glad I've read almost all of his work. Some will say with me, most will be forgotten... sorry man, hope you get over your fear of orangutans!

[♡ beca ♡ 👻 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Yevgeniy Brikman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the stories are brilliant and memorable:

- The Pit and the Pendulum: amazing short story of a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition waking up in a torture chamber. The image of the pendulum sears itself into your mind.

- The Cask of Amontillado: famous tale of murder, told from the perspective of the murderer. I read this many years ago, and it made a massive impression, so coming back to read it while going through this book, I was startled to find just how short the story is—less than 10 pages. It definitely punches above its weight!

- The Tell-Tale Heart: another classic tale of murder from the perspective of the murderer. This one clocks in at less than 8 pages, but the insanity of the (unreliable) narrator will stick with you for a long time.

- The Murders in the Rue Morgue: one of the pioneering stories of detective fiction. The structure and pacing of this story is very poor, and it's nowhere near as readable as later detective stories such as Sherlock Holmes and Poirot, but the influence on those later stories is clear, with Dupin solving a tangled mystery using solely observation, logic, and deduction.

- The Purloined Letter: this is a far better mystery story from Poe that is much more readable and enjoyable than The Murders in the Rue Morgue. It has almost all the elements of a Sherlock Homes or Poirot story—something valuable stolen from the royal family, a somewhat inept police officer coming to a detective for help, the use of observation, logic, and deduction to solve the case, and so on—but predates these more famous detective stories by 50+ years.

- The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar: a creepy short horror story. It doesn't feel that scary by today's standards, but I can't help but think this had to influence future writers, including HP Lovecraft.

- The Raven: a beautiful poem with an amazing style, haunting rhythm, and dark themes. I must credit the Simpsons for introducing me to this poem years ago. It reads even better in the original :)

The variety of these stories, and the influence they had, is impressive, and for these alone this book, or more accurately, Edgar Allen Poe, is well worth reading.

However, I must also admit that a number of the stories were either unimpressive, or only made sense with a bunch of additional context, which this book failed to provide. Examples:

- The Balloon Hoax: this turned out to be a bit a prank article Poe published. The book didn't explain this at all, and without that context, it just reads like a crappy, overly-detailed short story.

- How to Write a Blackwood Article: this is a mock, sarcastic "how to" guide, that, I think, was supposed to make fun of short stories published in The Blackwood. Let's just say the jokes don't exactly survive well to modern times.

- The Duc de L'Omelette: I think this was supposed to be a humorous work on a Duc dying and going to hell... But the writing is confusing, half the story is in French (which is a bit frustrating if you don't happen to know French), and much of the humor is from the fact that this is a satire of some contemporary of Poe's, so it doesn't really work in the modern day. I guess you had to be there.

In short, there are some extraordinary works from Poe here, but also some pieces that are best skipped.

[Ian Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Note: there is a printing error in this edition. The tale 'Bon-Bon' follows immediately on from 'Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling' on page 568 but does not have a separate title heading, nor does it appear on the table of contents.)

Edgar Allan Poe is five stars by default, so rating his books is more a matter of the qualities of the individual edition itself. This 2011 Collins edition of 'The Selected Works' is an excellent one, and perhaps the best compromise which exists for a 'portable' edition.

That is to say that whilst there are plenty of nifty 'complete' editions of Poe around - including the Barnes & Noble version which they reissue with new cover art every few years - these are not the most practical items to read, let alone with which to travel. This Collins however is compact enough for travel and for comfortable reading, without stinting on tangible aspects or content.

We have here 69 works in all, including all the short prose fiction, with the only exception I've found in my research being 'The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq.' Possibly it was considered a mite too long. We have also a few of his essays. His poetry is absent other than 'The Raven' as an obligatory bookend. But given that his poetry is easily attainable elsewhere, as are his longer works such as 'Eureka: A Prose Poem' and 'The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket', it is as I say an excellent compromise. One need not expect anything in the way of embellishment, though, so this is not an edition for those seeking annotations and the like.

As for the tangible aspects, this is perhaps the most beautiful 'reading copy' of a book one could hope for (that is, as opposed to a collector's item). The hardcover's dust jacket is a strikingly brilliant red with tastefully minimal use of text, font, and an image of the raven. The black bookmark is not deluxe by any means but is a nice touch and rarely to be expected in editions of broadly comparable kind.

Briefly, some superfluous thoughts on the text. Masterful though Poe was as a disciple of the Gothic and a trailblazer for the examination of the human psyche within fiction, he was so much more. An accomplished humorist with a wicked wit. A pioneer of science fiction, and of detective fiction in the modern sense (this some half a century before Wells and Doyle). An enthusiast of cryptography. A purveyor of adventure yarns. An entertainingly opinionated essayist.

In short, Poe sits comfortably within the English literary pantheon not only by virtue of the peaks he attained but also of the breadth of ground he made his own.

p.s. This is the hundredth book I've finished and reviewed since joining Goodreads! Go me!

[Laura]

Woe is me, Poe is not for me…

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

While there were some very good stories in here, and the poems were nice to read, there were many stories where Poe wrote a lot without saying much it seemed.

[Fionnuala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first major reading of Poe's works aside from the odd thing here and there, and I was impressed by the variety of his writing. There's good atmosphere and suspense, and even though there's a few themes and twists he does come back to, the lead-up is always a little different and it's always enjoyable to see.

There were a couple of stories in here that just weren't my style, and one or two more than I found took a little while to get going (which is noticeable in short stories), but it wasn't to the overall detriment of the story itself, as for the ones that weren't my style, that's just how it is. I'm sure that many people find enjoyment in them; I just preferred others.

One that particular stood out to me was MS. Found in a Bottle, which had a delightful atmosphere and really unnerving imagery. The Gold Bug was also very interesting, and The Black Cat had some brilliant horror vibes. William Wilson was up there with my favourites, and I always enjoy The Cask of Amontillado. I also really enjoyed his humour in How to Write a Blackwood Article.

The one I cannot stop coming back to, however, is The Murders in the Rue Morgue. I am not entirely sure how I feel about it, but the fact that I can't stop thinking about it probably says something. It was a brilliant story, the first of its kind in terms of a detective story that uses observations and conclusions from the pattern they make to solve the story (a technique now more associated with Sherlock Holmes), but man. It was absolutely insane. On the one hand it was brilliant how the pieces fit together, and it was enjoyably horrific, but on the other hand these stories are fun because you as the reader have all the clues there and could work it out for yourself if you tried, but the reveal of this was so insane that I do not think many people could have guessed. Still, it was... entertaining? I have no idea, but it was certainly something.

[BlueLemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see that Edgar's writing style is unique and very indulging for those who can appreciate it, and i can admit that i see why his works became famous classic pieces but his writing style just isn't for me, i read the book and about halfway in i kept skimming through the rest of the stories. But i can't deny that he was a talented writer.

[Salma · Rating 3 out of 5]

“It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night.”

[Chris Lund · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this without knowing much about Poe beyond the basics, and was quite surprised by the range of content. Of course there's the standard poetry and horror, but there's also science fiction, mystery, satire, philosophy, comedy, science, theology, and so much more. Some of it was a bit obscure for my modern tastes, but he truly was a man of wide ranging talent.

[Lara ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

whoever thought it would be a good idea to start off an edgar allan poe selection with ‘the gold bug’ deserves serious jail time, i think it has ruined poe’s reputation in my books 😭 i liked some of the stories included, but others were complete misses

[Bridget Quinn · Rating 1 out of 5]

there’s a reason why there’s only 3-4 pieces that are famous and the rest are not.

[Aa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Gold Bug - 3.5 stars
The Balloon Hoax - 1 star
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar - 2 stars
MS. Found in a Bottle - 2 stars
The Black Cat - 1 star
The Fall of the House of Usher - 3.5 stars
The Pit and the Pendulum - 5 stars
The Cask of Amontillado - 4 stars
The Imp of the Perverse - 1 star
The Tell-Tale Heart - 4 stars
William Wilson - 3 stars
The Murders in the Rue Morgue - 2 stars
The Purloined Letter - 2.5 stars
The Oblong Box - 3.5 stars
How to Write a Blackwood Article - 1 star
The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade - 2 stars
The Duc De L’Omelette - 2 stars
Three Sundays in a Week - 2 stars
The Raven - 5 stars

Boring. Overrated. Few good stories.

2 Stars

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection contains some incredible short stories, but also some of the most boring content I have ever read.

I'd recommend the following stories:
-The Tell-Tale Heart
-The Black Cat
-The Pit and The Pendulum
-The Cask of Amontillado
-The Raven
-The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
-The Fall of the House of Usher
-William Wilson

The rest are totally skippable as far as I am concerned.

[Rob Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes difficult to get through use of language and long-winded, but also sometimes blood-curdling and enticing.

My favorite stories (excluding the poem at the end)
- The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar
- The Black Cat
- The Tell-Tale Heart

[Patience Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poe will always be Poe. You either love him or hate him. I,
For one, love him. I enjoy reading all the selected poems and the short stories.

[RATA 🐀 · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, the only story that make me love this psychopath was “The Black Cat” 5 stars for that story. The other ones were mediocre and didn’t feel anything while reading them.

[Felix]

A few stand out stories whilst the rest felt repetitive and a drag to get through.

[Finn SA · Rating 4 out of 5]

ON THE SELECTION:
Collins Classics was one of the cheaper Poe collections I could find, but it delivers a wide array of Poe's stories nonetheless. A good mix of Poe's mysteries, science fiction and horrors (including of course his most famous work, "The Raven"), Collins Classics provides a good introduction to the style of Poe.

The ordering of the selected works was gratifyingly deliberate. For example, keeping "The Imp of the Perverse" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" together allows a reader to clearly contrast the minute but rich differences in otherwise similar works. Similarly, Dupin's mysteries were kept together, although "The Mystery of Marie Roget" is missing from the collection, despite being briefly referenced in "The Purloined Letter". Keeping "The Raven" to the end of the anthology also worked to ensure that as a poem it didn't disrupt the flow of the otherwise prosaic collection, but also allowed a reader to anticipate their eventual arrival to Poe's most highly regarded work.

ON THE WORKS:
There are many resources out there better than Goodreads (and definitely better than me) to provide critiques of Poe's works, so below are a few of my notes as a first-time reader:

◆ Poe has a consistent mastery of voice throughout all of the selected stories: reflective and paranoid. This paranoia is a trademark of Poe stories, many containing a mini-essay to begin with, to convince the reader the narrator is not "mad." There is not one reliable narrator in this collection, although my favourite is Signora Psyche Zenobia from "How to Write a Blackwood Article". She stands out not only because she's the only woman, but because it is clear to the reader that she is so unreliable that the reader begins to resent her ignorance and trivial nature, creating a poignant message about the dangers of applying science to art.
◆ Poe was recognised by his contemporaries, which is a great blessing for many of those in the canon. I mention this only because many of his works seem to have filled the role that Wikipedia fulfils in our lives today. For example, "The Gold Bug", while a great exploration of obsession, also acts as a lecture on cryptography. I found similar sensations of being lectured in "The Balloon Hoax" and "Three Sundays in a Week". "The Oblong Box" seemed to have an obvious twist, but that's simply because Poe's fighting against 180 years of new cliches, another downside of being dead.
◆ Poe's writing has the amazing trait of bubbling its subtext right up to the surface, making it terrifyingly evident in what he is trying to convey to the reader. For example, in "The Cask of Amontillado", the narrator's disdain for Fortunato, paired with the obvious symbolism of his house crest being a serpent biting the heel that is crushing it makes it almost impossible for a reader to not confront their personal jealousies and need for vindication. This quirk of Poe's writing makes him incredibly rich to analyse, especially as an introduction to classic literature.

[Frederick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realise just how good and influential Poe was and I guess still is until I finished this compendium of his better works that includes his poems, short stories and one novella. I knew going in that Poe is famous for his macabre stories but I was struck by how much detective, sci-fi, gothic and indeed comedy that's all here in one volume. Before Poirot and Holmes there was C Auguste Dupin and before Verne, Boulle et al Poe was at the forefront of sci-fi writing. Many of the stories here have influenced much of the literature and even the scriptwriting of the future; my favourite story here is "The System of Dr Tarr and Prof Fether" which I found extremely funny and not only became a song by The Alan Parsons Project many decades later it was as well heavily borrowed for an episode of classic Star Trek. My next favourite are perhaps among the funniest pieces of writing I've ever read: "How To Write a Blackwood Article" and "A Predicament: The Scythe of Time." Not all the stories understandably here are hits and there are some filler material here to borrow a music album analogy I'd say at least 75% of the material here is gold. I guess my point is that there is much much more of Poe to be enjoyed and explored than just "The Raven", "The Murders of the Rue Morgue", "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Purloined Letter" etc etc that everyone has heard of and are also great but don't neglect "The Gold Bug", "The Black Cat" or "Hop-Frog" for example which are at least as good if not better. Overall very highly recommended and as a writer criminally underrated during his lifetime and even today should be much much more lauded.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first time reading any of Poe's stories and poems and I wasn't disappointed. While I struggled through a couple of his short stories and poems (I'm looking at you MS. Found in a Bottle, A Descent into the Maelström, and Al Aaraaf - I clearly don't enjoy stories set near or on the ocean)

I enjoyed the majority of them and absolutely fell in love with the others. This was the perfect read for October!

My favourite short stories were:
William Wilson: A psychological drama about doppelgangers.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue: A spooky detective story solving the mystery of the brutal murders of two women - the killer will surprise you!

The Masque of the Red Death: Follows a Prince who is trying to defy death and the red plague.

The Tell-Tale Heart: Follows an un-named narrator who tries to convince himself of his sanity while describing the murder he committed.

The Cask of Amontillado: A revenge story involving wine - my dumbass truly thought they were going to be discovering some gorgeous wine, oh Jaime, Jaime, Jaime, why.

My favourite poems were:
The Raven, The Coliseum, Bridal Ballad, and Annabel Lee.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be incredibly interesting, I got it at the request of a YouTuber (Dakota warren) and it was a great decision, the use of French confused me because I’m not French so I didn’t know what they were saying yet the context made it feel like it did (idk if that makes sense..)

The reason it’s not four or five stars is because at times I couldn’t understand what was happening and my mind was just blank, tho perhaps that’s just me not being smart enough.

I despised ‘The Golden Bug’ (I believed it’s called..) as it reminds you just how long ago this was written, it’s use of *that* word made me skip the story half way through, and I could hardly understand what the characters were talking about, I did adore ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘A Tell-Tale Heart’. (if that’s not the name of it I apologise) I found them to be the most interesting and they stuck with me the most

(Small rant: I absolutely adore the cover, and E.A Poe’s name is so gorgeous to me, I find myself staring at the cover a lot, as well as taking a moment to appreciate how aesthetically pleasing his name is.. it’s a strange yet fun little routine)