Description
Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination – Illustrated By Arthur Rackham
Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination is a collection of Poe’s finest stories comprising all the terrifying and bewildering narratives that typify his work. It contains such well-known tales as: ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’, ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’, ‘The Premature Burial’, and what is perhaps his most enduring work, ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849) was an American poet, writer and literary critic who belonged to the Romantic Movement. With texts such as ‘Tales of Mystery and Imagination’, he contributed greatly to the genres of horror and science fiction, and his thrilling tales earned him considerable fame during his lifetime and after his death. Whilst his first work, ‘Tamerlane and Other Poems’ was published in 1827 in relative obscurity, it was the publication of ‘The Raven and Other Poems’ in 1845, that brought him instant success
The stories in Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination are accompanied by a series of dazzling illustrations by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939). One of the most celebrated painters of the British Golden Age of Illustration (which encompassed the years from 1850 until the start of the First World War), Rackham’s artistry is quite simply, unparalleled. Never was there an illustrator whose work was more perfectly suited to the work of Poe – Rackham’s ethereal blend of the gruesome with the sublime seem destined to adorn Poe’s chilling tales. Throughout his career, he developed a unique style, combining haunting humour with dream-like romance. Presented alongside the text, his illustrations further refine and elucidate Poe’s masterful storytelling.
