Selected Tales

About this book

The undisputed master of terror and mystery, Edgar Allan Poe was a unique inventor in fiction. In 'The Fall of the House of Usher' and 'The Black Cat' he wrote the first and best tales of terror; with 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' and his fictional detective M. Dupin he invented the detective story; and tales such as 'MS. Found in a Bottle' and 'Von Kempelen and His Discovery' pioneered modern science-fiction. As readers will discover, Poe possessed an unrivalled capacity to create atmosphere and suspense, and to probe the dark depths of the human psyche. All the stories in this volume push back the boundaries, making the improbable possible, the familiar terrifying and strange. Contents: 9 * Introduction (Selected Tales) * essay by John Curtis 19 * The Duc de L'Omelette * [Tales of the Folio Club] * (1832) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe (variant of The Duke de L'Omelette) 23 * MS. Found in a Bottle * [Tales of the Folio Club] * (1833) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 35 * The Assignation * [Tales of the Folio Club] * (1834) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe (variant of The Visionary) 48 * Ligeia * (1838) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 65 * How to Write a Blackwood Article * (1838) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe (variant of The Psyche Zenobia) 76 * The Fall of the House of Usher * (1839) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 96 * William Wilson * (1839) * novelette by Edgar Allan Poe (variant of William Wilson: A Tale) 118 * The Murders in the Rue Morgue * [Chevalier Dupin] * (1841) * novelette by Edgar Allan Poe 154 * A Descent into the Maelstrom * (1841) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 172 * The Island of the Fay * (1841) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 178 * The Colloquy of Monos and Una * (1841) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 188 * The Oval Portrait * (1842) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 192 * The Masque of the Red Death * (1842) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe (variant of The Mask of the Red Death) 199 * The Mystery of Marie Roget * [Chevalier Dupin] * (1842) * novella by Edgar Allan Poe 251 * The Pit and the Pendulum * (1842) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 267 * The Tell-Tale Heart * (1843) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 273 * The Gold-Bug * (1843) * novelette by Edgar Allan Poe 311 * The Black Cat * (1843) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 322 * The Premature Burial * (1844) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 337 * The Purloined Letter * [Chevalier Dupin] * (1844) * novelette by Edgar Allan Poe 357 * The Imp of the Perverse * (1845) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 364 * The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar * (1845) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 374 * The Cask of Amontillado * [Fortunado] * (1846) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe 382 * The Domain of Arnheim * (1842) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe (variant of The Landscape-Garden) 399 * Von Kempelen and His Discovery * (1849) * shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe