What I'm Reading: Edgar Allan Poe

This arrived for me recently and I've not put it down. As a fan of gothic literature, Edgar Allan Poe is obviously a bit of a hero to me. I wasn't expecting the book to be so huge but oh my gosh! The illustrations are incredible.

Tales of Mystery & Imagination was the first ever published collection of Poe's works. Harry Clarke was the original illustrator from the 1908 edition and I'm so glad they've carried on his art to this edition from 2008.

No artist I can think of could possibly have captured Poe's stories so perfectly in illustration. As a stained glass artist, Clarke's work is beautifully eerie to match the gothic feel of the book.

My favourite piece is right at the front, and is captioned "He shrieked once - once only," a line from Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. In the book the drawing is shown in black and white which adds more to it's gothic feel.

And this, for no reason more than my unexplained life long love for skulls and bones!