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The Gold Bug
Believing William Legrand to have gone insane following an insect bite, his friend initially decries his quest for gold as the ramblings of a madman. Yet when Legrand's conviction fails to waiver, they set off on a bizarre journey, accompanied by Jupiter, Legrand's loyal and equally skeptical servant. What follows is a strange tale of coded messages, hidden treasure, and uncanny prophecy that will both enthrall and baffle even the most perceptive readers.Part horror story, part detective fiction, The Gold Bug is an ingenious tale bearing all the hallmarks of Poe's extraordinary narrative skill. It is presented here with The Sphinx, a similarly themed and equally disturbing short story. Wonderfully versatile as an author and best known for his tales of terror and the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) holds a venerable place in the history of American literature.
This edition contains the following short stories:
- The Gold Bug
- The Sphinx
- William Wilson.
This edition contains the following short stories:
- The Gold Bug
- The Sphinx
- William Wilson.
86 pages, Paperback
First published June 21, 1843
101 people are currently reading
3216 people want to read
About the author
Edgar Allan Poe
9,885 books28.6k followersThe 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...
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...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 449 reviews
October 20, 2017
My First Read for Mr. Poe,
Where Nothing is what it seems to be.
Where All in the Wrong.
قراءتي اﻻولي للسيد إدجار ألان بو المدهش
خنفساء الذهب
"حيث لا شئ حقا هو مايبدو عليه"
حيث الخنفساء ليست عادية، بل هي كالذهب حتي في ثقلها
حيث شكلها ليس كالخنفساء وإنما للجمجمة أقرب
حيث الخنفساء قد لا تكون أصلا محور الأحداث رغم أن القصة بأسمها
بل في قراءتي الاولي للسيد بو المدهش أجد ان الحكاية التي ظننتها رعبا هي قصة أثارة ، هوس ، أصرار ، بحث عن كنز ، فك شفرة بشكل تفصيلي ذكي
حيث"الكل مخطئ" كما يقول السيد بو في بداية تلك القصة القصيرة التي لم تتجاوز 50 صفحة بلغتها الاصلية، 65 مترجمة، نجح السيد المدعو بو في قلب عقلي وقلب الاحداث بشكل ذكي تفصيلي
ربما يكون فعلا كما قال بنص شعري في بداية الاحداث الكل مخطئ
لكن السيد ويليام لينجارد منذ أن عثر علي الجعران الذهبي وخادمه والراوي يريا أنه أصابه هوس وجنون، ربما هي لدغة تلك الحشرة اللعينة
الراوي يري أن الخادم الزنجي البسيط 'جوبيتر' ربما تمادي في مبالغته في وصف مدي هوس حالة سيده
ربما تري أنه قد يكون السيد ويليام، "ماسا ويليام" كما يطلق عليه خادمه،، لدغته الحشرة فعلا وكل شئ مجرد هلاوس ورقص بجنون
وقد تري صديقي القارئ ايضا كما يري السيد ويليام نفسه ، أن تلك الخنفساء الذهبية وراءها سر خطير
ولكن ليس كل شيء كما تظن انك تراه
ولكن ما علاقة كل هذا بالكابتن ويليام كيدد ، القرصان الشهير الحقيقي وكنزه الاسطوري الذي سبق احداث القصة بقرنين من الزمان بكل هذا؟
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
لغز ظريف حقا ، حتي نصف احداث تلك النوفيلا ستظن ان المصادفات والجنون يلعبا دورا كبيرا خياليا
ولكنك ستجد ان دور الصدفة مختلفا تماما بالنهاية ، اما الجنون، فربما هو ذكاء
تمتعت جدا بفك الشفرة الذكي والذي بالرغم من ان القصة تعود الي 1842 الا ان اسلوب فك الشفرة تلك رغم الادعاء خلال الاحداث انه حل شفرة بسيط الا انه عبقري
قرأت شبيها له في رواية عبقري الشفرات السيد دان براون بعدها بقرن ونصف
Digital Fortress
ورواية اخري مرعبة بعنوان
The Supernatural Enhancements
فك الشفرة جاء تفصيلي جدا واعتقد انه فعلا كان سابقا لعصره
وبالرغم من انني كنت انتظر ان تكون الحكاية الاولي مرعبة الا انها ملغزة وذكية بما يكفي
واسلوب الراوي -بو- في الوصف عاما ذكي ويحمل طابع فعلا كئيب مقبض مثير للرجفة احيانا رغم ان القصة ليست مرعبة بشكل رئيسي
ربما وصفه لسذاجة الزنجي وحتي اسلوب كلامه العجيب في النسخة الانجليزية زادها صعوبة به شيئا من النمطية او العنصرية ، ماسا بو، الا ان في وصف المكان كان مفصلا ، وتوضيحي بشكل حتي قد يفوق لزوم الاحداث
ولكن بشكل عام، هذا هو الاتقان حيث تجعل كل تفصيلة ولو صغيرة في الاحداث تجعل الصورة الكاملة ذكية
وليست ابدا كما تبدو عليه لاول وهلة
تماما ك..خنفساء الذهب
The Gold Bug
----------
My first -late- read for the fantastic Mr. Poe..
Where nothing is ever as it appears,
The Bug is not scaled as bug, but as gold,
The Bug doesn't appear as a bug, but as a human skull..
Where the Bug appears to be the main item in this story.. well, you'll be surprised..
Mr. William Legrand appears as insane chasing a mirage.... well, have you ever heard about William Kidd? The real life pirate?
I loved how smart the story goes, where every little detail get into making the full picture, as puzzle...or a Code..
I just didn't like much of how Jupiter talks, it's a bit clichéd..
Though it may appears as a horror story..well, as I said, nothing ever turn out here as it appears..
Yet some scenes really still creepy enough...
So, if you think that good old Mr. Poe can't woo you smartly. . Try this novella..
Mohammed Arabey
In 12 April 2017
Where Nothing is what it seems to be.
Where All in the Wrong.
قراءتي اﻻولي للسيد إدجار ألان بو المدهش
خنفساء الذهب
"حيث لا شئ حقا هو مايبدو عليه"
حيث الخنفساء ليست عادية، بل هي كالذهب حتي في ثقلها
حيث شكلها ليس كالخنفساء وإنما للجمجمة أقرب
حيث الخنفساء قد لا تكون أصلا محور الأحداث رغم أن القصة بأسمها
بل في قراءتي الاولي للسيد بو المدهش أجد ان الحكاية التي ظننتها رعبا هي قصة أثارة ، هوس ، أصرار ، بحث عن كنز ، فك شفرة بشكل تفصيلي ذكي
حيث"الكل مخطئ" كما يقول السيد بو في بداية تلك القصة القصيرة التي لم تتجاوز 50 صفحة بلغتها الاصلية، 65 مترجمة، نجح السيد المدعو بو في قلب عقلي وقلب الاحداث بشكل ذكي تفصيلي
ربما يكون فعلا كما قال بنص شعري في بداية الاحداث الكل مخطئ
هذا الرفيق يرقص بجنون
لقد لدغه حشرة العنكبوت الذئبية
الكل مخطئ
لكن السيد ويليام لينجارد منذ أن عثر علي الجعران الذهبي وخادمه والراوي يريا أنه أصابه هوس وجنون، ربما هي لدغة تلك الحشرة اللعينة
الراوي يري أن الخادم الزنجي البسيط 'جوبيتر' ربما تمادي في مبالغته في وصف مدي هوس حالة سيده
ربما تري أنه قد يكون السيد ويليام، "ماسا ويليام" كما يطلق عليه خادمه،، لدغته الحشرة فعلا وكل شئ مجرد هلاوس ورقص بجنون
وقد تري صديقي القارئ ايضا كما يري السيد ويليام نفسه ، أن تلك الخنفساء الذهبية وراءها سر خطير
ولكن ليس كل شيء كما تظن انك تراه
ولكن ما علاقة كل هذا بالكابتن ويليام كيدد ، القرصان الشهير الحقيقي وكنزه الاسطوري الذي سبق احداث القصة بقرنين من الزمان بكل هذا؟
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
لغز ظريف حقا ، حتي نصف احداث تلك النوفيلا ستظن ان المصادفات والجنون يلعبا دورا كبيرا خياليا
ولكنك ستجد ان دور الصدفة مختلفا تماما بالنهاية ، اما الجنون، فربما هو ذكاء
تمتعت جدا بفك الشفرة الذكي والذي بالرغم من ان القصة تعود الي 1842 الا ان اسلوب فك الشفرة تلك رغم الادعاء خلال الاحداث انه حل شفرة بسيط الا انه عبقري
قرأت شبيها له في رواية عبقري الشفرات السيد دان براون بعدها بقرن ونصف
Digital Fortress
ورواية اخري مرعبة بعنوان
The Supernatural Enhancements
فك الشفرة جاء تفصيلي جدا واعتقد انه فعلا كان سابقا لعصره
وبالرغم من انني كنت انتظر ان تكون الحكاية الاولي مرعبة الا انها ملغزة وذكية بما يكفي
واسلوب الراوي -بو- في الوصف عاما ذكي ويحمل طابع فعلا كئيب مقبض مثير للرجفة احيانا رغم ان القصة ليست مرعبة بشكل رئيسي
ربما وصفه لسذاجة الزنجي وحتي اسلوب كلامه العجيب في النسخة الانجليزية زادها صعوبة به شيئا من النمطية او العنصرية ، ماسا بو، الا ان في وصف المكان كان مفصلا ، وتوضيحي بشكل حتي قد يفوق لزوم الاحداث
ولكن بشكل عام، هذا هو الاتقان حيث تجعل كل تفصيلة ولو صغيرة في الاحداث تجعل الصورة الكاملة ذكية
وليست ابدا كما تبدو عليه لاول وهلة
تماما ك..خنفساء الذهب
The Gold Bug
----------
My first -late- read for the fantastic Mr. Poe..
Where nothing is ever as it appears,
What ho! what ho! this fellow is dancing mad!
He hath been bitten by the Tarantula.
All in the Wrong.
The Bug is not scaled as bug, but as gold,
The Bug doesn't appear as a bug, but as a human skull..
Where the Bug appears to be the main item in this story.. well, you'll be surprised..
Mr. William Legrand appears as insane chasing a mirage.... well, have you ever heard about William Kidd? The real life pirate?
I loved how smart the story goes, where every little detail get into making the full picture, as puzzle...or a Code..
I just didn't like much of how Jupiter talks, it's a bit clichéd..
Though it may appears as a horror story..well, as I said, nothing ever turn out here as it appears..
Yet some scenes really still creepy enough...
So, if you think that good old Mr. Poe can't woo you smartly. . Try this novella..
Mohammed Arabey
In 12 April 2017
July 23, 2017
"The Gold-Bug," written in 1843, was one of Edgar Allen Poe's most popular stories. He actually won a $100 prize for it in a newspaper's writing contest, probably the most he was ever paid for any of his works. It tells the story of William Legrand, who finds and deciphers an old parchment with a hidden message that leads to a pirate's buried treasure -- thus taking advantage of the 19th century public's enthusiasm for both cryptography and buried treasure.
The cipher on the parchment is a relatively simple substitution cipher, but the story of following the clues and finding the treasure is intriguing and creative, especially for the time it was written.
My big problem with this story is Legrand's servant, a stereotypical black character, Jupiter, a former slave who has insisted on remaining with the family that previously owned him. He's used for comic effect in the story, speaking with a broad dialect that's full of "massa" talk and foolish superstitions. It's seriously wince-inducing reading. But if you can get past that, keeping in mind that this was written about 170 years ago, pre-Civil War, the rest of the story is a fun adventure.
Available to read online many places, including
here, or you can download it for free at Gutenberg.org.
Art credit: http://jackodeco.deviantart.com/art/T...
December 11, 2023
- تعود هذه القصة الى عام 1843، وهي احدى القصص التي حصل "بو" على جائزة نقدية من ورائها.
- السرد البسيط، موقع القصة المرتبط بذاكرة "بو" نفسه خلال خدمته العسكرية، شرارة القصة (العثور على البقة الذهبية)، الكلمات المكتوبة بالحير السري، النار، الشيفرة، فك الشيفرة، الرحلة، الحفر، العثور على الكنز... كلها تلاحقت بشكل بسيط وعذب.
- القصة على الصعيد الفكري تظهر قدرة "بو" العقلية في صياغة القصة وفلسفته بالبناء الغقلي بعيداً عن العاطفة، وهذا النوع من البناء كان له التأثير الكبير لاحقاً في القصص الإنكليزية والأمريكية
- السرد البسيط، موقع القصة المرتبط بذاكرة "بو" نفسه خلال خدمته العسكرية، شرارة القصة (العثور على البقة الذهبية)، الكلمات المكتوبة بالحير السري، النار، الشيفرة، فك الشيفرة، الرحلة، الحفر، العثور على الكنز... كلها تلاحقت بشكل بسيط وعذب.
- القصة على الصعيد الفكري تظهر قدرة "بو" العقلية في صياغة القصة وفلسفته بالبناء الغقلي بعيداً عن العاطفة، وهذا النوع من البناء كان له التأثير الكبير لاحقاً في القصص الإنكليزية والأمريكية
September 17, 2017
With this I finish all notable works of Edgar Allan Poe and conclude my field trip into late Gothic/early horror. Works of Poe along with Algeron Blackwood remains one of the highlights of that excursions. I plan to go for another round some time in future as well as into more modern horror but not for some time.
November 3, 2024
This work by Poe was quite unique, I thought. It was not dark and macabre like his usual stories.
To create it, I felt he must have crossed paths with Mark Twain and Alfred Hitchcock somewhere in the great beyond.
Really enjoyable.
To create it, I felt he must have crossed paths with Mark Twain and Alfred Hitchcock somewhere in the great beyond.
Really enjoyable.
September 12, 2015
إدغار آلان پو ~ البقة الذهبية ..
كما هي العادة في قصص " پو " حيث الأفكار العجيبة والأشياء التي لا تنتمي الى العالم بصلة .. لا شك أننا نتحدث عن إبداع لا مثيل له في أدب القصة من حيث الإطار الأدبي والزمني أيضاً..
يتحدث پو في هذه القصة عن رجل إصطاد بقة ذهبية يدعي أنها نادرة الوجود أستحوذ على اهتمامه بشدة، قرر أن يري تلك الحشرة لصديقه وهو كاتب القصة ..
البقة لم تكن موجودة حينئذ حين أتى الرجل إلى كوخه.. حاول أن يرسمها لصديقه، بينما هو يكمل رسمته، إكتشف بطريق الصدفة أن ذلك الرق الذي حاول ان يرسم عليه إنما هي شيفرة لكنز مدفون في قلب الغابة خبأها فيما سبق قراصنة كانوا قد إحترفوا إخفاء الكنوز عن أنظار الطامعين في تلك الغابات الشاسعة، فسعوا الى وضع حيل لأخفاء الكنوز وطمرها في المجهول، قاموا بالوقت نفسه برسم خرائط على رقوق شفافة بسوائل كيميائية ومداد غير مرئي ، الطريقة الوحيدة لأظهار الرسم هو تعريضها للنار بشكل غير مباشر، حينئذ تظهر صورة الخريطة أو الشيفرة ظاهرة للعيان..
حسناً، إكتشف صديقنا هذا أن ذلك الرق الذي رسم فيه البقة الذهبية هي مجرد شيفرة كما قلنا بعد أن همّ بإلقاء الرق في النار بسبب تهكم صديقه بكيفية رسم. تلك البقة..
المهم، بعد أيام تظاهر صديقنا بالجنون وإستدعى صديقه (كاتب القصة) ليذهب معه الى عمق الغابة لأستخراج الكنز المزعوم..
------------------------------------------
القصة مكتوبة بشكل جميل جداً ومواقف طريفة تحدث في ثنايا القصة وخاصة عند الدخول الى الغابة ..
طبعاً هذه القصة رغم قدمها إلا أن العديد من القصص والأفلام قد إقتبست من هذه القصة لا شك.. ربما " پو " هو أول من وضع الأساس لهذه الانواع من القصص التي تتسم بالغموض وتحمل في طياتها لغزاً وبعض الكلمات السرية الشيفرات المحيرة المكونة من أرقام وحروف ورموز ..
قصة عبقرية تستحق القراءة..
هذا الرسم يصور لحضة البحث عن الكنز تحت الشجرة العملاقة، التي اُشير فيها في شيفرة الرق..
June 3, 2017
E.A. Poe: the original virtual reality.
I'm On the road to becoming a Poe fanatic. This guy is so freaking cool! (Please forgive me for falling into my lazy thinking vernacular.)
A man finds a golden bug and goes mad, while his doctor and slave try to help him.
This offers a pirates puzzle and explains the resolution. Is Poesque a word? I want to use it.
Poe makes me forget the world around me and literally live life in the story. He has serious power, intellect and skill.
Wow. *sighs* Here we go. First I become a Kafka fanatic and now Poe.
I guess there are worse things to make objects of obsession. I'm happy. :-)
I'm On the road to becoming a Poe fanatic. This guy is so freaking cool! (Please forgive me for falling into my lazy thinking vernacular.)
A man finds a golden bug and goes mad, while his doctor and slave try to help him.
This offers a pirates puzzle and explains the resolution. Is Poesque a word? I want to use it.
Poe makes me forget the world around me and literally live life in the story. He has serious power, intellect and skill.
Wow. *sighs* Here we go. First I become a Kafka fanatic and now Poe.
I guess there are worse things to make objects of obsession. I'm happy. :-)
August 4, 2015
3.5 out of 5 stars
This is a story about a treasure hunt that starts with finding a gold beetle, and proceeds from there with adventure and ciphers and ingenious explanations.
The narrator is the usual nameless/faceless one that appears in most of Poe's stories. This time, though, he's not unreliable.
Truly recommended for fans of Poe and/or short stories.
This is a story about a treasure hunt that starts with finding a gold beetle, and proceeds from there with adventure and ciphers and ingenious explanations.
The narrator is the usual nameless/faceless one that appears in most of Poe's stories. This time, though, he's not unreliable.
Truly recommended for fans of Poe and/or short stories.
August 25, 2016
Αν και ντρέπομαι να το πω, αυτή είναι μόλις η πρώτη ιστορία του Έντγκαρ Άλαν Πόε που διαβάζω. Ναι, ξέρω, είναι περίεργο. Μου αρέσουν οι ιστορίες μυστηρίου και τρόμου και μέχρι τώρα δεν είχα διαβάσει Πόε. Αλλά ποτέ δεν είναι αργά! Τώρα διάβασα και έχω μια εικόνα για την γραφή και τις ιδέες του μεγάλου αυτού συγγραφέα. Λοιπόν, πρόκειται για μια ωραία, ενδιαφέρουσα και ατμοσφαιρική ιστορία, μ'ένα κυνήγι θησαυρού που βασίζεται σ'έναν χρυσό σκαραβαίο, μια περγαμηνή και τις ανθρώπινες ικανότητες για αποκρυπτογράφηση. Δεν χρειάζεται να πω κάτι άλλο για την πλοκή, είναι ενδιαφέρουσα μέσα στην απλότητα της. Είναι μια ιστορία που δείχνει τα χρόνια της (γράφτηκε το 1842), αλλά που ακόμα και σήμερα έχει πράγματα να προσφέρει. Η γραφή είναι καλή και ευχάριστη, βοηθάει στην γρήγορη και ξεκούραστη ανάγνωση της ιστορίας, οι αρχετυπικοί χαρακτήρες απλοί αλλά συμπαθητικοί, η ατμόσφαιρα σούπερ. Για πρώτη επαφή με το έργο του Πόε, δηλώνω σίγουρα ικανοποιημένος. Γνωρίζω ότι έχει γράψει αρκετές ιστορίες που είναι πολύ πιο "μαύρες" από την συγκεκριμένη, και δεν βλέπω την ώρα να τις διαβάσω όλες.
April 3, 2018
The title, "The Gold Bug", has a double meaning in this story about a gold colored large bug found on Sullivan's Island, and also a treasure hunt for gold. The narrator's friend, William Legrand, seems a bit strange and possibly ill at first, but we find out that he has been using his strong deductive skills.
June 13, 2016
"The Gold Bug" is a nice short treasure hunt with a great introduction to cryptography and codebreaking. It definitely tickled my curiosity and I tried to decipher the code.
Though this book was a little bit bitter due to the racism, shown to the black servant.
February 25, 2022
The first time I read this, I thought it was very boring. Having just read it again, in my epic journey to read every single goddamned thing that Poe has ever written - (I shall be married with kids by the time I am finished; or, more likely, rotting beneath an unmarked grave as all my friends go on without realizing I'm even dead) - I guess I enjoyed the story a little bit more. But hell, by the time I finished it, I think I basically had the same impressions. I give it for credit for making sense (excluding, of course, that fucking ridiculous dialogue of Jupiter the Negro) which is, so far, something to be cherished with Poe's stories. (My God ... have you read Von Kempelen And His Discovery? What the fuck was that about?)
I also didn't like it how the mystery is solved and then, after you get the answers and all, the guy still takes painstaking detail to explain to you how he accomplished it, even though it's pretty damned obvious. Overall it wasn't a bad story. I just prefer the depraved and morbid stuff that this supposed genius can writes when he so chooses.
I also didn't like it how the mystery is solved and then, after you get the answers and all, the guy still takes painstaking detail to explain to you how he accomplished it, even though it's pretty damned obvious. Overall it wasn't a bad story. I just prefer the depraved and morbid stuff that this supposed genius can writes when he so chooses.
October 3, 2018
This story had a very interesting plot.
February 11, 2016
Un iz de aventură într-o expunere romanţată a relaţiei dintre supranatural şi coincidenţă explicată, aprioric, tot printr-o coincidenţă.
"Îţi dai oare seama ce minunată întâmplare a fost faptul că toate aceste evenimente s-au petrecut în acea singură zi a anului în care a fost destul de frig ca să facem foc, şi că fără foc sau amestecul câinelui, tocmai în clipa aceea când a intrat, eu n-aş fi luat cunoştinţă de capul de mort şi, prin urmare, n-aş fi ajuns niciodată în stăpânirea comorii?"
"E obişnuitul efect al coincidenţelor de acest fel, mintea se străduieşte să găsească un raport, o legătură de cauză şi efect şi, nefiind în stare să o facă, e izbită vremelnic de un fel de paralizie."
"Îţi dai oare seama ce minunată întâmplare a fost faptul că toate aceste evenimente s-au petrecut în acea singură zi a anului în care a fost destul de frig ca să facem foc, şi că fără foc sau amestecul câinelui, tocmai în clipa aceea când a intrat, eu n-aş fi luat cunoştinţă de capul de mort şi, prin urmare, n-aş fi ajuns niciodată în stăpânirea comorii?"
"E obişnuitul efect al coincidenţelor de acest fel, mintea se străduieşte să găsească un raport, o legătură de cauză şi efect şi, nefiind în stare să o facă, e izbită vremelnic de un fel de paralizie."
July 6, 2017
A little more dated than some of other Poe's tales. It involves a bug bite (and potential madness) and a cryptogram. Not a storyline that did much for me personally.
May 19, 2020
Easily one of my favorite short stories of all time! Clever, adventurous, mysterious, witty, all rolled into one.
December 28, 2020
It was ok to be honest
October 9, 2021
Book: The Gold Bug
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Publisher: Perfection Learning; Illustrated edition (1 September 1980)
Language: English
Paperback: 80 pages
Item Weight: 90.7 g
Dimensions: 12.45 x 1.27 x 18.29 cm
Price: 1063 /-
'Can you read Poe and not be moved by him? You know you want to. You know he wants you to. If you can lose yourself, if you can step into the skins of his victims and monsters, then you will feel everything he wants you to feel the melancholy and misery, the joy and joylessness, the humour and the horror and the beauty' -- Tobias Hill
The principal interest of the story “The Gold-Bug” lies in Mr. Legrand’s incredible powers of psychoanalysis and calculation.
It is by these powers combined with his minuscule observation and his indefatigable industry and bottomless fortitude and determination that he was able to know that a treasure lay buried somewhere, and then to find it.
Mr. Legrand’s unearthing of a formerly unknown scarabaeus, though merely inadvertent, was undoubtedly precious from the entomoligical point of view.
But more imperative from the worldly standpoint was Mr. Legrand’s evenly accidental discovery of a piece of parchment lying at almost the identical spot where he had found the scarabaeus to which the name gold-bug was given.
It was this piece of parchment, which Mr. Legrand had initially thought to be a piece of paper, that provided all the clues which led Mr. Legrand to discover a buried treasure.
And yet “The Gold-Bug” is not absolutely empty of interest for readers like us who have found more slipups with the story than praised it.
There is enough of humour in the story and enough of the interest of character- portrayal in it, to rationalize the story as a success rather than a failure.
All the four characters in the story, including the dog, have credibly been portrayed; and each of them contributes his share to the interest of the story.
As a character, though not as one essential to the plot, the Negro servant, Jupiter, is the most interesting. Whenever he speaks, he absorbs us. He is genuinely devoted to his master and he looks after Mr. Legrand better than a wife could have done.
On one occasion, when Mr. Legrand has got late in returning to his hut, Jupiter keeps a stick ready to beat Mr. Legrand with, as punishment for his late coming. Jupiter feels authentically worried about Mr. Legrand’s unusual cogitations and Mr. Legrand’s fits of inattentiveness.
Jupiter’s bewilderment about his right eye and his left eye, and his resulting blunder with regard to the left eye of the skull on the tree, constitute an amusing episode. But it is Jupiter’s way of speaking the language which amuses us most. He pronounces “that” as “dat”; he pronounces “master” as “massa”; he pronounces “very” as “berry”; he pronounces “they” as “dey”; and so on.
This is how most uneducated Negroes in America speak, and this manner of speaking is certainly comical. As for the narrator, his reactions to Mr. Legrand’s discoveries and to Mr. Legrand’s exposition are the same as ours would have been in case we had been the listeners.
We too would have thought Mr. Legrand to have become insane. And then there is Mr. Legrand himself — a somewhat cantankerous man but flawlessly real and convincing in every respect.
One must admit that the whole narrative is lively and that, till the point where the elucidation of the cryptograph begins, we remain acutely engrossed in the story. It is only when the exposition begins that our interest in the story begins to diminish and wilt.
The exposition of the cryptograph by Mr. Legrand should surely have been compressed by the author.
And so we can conclude by reiterating that its worth lies for the most part and chiefly in its ‘ratiocinative quality’, that is, in its reasoning and its intellectual quality as evidenced in the procedure by following which Mr. Legrand solves the mystery.
Grab a copy if you choose.
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Publisher: Perfection Learning; Illustrated edition (1 September 1980)
Language: English
Paperback: 80 pages
Item Weight: 90.7 g
Dimensions: 12.45 x 1.27 x 18.29 cm
Price: 1063 /-
'Can you read Poe and not be moved by him? You know you want to. You know he wants you to. If you can lose yourself, if you can step into the skins of his victims and monsters, then you will feel everything he wants you to feel the melancholy and misery, the joy and joylessness, the humour and the horror and the beauty' -- Tobias Hill
The principal interest of the story “The Gold-Bug” lies in Mr. Legrand’s incredible powers of psychoanalysis and calculation.
It is by these powers combined with his minuscule observation and his indefatigable industry and bottomless fortitude and determination that he was able to know that a treasure lay buried somewhere, and then to find it.
Mr. Legrand’s unearthing of a formerly unknown scarabaeus, though merely inadvertent, was undoubtedly precious from the entomoligical point of view.
But more imperative from the worldly standpoint was Mr. Legrand’s evenly accidental discovery of a piece of parchment lying at almost the identical spot where he had found the scarabaeus to which the name gold-bug was given.
It was this piece of parchment, which Mr. Legrand had initially thought to be a piece of paper, that provided all the clues which led Mr. Legrand to discover a buried treasure.
And yet “The Gold-Bug” is not absolutely empty of interest for readers like us who have found more slipups with the story than praised it.
There is enough of humour in the story and enough of the interest of character- portrayal in it, to rationalize the story as a success rather than a failure.
All the four characters in the story, including the dog, have credibly been portrayed; and each of them contributes his share to the interest of the story.
As a character, though not as one essential to the plot, the Negro servant, Jupiter, is the most interesting. Whenever he speaks, he absorbs us. He is genuinely devoted to his master and he looks after Mr. Legrand better than a wife could have done.
On one occasion, when Mr. Legrand has got late in returning to his hut, Jupiter keeps a stick ready to beat Mr. Legrand with, as punishment for his late coming. Jupiter feels authentically worried about Mr. Legrand’s unusual cogitations and Mr. Legrand’s fits of inattentiveness.
Jupiter’s bewilderment about his right eye and his left eye, and his resulting blunder with regard to the left eye of the skull on the tree, constitute an amusing episode. But it is Jupiter’s way of speaking the language which amuses us most. He pronounces “that” as “dat”; he pronounces “master” as “massa”; he pronounces “very” as “berry”; he pronounces “they” as “dey”; and so on.
This is how most uneducated Negroes in America speak, and this manner of speaking is certainly comical. As for the narrator, his reactions to Mr. Legrand’s discoveries and to Mr. Legrand’s exposition are the same as ours would have been in case we had been the listeners.
We too would have thought Mr. Legrand to have become insane. And then there is Mr. Legrand himself — a somewhat cantankerous man but flawlessly real and convincing in every respect.
One must admit that the whole narrative is lively and that, till the point where the elucidation of the cryptograph begins, we remain acutely engrossed in the story. It is only when the exposition begins that our interest in the story begins to diminish and wilt.
The exposition of the cryptograph by Mr. Legrand should surely have been compressed by the author.
And so we can conclude by reiterating that its worth lies for the most part and chiefly in its ‘ratiocinative quality’, that is, in its reasoning and its intellectual quality as evidenced in the procedure by following which Mr. Legrand solves the mystery.
Grab a copy if you choose.
December 27, 2019
The Gold Bug really brought back memories, since I think reading it as a child was my first introduction to the idea of a cipher and how it can be solved. I had forgotten this story until now, but as a kid I was fascinated and immediately got my mom to buy me a book of cipher-type puzzles to solve.
The Sphinx I am not sure I had ever read before. I don't really find the idea very plausible, since I would think it would be obvious that to look at the "monster" would require a different focus than looking at the scenery. I could believe a momentary illusion, but not something that would stand up to scrutiny.
The Sphinx I am not sure I had ever read before. I don't really find the idea very plausible, since I would think it would be obvious that to look at the "monster" would require a different focus than looking at the scenery. I could believe a momentary illusion, but not something that would stand up to scrutiny.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2024
গুপ্তধন সংক্রান্ত গল্প।এটা পড়েই নাকি আরেক খ্যাতিমান লেখক রবার্ট লুই স্টিভেনসন ট্রেজার আইল্যান্ড লিখতে অনুপ্রেরণা পেয়েছেন।গল্পটা আসলেই দারুণ। ইম্প্রেসিভ গুপ্তধন খোজার টেকনিক টা।
May 26, 2018
A pun that leads us to a hidden treasure and to the early (earliest?) use of a cypher. A classic from Poe; the golden scarab reminded me of Guillermo del Toro's Cronos movie; there was everything to make it a great story... Unfortunately the 19th century style and anticlimactic structure spoiled my enthusiasm for it.
February 26, 2013
Lo mas interesante de este cuento, fue la resolución del criptograma, el estilo narravito es muy similar al de Jules Verne, obviamente, el segundo se inspira en el primero para crear sus historias.
February 18, 2024
brain is braining
September 17, 2019
No one could write a cryptography-based story as good as what Poe did in The Gold Bug.
Some of his elements can be witnessed nowadays (long long after Poe's era) in the works of modern writers as Emily Rodda.
Some of his elements can be witnessed nowadays (long long after Poe's era) in the works of modern writers as Emily Rodda.
February 15, 2023
‘The mind struggles to establish a connection- a sequence of cause and effect- and, being unable to do so, suffers a species of temporary paralysis.’
January 17, 2023
Not macabre as one would expect; in actuality a treasure hunt yarn. I’m impressing myself with how quickly I’m picking up Poe’s vernacular.
August 10, 2020
An intresting tresure hunting story which I did not expect at all!
The gold bug by Edgar Allan Poe get a 7/10 stars.
The gold bug by Edgar Allan Poe get a 7/10 stars.
May 18, 2024
The bug marks the spot.
William Legrand comes into possession of a very curious gold-colored bug that may or may not point to some lost secret treasure.
This was mostly ok; in a way this felt like Poe's version of Treasure Island. This wasn't necessarily bad, in fact it was intermitently captivating and interesting at times; yet, all in all, for my taste it did feel quite boring and extensively drawn out, even for a so called short story. Poe's "ratiocination" style works well with his Detective Dupin trilogy but it didn't feel right here. All the puzzle and deciphering stuff was pretty much a bore and totally skimmable for me. However, I did particularly enjoyed all the tidbits about Captain Kidd and his 'friends', and the piratey ending.
This wasn't my cup of tea but I still think this could have great appeal for the detective or Poe fan.
It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1843] [86p] [Horror] [Conditional Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
El bicho marca el lugar.
William Legrand toma posesión de un muy curioso bicho de color dorado que podria o no indicar la ubicacion de algún secreto tesoro perdido.
Esto estuvo en su mayor parte ok; en cierta forma, es como la versión de Poe de La Isla del Tesoro. Esto no fue necesariamente malo, de hecho es intermitentemente cautivador e interesante de a ratos; sin embargo, en general, para mi gusto fue bastante aburrido y demasiado extenso, incluso para lo que en teoria es un cuento corto. El estilo de "ratiocinación" de Poe funciona bien con su trilogia del Detective Dupin, pero no se siente bien aquí. Todo el rompecabezas y descifrado criptico fue un tedio absoluto fracaso y practicamente salteable para mí. Sin embargo, disfruté especialmente todos los detalles sobre el Capitán Kidd y sus 'amigos', y el final piratesco.
Esta no fue mi taza de té, pero igualmente pienso que podría atraer mucho al fan de Poe y de lo detectivesco.
Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1843] [86p] [Horror] [Recomendable Condicional]
-----------------------------------------------
William Legrand comes into possession of a very curious gold-colored bug that may or may not point to some lost secret treasure.
This was mostly ok; in a way this felt like Poe's version of Treasure Island. This wasn't necessarily bad, in fact it was intermitently captivating and interesting at times; yet, all in all, for my taste it did feel quite boring and extensively drawn out, even for a so called short story. Poe's "ratiocination" style works well with his Detective Dupin trilogy but it didn't feel right here. All the puzzle and deciphering stuff was pretty much a bore and totally skimmable for me. However, I did particularly enjoyed all the tidbits about Captain Kidd and his 'friends', and the piratey ending.
This wasn't my cup of tea but I still think this could have great appeal for the detective or Poe fan.
It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1843] [86p] [Horror] [Conditional Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
El bicho marca el lugar.
William Legrand toma posesión de un muy curioso bicho de color dorado que podria o no indicar la ubicacion de algún secreto tesoro perdido.
Esto estuvo en su mayor parte ok; en cierta forma, es como la versión de Poe de La Isla del Tesoro. Esto no fue necesariamente malo, de hecho es intermitentemente cautivador e interesante de a ratos; sin embargo, en general, para mi gusto fue bastante aburrido y demasiado extenso, incluso para lo que en teoria es un cuento corto. El estilo de "ratiocinación" de Poe funciona bien con su trilogia del Detective Dupin, pero no se siente bien aquí. Todo el rompecabezas y descifrado criptico fue un tedio absoluto fracaso y practicamente salteable para mí. Sin embargo, disfruté especialmente todos los detalles sobre el Capitán Kidd y sus 'amigos', y el final piratesco.
Esta no fue mi taza de té, pero igualmente pienso que podría atraer mucho al fan de Poe y de lo detectivesco.
Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1843] [86p] [Horror] [Recomendable Condicional]
-----------------------------------------------
October 14, 2021
Although this short story was vastly different from the creepy horror stories most people associate with Edgar Allan Poe, it was a wonderful treasure hunt mystery tale. I enjoyed Poe's delight in including a seemingly incomprehensible cipher and then painstakingly unraveling it for the reader. It was obvious that Poe enjoyed showing off his cleverness. The Gold Bug was a fun read.
October 21, 2019
ENGLISH: This short story is much less gruesome than most stories by Poe. It's also my favorite. When I was a boy, it gave me my initiation to the science of cryptography. Together with one of my mates, also interested in the subject, we sent to one another cryptic messages without the key, for the other one to decipher them. It was great fun.
ESPAÑOL: Este cuento es mucho menos truculento que la mayor parte de los cuentos de Poe. También es mi favorito. Cuando era niño, fue mi introducción a la ciencia de la criptografía. Yo y uno de mis compañeros, también interesado en el tema, nos enviábamos mensajes crípticos sin la clave, para que el otro los descifrara. Fue muy divertido.
ESPAÑOL: Este cuento es mucho menos truculento que la mayor parte de los cuentos de Poe. También es mi favorito. Cuando era niño, fue mi introducción a la ciencia de la criptografía. Yo y uno de mis compañeros, también interesado en el tema, nos enviábamos mensajes crípticos sin la clave, para que el otro los descifrara. Fue muy divertido.
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