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The Blue Aspic
First edition Toledano A27a . Illustrated. Dust jacket chipped near edges. Slightly tanned near edges. unpaginated. illustrated paper-covered boards, dust jacket. oblong 16mo..
64 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1968
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469 people want to read
About the author
Edward Gorey
485 books2,034 followersBorn in Chicago, Gorey came from a colourful family; his parents, Helen Dunham Garvey and Edward Lee Gorey, divorced in 1936 when he was 11, then remarried in 1952 when he was 27. One of his step-mothers was Corinna Mura, a cabaret singer who had a brief role in the classic film Casablanca. His father was briefly a journalist. Gorey's maternal great-grandmother, Helen St. John Garvey, was a popular 19th century greeting card writer/artist, from whom he claimed to have inherited his talents. He attended a variety of local grade schools and then the Francis W. Parker School. He spent 1944–1946 in the Army at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and then attended Harvard University from 1946 to 1950, where he studied French and roomed with future poet Frank O'Hara.
Although he would frequently state that his formal art training was "negligible", Gorey studied art for one semester at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 1943, eventually becoming a professional illustrator. From 1953 to 1960, he lived in New York City and worked for the Art Department of Doubleday Anchor, illustrating book covers and in some cases adding illustrations to the text. He has illustrated works as diverse as Dracula by Bram Stoker, The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, and Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. In later years he illustrated many children's books by John Bellairs, as well as books in several series begun by Bellairs and continued by other authors after his death.
Although he would frequently state that his formal art training was "negligible", Gorey studied art for one semester at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 1943, eventually becoming a professional illustrator. From 1953 to 1960, he lived in New York City and worked for the Art Department of Doubleday Anchor, illustrating book covers and in some cases adding illustrations to the text. He has illustrated works as diverse as Dracula by Bram Stoker, The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, and Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. In later years he illustrated many children's books by John Bellairs, as well as books in several series begun by Bellairs and continued by other authors after his death.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 9, 2019
Death and Success at the Opera.
I love the detailed artwork of this little piece from 1969. We have a woman who soars and her career takes off and we have a man who loses everything over his obsession with an opera singer. Random people die during performances of operas. Example: “A statue fell on the Duke of Whaup during the second interval of Amable Tastu.” We don’t see the death.
I love the made up opera titles here and the names people have. I love opera culture and this story tickles me. Some of the costumes the women wear are worthy of the painter Erte.
I don’t think there was much humor in this one. The humor comes from the random deaths, it’s mostly pretty dark. Still, it was a great story from Gorey.
I love the detailed artwork of this little piece from 1969. We have a woman who soars and her career takes off and we have a man who loses everything over his obsession with an opera singer. Random people die during performances of operas. Example: “A statue fell on the Duke of Whaup during the second interval of Amable Tastu.” We don’t see the death.
I love the made up opera titles here and the names people have. I love opera culture and this story tickles me. Some of the costumes the women wear are worthy of the painter Erte.
I don’t think there was much humor in this one. The humor comes from the random deaths, it’s mostly pretty dark. Still, it was a great story from Gorey.
September 2, 2023
Dark strange tale detailing the rise and fall of two different characters. It feels a bit like a mini-Balzac novel. Very detailed artwork.
July 13, 2015
Follows the lives of a rising opera singer and the hapless, impoverished man that does everything in his power to hear her sing, night after night. I've gone through a bunch of Gorey's picture books and while they're all peculiarly unsettling to one degree or another, I found this to be not only his most disturbing but also the most touching.
December 24, 2025
Bonny's dulcimer toned tongue read this aloud to me at Alabaster. More plotting than is usual in Gorey, and it ends in a murder-suicide, the only appropriate ending to a narrative.
October 26, 2011
THE BLUE ASPIC is one of Gorey's works containing pen-and-ink drawings with accompanying captions. A grim tale of love and death like his THE LOATHSOME COUPLE, it concerns the obsessive love of a disturbed fan for a diva soprano.
THE BLUE ASPIC stands as one of my favourite Gorey books. The drawings are among his most finely detailed, and the structure of the story, with alternating pages tracking unwell fan Jasper Ankle and his idol Caviglia, is quite elegant. Gorey's style isn't for everyone. Readers without any knowledge of opera will miss most of the jokes here. And for one who hasn't read any Gorey yet, THE OTHER STATUE is perhaps the best introduction. But if you are familiar with the world of fine music, and are a fan of droll and macabre humour, THE BLUE ASPIC is worth reading. It's nice to see that this book, long out of print in standalone publication, is readily available again. It has also been reprinted in the AMPHIGOREY ALSO collection.
THE BLUE ASPIC stands as one of my favourite Gorey books. The drawings are among his most finely detailed, and the structure of the story, with alternating pages tracking unwell fan Jasper Ankle and his idol Caviglia, is quite elegant. Gorey's style isn't for everyone. Readers without any knowledge of opera will miss most of the jokes here. And for one who hasn't read any Gorey yet, THE OTHER STATUE is perhaps the best introduction. But if you are familiar with the world of fine music, and are a fan of droll and macabre humour, THE BLUE ASPIC is worth reading. It's nice to see that this book, long out of print in standalone publication, is readily available again. It has also been reprinted in the AMPHIGOREY ALSO collection.
July 8, 2011
What does the title have to do with anything?
November 6, 2009
Delightfully macabre as always
October 17, 2011
Morbid, but in an entertaining way. A 'no way' for younger readers, though, despite its pretty cover.
April 5, 2015
Possibly the most complex of Gorey's tales. One of my very favorites.
October 15, 2012
I can't help it. I LOVE Edward Gorey! He's so droll and he has the same warped sense of humor I do. His gorgeous illustrations make it hard to believe he is a modern writer (and I wish I could draw like that!!!!) The Blue Aspic is typical, a story of unrequited love. Jasper is in love with an opera diva, who, of course, has NO idea who he is. His plight almost makes me cry, even though only one sentence occupies each illustration. His appearance is SO forlorn!
In any kind of review it's impossible to persuade someone to read Gorey for the first time, but I wish people would. Most of you won't like his work, but the few of you who do will be faithful fans for life!
In any kind of review it's impossible to persuade someone to read Gorey for the first time, but I wish people would. Most of you won't like his work, but the few of you who do will be faithful fans for life!
February 14, 2012
Edward Gorey! I found this in the Met Opera shop.
March 10, 2013
One of my favorite Goreys. It tells a tale of passion, obsession, betrayal, murder and opera.
December 19, 2015
I gasped at the ending.
December 28, 2015
A gothic and tragic tale, beautifully illustrated.
July 6, 2017
Artfully morbid!
February 7, 2019
Beautiful artwork with a minimal story that is a little disjointed but then one loves Edward Gorey books primarily for the eerie, dark, and moody artwork.
March 1, 2020
This is a story of how someone in love with a celebrity can become twisted and obsessed to the point of murder; murder to help advance their love's career. From their it gets darker and more morbid as one life flourishes and the other diminishes.
Delivered in typical Gorey style, with each pair of pages containing a wonderful drawing and a one line accompaniment; this book will thrill anyone who is a fan of Gorey.
Delivered in typical Gorey style, with each pair of pages containing a wonderful drawing and a one line accompaniment; this book will thrill anyone who is a fan of Gorey.
October 8, 2021
This was something of a darker tale, but I found the story to be very interesting. The contrast of a skyrocketing career and a crumbling personal life in two very different characters made for a page-turning tale.
July 19, 2020
The charm eluded me. And where was the blue aspic in all of this?
2.5 operatic stars.
2.5 operatic stars.
March 21, 2021
A surreal and absurd tale. Perfectly “Gorey”, but not one of my favorites.
October 26, 2021
You’re such a weirdo Edward. Bless you!
February 29, 2024
Dark, dark, dark!
August 4, 2025
a dark story about obsession. a theater understudy rises to fame and gets an admirer who lives in delusion and insanity. his gothic style fits the story perfectly
January 7, 2015
For some time now, I have been avidly consuming a steady diet of Edward Gorey's work. Everything from Gashlycrumb Tinies to The Unstrung Harp and his puppet plays Lost Shoelaces and The White Canoe have provided long stretches of great reading and viewing for me, over and over again. The Blue Aspic is my favorite Gorey work, which I discovered browsing the inventory of a used bookstore. Combining his signature dark Victorian and Edwardian crosshatch illustrations and a convicting, haunting narrative, Gorey hypnotized me with this excellent story of love, obsession, celebrity, and violence.
The two characters continue about their lives. A man falls dreadfully in love, stricken with illness and poverty, with a famous singer who remains completely unaware of his existence, until the two cross paths in a morbid fashion. While Ortenzia, the famous singer, gains popularity and accumulates wealth and success but loses those she becomes close to while urged to lose her integrity, Jasper, the obssessed, spirals out of control with mental and physical illness, aggravated by poverty and an undying will to save his love.
The illustrations of this story are absolutely captivating. While the story takes place between the drawings, much like a silent movie, the page-sized drawings play out the plot line. Rain coats scenes in a murky, mysterious blur, making it difficult to see characters, which plays up the dark, brooding ambiance of the story. The men are garbed darkly and mysteriously and the women are clothed in fabulous costumes or time-appropriate clothing. Jasper's face is perfectly abject throughout the story, reflecting his inner emotions.
I would highly reccomend this book to anyone into this sort of dark story. If you like Edward Gorey, I'm sure you will love this story as much as I have loved it. It is artful, unique, and a perfect realization of Edward Gorey's signature work, an ode to the moribund, to love, to insanity, and to art.
The two characters continue about their lives. A man falls dreadfully in love, stricken with illness and poverty, with a famous singer who remains completely unaware of his existence, until the two cross paths in a morbid fashion. While Ortenzia, the famous singer, gains popularity and accumulates wealth and success but loses those she becomes close to while urged to lose her integrity, Jasper, the obssessed, spirals out of control with mental and physical illness, aggravated by poverty and an undying will to save his love.
The illustrations of this story are absolutely captivating. While the story takes place between the drawings, much like a silent movie, the page-sized drawings play out the plot line. Rain coats scenes in a murky, mysterious blur, making it difficult to see characters, which plays up the dark, brooding ambiance of the story. The men are garbed darkly and mysteriously and the women are clothed in fabulous costumes or time-appropriate clothing. Jasper's face is perfectly abject throughout the story, reflecting his inner emotions.
I would highly reccomend this book to anyone into this sort of dark story. If you like Edward Gorey, I'm sure you will love this story as much as I have loved it. It is artful, unique, and a perfect realization of Edward Gorey's signature work, an ode to the moribund, to love, to insanity, and to art.
March 20, 2023
Rereading Edward Gorey 2023. The Blue Aspic is one that I didn't care for as much at first. I have given it another star after rereading it...the sunniness of my youth has matured, and I can feel the undercurrents of this book more deeply. Beautifully drawn, the characters are very alive in their settings.
Favorite quote: While dressing, Getrudis Callosidad dipped into a box of candied violets from an unknown admirer.
Favorite quote: While dressing, Getrudis Callosidad dipped into a box of candied violets from an unknown admirer.
April 1, 2024
What a dark story! Obsession, madness, murder.
The sparseness of the details combined with the delicacy and detail of the art was sublime.
I loved it, but didn't understand the title in relation to the story.
03/30/24 - I love Edward Gorey, and am more than willing to reread all his works!
The sparseness of the details combined with the delicacy and detail of the art was sublime.
I loved it, but didn't understand the title in relation to the story.
03/30/24 - I love Edward Gorey, and am more than willing to reread all his works!
November 29, 2011
Another excellent Gorey book with marvelous text and illustrations
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February 12, 2014good book to read always
July 26, 2014
More Gorey stories should have been set in opera houses.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews