Selected Short Stories - Illustrated Edition

by Edgar Allan Poe

A selection of some of Edgar Allan Poe's darker short stories, together with Gothic sketches.

Take a dark trip into the imagination of Edgar Allan Poe...

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Poetry, Fiction, Audiobook, Classics, 19th Century

135 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 24, 2014

About the author

The 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...

Reviews

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

When it comes to Edgar Allan Poe, there is no question that I prefer his poetry to his prose. His prose has aged well, but it's not my thing since most of his characters simply commit an atrocity and I don't have time to decide whether I should care about them or not. I do care about the cat from 'The Black Cat' so that one was the best.

His poetry is great and I really liked the narrators, especially Fionnula Flanagan. I feel the longing and the horror I expected to feel when reading Poe.

The Tell-Tale Heart (3 stars)

The Raven (4 stars)

The Masque of the Red Death (2 stars)

The Cask of Amontillado (2 stars)

The Bells (4 stars)

The Pit and the Pendulum (2 stars)

Annabel Lee (4 stars)

The Black Cat (4 stars)

[ناصر سليم]

۱۴۰۲/خرداد

[V.M.]

The readers in these recordings swing for the fences with mixed results. The (slightly) more subdued readings of "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Cask of Amontillado" successfully convey the horror of the stories (doesn't hurt that "Cask," in particular, is simply the best in any way, shape, or form). The poems and other stories, while all undeniably excellent and important works, range from overwrought to grating, with many a rolled r and loud cackling directly into the microphone. Probably better to just read these in the end.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a review of the live stage reading of Poe’s more famous works, via audible.com

When it comes to Poe, many actors seem to feel the need to overact. After all, it doesn’t get much more overwrought than Poe’s dark, and at times funny, gothic prose. I will briefly review the best and worst on offer here:

The Pit & The Pendulum, a harrowing tale, is read by Stephen Lang to great effect. He captures the overwrought darkness of the piece with a haunted quality as he speeds through the narrative like a man trying to speak the words without thinking too hard on them lest their quality drive him mad. It’s terrific and wholly true to the work.

Sadly, the reading of the Raven is laughable. You can actually hear certain members of the audience titter as Harris Yulin does his best raven impression and croaks with overwrought sincerity “Neverrr moooooorrrre!!” This wild overacting attempts to bring the words to life. Instead it cheapens them. He’s not the only culprit—the Raven is part of a group reading where no one really gets it right. The group reading of The Bells fares better, but it’s still one of the weakest pieces of the 8 stories offered here. Everyone is trying too hard.

Overall this is a good introduction to Poe, but I suggest reading the Raven first before hearing it here. The reading of that particular piece really was dreadful.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edgar Allan Poe was such a fantastic writer!

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's probably a good thing that EAP's outlet was putting pen to paper.

[Earline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another attempt at listening to audiobooks.. how can you go wrong with short stories by Edgar Allan Poe?? The voice actors are pretty good in this collection (at times their readings can be cheesy, but there are also some really amazing moments). What stands out to me about this series is that the performances are recorded live in front of an audience. It feels more dramatic and has more character than some of the other audiobooks I've attempted to listen to in the past. Overall a great collection that has inspired me to revisit more of Poe's work.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selected Shorts is a great program of short stories read by great actors and personalities. This collection gathers several of Edgar Allan Poe's best known stories ("The Black Cat," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Pit and the Pendulum") and poems ("The Raven," "The Bells," "Annabel Lee"). In short, awesome.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully spooky stories from the vast collection of Edgar Allan Poe's tortured mind. Great way to usher in the Halloween season especially when read by the very talented voices of Rene Auberjonois, Terrance Mann, Fionnula Flanagan and Stephen Lang. Excellent experience all around!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Including The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, The Masque of the Red Death, The Cask of Amontillado, The Bells, The Pit and the Pendulum, Annabel Lee, and The Black Cat. Though I'd read them before, having them read to me was a fun experience. A good ending to a long saturday.

[Sharyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun. The different readers were all about the "dramatic" part of the readings. The Raven was the only one I could remember at all.

[Child · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got bored with a couple of the tales, but the performers are brilliant. I've really enjoyed it.

[Talal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Poe memes and puns but I can't read his work without wanting to stab the book with a knife cos of his antediluvian language and ridiculously slow pace.

[Mary Newcomb]

These creepy stories and poems were presented in dramatic fashion. This is a great way to explore some aspets of Poe's work.

[Vanessa Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best way to read Poe's poetry! Actors performing it! It was so good! Favorite read of October.