The Pit and the Pendulum: The Essential Poe

by Edgar Allan Poe, Peter Ackroyd (Introduction)

This selection of Poe's critical writings, short fiction and poetry demonstrates an intense interest in aesthetic issues and the astonishing power and imagination with which he probed the darkest corners of the human mind. The Fall of the House of Usher describes the final hours of a family tormented by tragedy and the legacy of the past. In The Tell Tale Heart, a murderer's insane delusions threaten to betray him, while stories such as The Pit and the Pendulum and The Cask of Amontillado explore extreme states of decadence, fear and hate.

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

254 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2009

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

[Ina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mad how influential Poe is. Fascinating to realise how his stories have influenced so many other famous works and popular culture in general. Didn’t even rate some of the stories that much but you gotta give him props - it’s Poe’s world and we’re all just living in it x

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

I loved the poetry but the short stories were kinda difficult to get through for me. Overall I was most impressed by the rhythm with which his writing flows!

[Taygus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed the few short stories I read by Poe. Although a few were also quite dull. The Balloon-Hoax to name one.

I really enjoyed the staring story, the pit and the pendulum. It's terrifying for all that nothing actually happens.
I loved the metaphorical imagery. Poe is definitely a fan a prose. His stories make excellent discussion material.
There are many metaphors for both Christianity and the aging process in Poes works.

I feel the poem "The Bells", should be read alongside"The Pit.." as it has a similar prose.

Poes poetry has amazing rhythm and you can feel the beat through his words.

I definitely want to own a copy of his works for frequent re-reading.

[Jovial · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Pit and the Pendulum: The Essential Poe" from Penguin Classics takes readers on a thrilling voyage into the macabre and mysterious mind of Edgar Allan Poe. This collection presents a curated selection of Poe's most iconic works, showcasing his mastery of the short story genre and his uncanny ability to evoke fear, suspense, and psychological depth.

One of the standout pieces in this compilation is "The Pit and the Pendulum." Set against the backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition, this short story immerses readers in the nightmarish ordeal of an unnamed narrator. Through rich and atmospheric prose, Poe crafts a tale of imprisonment, torture, and the human spirit's struggle against unspeakable horrors. The narrative's intensity and the narrator's vivid descriptions of his surroundings contribute to an atmosphere of unrelenting dread.

The collection itself is a testament to Penguin Classics' commitment to presenting classic literature in an accessible and insightful manner. The introduction and annotations offer valuable context, shedding light on Poe's life, the historical backdrop of his stories, and his impact on the literary world. This supplementary material enriches the reading experience, providing readers with a deeper understanding of Poe's influences and his lasting legacy.

The physicality of the paperback edition enhances the allure of the collection. The tactile feel of the pages and the classic Penguin Classics cover design add to the immersive experience of diving into Poe's dark and enigmatic narratives.

While "The Pit and the Pendulum" is undoubtedly a standout story, the collection as a whole showcases Poe's versatility and his ability to explore a range of themes, from horror and mystery to psychological turmoil. Readers looking for tales that delve into the darkest corners of the human psyche will find this collection to be a captivating and chilling read.

In conclusion, "The Pit and the Pendulum: The Essential Poe" pays homage to one of literature's most enigmatic and celebrated figures. This compilation offers a captivating glimpse into Poe's ability to tap into primal fears and create stories that continue to resonate with readers. If you're seeking a spine-tingling literary journey that leaves an indelible mark, this Penguin Classics edition is an essential addition to your bookshelf.

[sofie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”

Wow, this collection is such a rollercoaster. I spent the month pouring through all these poems and short stories, and I’ve learned so much. I loved getting to talk about these stories to others and connect them to other pieces of media I’ve been losing my mind over. Poe's writing is wonderfully strange and unique, and all of these stories are so interesting, but my favourite has to be The Pit and the Pendulum because it’s one of the only ones with a little glimpse of hope in it (what a beautiful thing!).

A lot of these works were very psychologically dark, unsettling, weird, and haunting (and yes, I may have read way too many of them at night which was so clever of me). It was so cool getting to see where goth evolved from. I just kept thinking in general while reading how incredible it is to see the way he’s inspired so many people after him and left such a profound mark on literature. His depiction of the human psyche before Freud had even come around is so fascinating. I mean he influenced what we now recognize as the sci-fi and murder mystery genres, how awesome is that?

Learning about his life made me wish he would’ve been more recognized during his time. I hope he knows people like me are still reading and admiring his work even now.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s that economic law of diminishing returns which applies to the arrangement of short stories written by Poe: most of my life he was known as the master of Gothic literature, and apart from “The Raven” I only knew of his work by reputation. Yet starting with that tense portrayal of grief and solitude, the subsequent poems, semi fictional accounts, detective stories and spooky narratives that are less and less thrilling, more and more disturbing as the pages fly by. It was as if Poe write his stories backwards from the chilling twist he wanted to achieve, gives the impersonal narrator some stretching-credulity motive to get to the twist, and writes a moralizing sermon rationalization at the start of each story to make it seem like twisty things like this happen all the time. Reading the book in reverse order, building up to the sublime poem, might have reenforced this backwards method of composition, as “The Man in the Crowd” presents a sickened society that each story that comes before it illustrates an aspect of the illness that pervaded the Enlightenment and gave rise to the Gothic censure of Nevernore.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 2009, 'The Pit and the Pendulum - The Essential Poe' is a short collection of some of Poe's best short stories and poetry. Enjoyable enough, but any readers of Poe will nothing that they have not read before, except perhaps some of the poetry. A great selection nevertheless.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

this man had serious issues. nice spooky stories tho 10/10

[Erin Sparks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hit and miss for me. Some very good stories and poems and others that I really didn't click with

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I knew the general tale and the iconic image of the narrator/protagonist strapped to a bed while watching a blade slowly descent towards him, this short classic tale offers far more.

The first page or so is a more metaphysical explanation of the narrator's mental state, as he probes his very existence and consciousness while awaiting his fate - a death sentence handed to him by a group of Inquisitors. Once the sentence begins, though, is when the terror for the readers commences. Poe's description of how the narrator attempts to discern just how his sadistic captors hope to kill him is an exercise is building tension. As the narrator narrowly escapes one form of cruel death, we wait to see what brutal method will next be employed.

As with his best stories, Poe accomplishes an amazing amount in very little space. He was dark and disturbed, no doubt, but these are the stories that were the prototypes for the modern horror tale. They still hold up extremely well, with only the flowery language to indicate that they were written almost 200 years ago.

[Katie Grainger · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all books of short stories there are ones you like and ones you don't like so much. I was aiming to read this round Halloween but I didn't quite manage to get there so ended up finishing it in November instead.

This anthology contains Poe's poems along with a number of short stories. I really loved The Raven, such a creep inducing poem. Some of the short stories were fantastic too, The Pit and the Pendulum was page turning suspenseful action. Poe is a master at what he does, an incredibly gifted writer who deserves his place in literary history!

[Sandra]

Liked some of the poems (I think the not so dark ones). Liked The Balloon-Hoax, A Descent into the Maelstrom, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, (especially) The Purloined Letter, The Black Cat, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart. The rest were meh - all description and little else - too little to sustain me.

Heavy reading - the short stories are good in small doses only. (That's why we have poetry.)

[Wilde Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains a collection of poems and short stories.

I found these stories hugely enjoyable / entertaining (even though each piece was short) and I can see why they say this author was the father of detective / horror stories.

My overall rating was 4.5 because I found a couple of the stories / poems a bit aimless.

[Áine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic from the master of terror himself. I first read this when I was at school and searched high and low to find it in book shops (not easy). Not easy to read either but incredible to delve in and out of.

[gabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So scary and intense. I love it!

[Eilidh Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pit and the pendulum was the best.

[vee · Rating 4 out of 5]

God, this was really intense. But also graphic, hopeful and politically allusive.