| The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, Vol. IV of V, Fiction, Classics, Literary Collections Contributor(s): Poe, Edgar Allan (Author), Schweitzer, Darrell (Introduction by) |
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ISBN: 1592243517 ISBN-13: 9781592243518 Publisher: Wildside Press OUR PRICE: $14.36 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: September 2003 * Not available - Not in print at this time * |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Collections | Essays - Literary Collections | American - General |
| Dewey: 818.309 |
| Physical Information: 0.82" H x 6.2" W x 9.1" (1.10 lbs) 332 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This volume of THE WORKS OF EDGAR ALLEN POE contains examples of his frantic and (to 21st century readers at least) forced humor, but also such unusual items as "Mellonia Tauta," a satirical science-fiction story set in the year 2848 aboard an airship, and "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion," in which two spirits, in the afterlife, recall how the Earth was destroyed by a comet which drew all the nitrogen out of the atmosphere, leaving the remaining oxygen to start a world-consuming fire. An odd notion? Spiritual prologue aside, is this a predecessor of the "hard science" sort of science fiction which has flourished since the 1940s? "The Colloquy of Monas and Una" can be read as a sequel, a vision of a further future and of a new Earth which has emerged since the holocaust. There are classic supernatural stories present, too. "Metzengerstein" is a horror story of murder, supernatural revenge, and a prophetic curse. . . . The thing to remember about Poe is that he is a sufficiently important figure in the history of literature that it is worthwhile to read his entire output. No one really cares about the whole body of the work of, say, W.W. Jacobs, the author of "The Monkey's Paw": mostly humorous sea stories, some of them topical, of little interest today. But Poe is different. He is more than just the author of "The Raven" and "The Masque of the Red Death." That is why he fills five volumes. This volume includes "A Predicament," "The Angel of the Odd," "The Devil in the Belfry," "Metzengerstein," "Lionizing," and many others. |
Contributor Bio(s): Poe, Edgar Allan: - "Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849) was an American writer, editor and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and American literature as a whole and he was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story. Poe is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre and is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career." |