Tales of Mystery And Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe is a collection of short stories and novellas, some of these such as The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Purloined Letter and The Fall of the House of Usher were familiar to me, but there were plenty more that were new to me.

Although I didn’t love the story, I was glad to finally read “The Pit and the Pendulum” as it is a story that I heard about for years. Poe is an expert at writing short stories that feature both obsessive and abnormal behaviour as stories like “Ligeia” and “The Oblong Box” illustrate. He also is a master at portraying horror as in “The Black Cat” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. All of the stories gathered in this book have been published in other volumes but this is a comprehensive collection of this work.

This anthology has a total of 22 stories and these lurid tales of the macabre, although written in the 1800’s, are still dark and disturbing today. ( )

Since I'm not a fan of Poe's writing I shall restrict my review of this book to the illustrations - they are the only reason that I picked up this book in the first place.

Rackham is known for his whimsical fairytale illustrations, but he applies his signature silhouettes and linework well to Poe's tales of horror. His mastery of chiaroscuro is evident in the full-page illustration of "the Assignation," which depicts two men in a boat on a Venetian canal. It is clear that the scene occurs at night, but Rackham is able to illuminate the scene with his characteristic balance of black and white. I found the colour panels to be less satisfying, in fact, because the sedate pastel tones (also a Rackham trademark) dampen the intensity of the characters and wash out the compositions. Overall a good showcase of Rackham's work of a more adult subject. ( )

Harry Clarke's vivid and disturbing illustrations, reminiscent of the work of Aubrey Beardsley, bring hideous life to Poe's stories, and I find myself returning to both the stories and the illustrations again and again.

My parents had a copy of the original version of this book, published by Tudor Publishing Co. Calla Editions has done a truly excellent job with this reproduction, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

If you have any interest in either Poe's fiction, or weird art, this book will give you a lifetime of enjoyment--and if you're lucky, a nightmare or two! ( )

I feel like these stories vary significantly in quality, some are brilliant stories that make it clear why Poe is still so popular. Others I just had no idea what I was reading or why. So read Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Tell-tale Heart, but maybe skip The Colloquy of Monos and Una and Silence. Although seen as a gothic or horror writer there are other genres such as detective stories in here, they are very wide-ranging, just not all good. ( )

Poe stories, having been countlessly reworked into contemporary pop culture, might no longer surprise or shock modern audiences. For the uninitiated, however, these remain timeless psychological thrillers with a lush gothic style that is simultaneously captivating and chilling, deserving of a read if only for its historical literary importance. ( )