Bøker av Edward Gorey

Drawings show an alphabet of young victims and how they died.

An illustrated collection of 15 macabre short stories. In this gorgeously detailed volume, American artist and author Edward Gorey accents amphigory (nonsense verse or composition) with his signature cross-hatched pen-and-ink drawings. A mix of poetry and prose, light-hearted and decidedly more morbid storytelling, the book is sure to satisfy both fans of art and lovers of short stories alike. Stories included: "The Unstrung Harp" "The Listing Attic" "The Doubtful Guest" "The Object Lesson" "The Bug Book" "The Fatal Lozenge" "The Hapless Child" "The Curious Sofa" "The Willowdale Handcar" "The Gashlycrumb Tinies" "The Insect God" "The West Wing" "The Wuggly Ump" "The Sinking Spell" "The Remembered Visit"

Anyone for a sly peek into "The Other Book"? A sidelong glance at "A Fearful Holiday" or "A Week-End at Sepulchre"? Edward Gorey fans might have clamored for these and others of the unpublished titles included in this calendar gallery of cover art. Unearthed from the Gorey archive, 11 of these works didn't reach fruition but are nonetheless suggestive of the "what ifs" and "what the whats" that brought this artist and author international acclaim. And in answer to your question, The Fatal Lozenge is the one published book of this batch by Gorey. Here's to a year full of delightfully odd humor (and maybe a wayward cat?) from the master of crosshatched inscrutability.

"Gashlycrumb Tinies" is available in hardback gift edition.

This sorry tale of petite Charlotte Sophia's catastrophic, short life is classic Gorey. The poor child is orphaned and treated mercilessly by schoolmates and ruffians alike, and only barely survives--for a time, anyway--by the skin of her baby teeth. Even her doll suffers a grusome end. The little girl's journeiy is perfect fodder for Edward Gorey's brilliant penwork, so detailed and perfectly wrought that it's hard to believe he could master these images at such a small size (the illustrations reproduced in the book ar the same size as his original drawings). The Hapless Child is widely regarded as one of Gorey's best books; happily it is now back in print after an absence of many years, so that we can all enjoy weeping for CHarlotte Sophia again...and again, and again.

Advice from a crosshatched, glue-pot-toting gent of questionable intent? Yes, please, if the creator of said fellow is Edward Gorey! Gorey's characters regularly find themselves in odd, even disastrous, circumstances. They've seen their fair share of mishaps and are wiser as a result (if they haven't met their unfortunate ends, of course). Now, they're passing along their advice in this calendar's assortment of images from Gorey's Verse Advice. Weaving tales as unsettling as they are hilarious, Gorey paired ominous humor with vaguely Victorian style, whether he was designing stage sets and costumes or writing plays and books. Occasionally, though, he expressed a fondness for the little things in life. In 1993, the New Yorker first ran Gorey's Verse Advice, a series of 12 images printed in a four-page spread. From home improvement to social interaction, the advice in these illustrations is quite quotidian.

Our story opens with a cat stuck in a tree, an ordinary-enough occurrence. Fletcher the cat, having run up the tree in a moment of thoughtless abandon, cannot get back down. Then strange things begin to happen: Fletcher finds in his tree a steamer trunk full of hats, and among the hats a papier-mâché egg that opens to reveal Zenobia, a worldly talking doll who was locked in the egg by an unfeeling child named Mabel. To cheer each other up, Fletcher and Zenobia decide to throw a party, complete with cake, peach ice cream, and punch from a silver punch bowl. The hats come in handy, and a moth, drawn to the festivities, soon becomes the vehicle of an unexpected escape plan. A story of metamorphosis and friendship, like The Owl and the Pussycat crossed with Alice in Wonderland, Fletcher and Zenobia is a wildly imaginative tale of wish fulfillment and freedom. At once silly and zany, it is not without a certain delicacy of feeling that older children, and adults, will also appreciate.

Emblus Fingby's life was changed forever with the unexpected arrival of the osbick bird. The two became inseparable companions, enjoying card games, musical interludes, and sunset strolls. They took tea together, passed the time making arts and crafts, and perhaps only occasionally had disagreements. Their curious relationship came to an end only with the utmost display of loyalty. In The Osbick Bird, Edward Gorey neatly examines the uncertainties of life with his signature unsettling humor and deftly drawn illustrations. Find meaning where you will among the twinkling rhymes and crosshatched lines: Is this tender tale a primer on friendship, or possibly an examination of an artist and his muse? Though short in length, the story is sure to linger long in your imagination.

A happy, naive family enters the Evil Garden (free admission!) to spend a sunny afternoon in its inviting landscape, lush with exotic trees and flowers. They soon realize their mistake, as harrowing sounds and evidence of foul play emerge. When humongous hairy bugs, famished carnivorous plants, ferocious fruit-guarding bears, and a sinister strangling snake take charge, the family's ominous feelings turn to full-on panic but where's the exit?Edward Gorey leads us through this nefarious garden with a light step. His unmistakable drawings paired with engaging couplets produce giggles, not gasps. Perhaps "The Evil Garden" is a morality tale; perhaps it's simply an enigmatic entertainment. Whatever the interpretation, it's a prime example of the iconic storytelling genius that is Edward Gorey.

Twenty-six curious creaturesfrom the fastidious Ampoo to the world's one and only Zotefill the pages of The Utter Zoo, an alphabet from the untamed imagination of Edward Gorey. The Boggerslosh, the Crunk, and the Dawbis; the Ippagoggy, the Jelbislup, and the Kwongdzu; the Scrug, the Twibbit, and the Ulpeach strange and wonderful zoomate displays its own primary characteristic, described in Gorey's inimitable, droll, rhyming couplets. A writer and artist with an instantly recognizable style, Gorey (American, 19252000) created over one hundred works and was also a playwright, an award-winning set and costume designer, and the creator of the animated introduction to the PBS series Mystery! First published in 1967, The Utter Zoo is a favorite of Gorey fans, young and old alikeno matter how well they know their ABCs.

This follow-up to the darkly humorous Amphigorey is wittier, more macabre, and more wondrous than ever. Master illustrator and iconic gothic storyteller Edward Gorey gives his fans 20 more nonsensically and mind-bending tales that draw fans and unsuspecting newcomers into a world only he can create. Gorey's pen-and-ink drawings spur the imagination and satisfy fans of art and the good storytelling. Some of the 20 stories in this collection include: "The Beastly Baby""The Pious Infant" "The Evil Garden" "The Inanimate Tragedy""The Osbick Bird""The Deranged Cousins" "The Abandoned Sock""Story for Sara""A Limerick"