Little Masterpieces

Written by Dan Ariely

Narrated by Russell Stamets

 In selecting the tales that form this volume, the foremost place has been allotted to two romances of Death, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “ Ligeia.” The latter was considered by Poe himself the finest of all his tales, and in a well-known letter to Lowell he places close beside it ‘The Fall of the House of Usher.” In both his singular genius finds full expression. They are followed by two old-world romances, laid in Rome and Venice, rich in color and subtly varied atmosphere, and vibrating with passion. Of the tales whose theme is the guilty conscience, Poe thought “ William Wilson ”’ and ‘The Black Cat” the best. The briefer one is given here. The “ MS. Found in a Bottle’ is the earliest and in some respects the most purely imaginative of his pseudoscientific stories. The tales of ratiocination— to use Poe’s phrase for what would now be termed detective stories—are represented by:“The Gold-Bug,” a tale less poignant than “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and perhaps less flawless in its art than ‘‘ The Purloined Letter,’ yet one of the most celebrated short stories ever written.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Corner Office Books
• Release date: Sep 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798868697333

Dan Ariely

Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University. He is a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight; a cocreator of the film documentary (Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies; and a three-time New York Times bestselling author. His books include Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, Irrationally Yours, Payoff, Dollars and Sense, and Amazing Decisions. His TED Talks have been viewed more than 27 million times. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and elsewhere. He lives in North Carolina with his family.