The Tell-Tale Heart

By Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe remains the unsurpassed master of works of mystery and madness in this outstanding collection of Poe's prose and poetry are sixteen of his finest tales, including "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "William Wilson," "The Black Cat," "The Cask of Amontillado," and "Eleonora". Here too is a major selection of what Poe characterized as the passion of his life, his poems - "The Raven," "Annabel Lee," Ulalume," "Lenore," "The Bells," and more, plus his glorious prose poem "Silence - A Fable" and only full-length novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 28, 2004
• ISBN: 9780553900729

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston in 1809. His parents, both touring actors, died before he was three. He was raised by John Allan, a prosperous Virginian merchant. Poe published his first volume of poetry while still a teenager. He worked as an editor for magazines in Philadelphia, Richmond and New York, and achieved respect as a literary critic. In 1836, he married his thirteen year-old cousin. It was only with the publication of The Raven and other Poems in 1845 that he achieved national fame as a writer. Poe died in mysterious circumstances in 1849.

Reviews for The Tell-Tale Heart

[christopher.kyle1706 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Did not like this book. Very boring, sorry for giving it such a bad rating!

[lorisbook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This story, more than any other, made me forever remember Poe. It's like a frenetic cadence of horrror. Still today when I hear someone mention reading it, I think about him being vexed by the old man. The first time I read this short story is the first time I ever saw the word "shriek" in a book. And the pointed and beguiling manner in which he spoke with the officers was alarming. In the end, he struggles with his own convictions, becomes obsessed with his guilt and turns himself in.

[la12hernandez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A small collection of stories and poems by Edgar Allen Poe.

[voxc_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Has an excellent twist, one of my favorite short stories.Still leaving me with questions, I continue to read it over and over.Poe is a great author, he psychologically scares you.

[rcw-5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another one of my favorite Poe poems, below only The Masque of the Red Death and The Pit and the Pendulum for me. Most definitely creepy, as befitting the master of horror.

[amydross · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Poe is a troublesome writer, usually overblown and sometimes downright silly, but I can't help feeling some affection for him even as I roll my eyes at some of his story-telling techniques. There is much to be admired in Poe's insistence on radically subjective perspectives, his commitment to delving into the extremes of human psychology. And there's something quite modern about the way he thrusts you right into the meat of a story, wasting no time on backstory or exposition.

[danconsiglio · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was my introduction to Edgar Allan Poe. I could not put it down when I was 10. "The Black Cat" and "The Pit and the Pendulum" messed me up for weeks. As I got older I started to enjoy his more complex mystery stories. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is unparalleled in its complexity. Poe really did perfect the art of the American short story. I know English teachers are paid to say things like that, but I'm not at work right now. This stuff is golden!

[benjamin.duffy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Artists all need a tragic muse. Hemingway had rum. Baudelaire had absinthe. Cobain had heroin. Hunter S. Thompson had all of the above, and then some. And Poe, if the accounts are to be believed, had rabies. After reading this, I believe them. Creepy stuff.

[tdmmm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is absolutely the best short horror story every written! Excellent for reading out loud. Poe excels in this story in setting the mood, building tension, and making the reader feel the beating of that tell tale heart.

[alera_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't like Poe. I never really have, not at length. That's not entirely true. I have an appreciation for his poetry. I love the way he uses words. It's just when he comes to telling a story...he both steals from himself, is overly wordy, and the endings are always a downer really. I must say...Poe is the first writer I've ever fallen asleep to. But allow me to again say...I appreciate Poe for what he represents. It's was a different style and not one I altogether dislike...it's just very much not one for me. His novel however might have been an easier read for me had I not already known so much about whaling ships that I discovered a few things not quite right in his tale. Though...let us find the positive. I loved The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Purloined Letter...the first of which was actually the one I fell asleep during...marvel at that. I loved the characters being carried over into another story...and something about the all knowing character appealed to me. If I weren't so tired I would find the quote about being able to retrace the end of a conversation back to its origins but sadly I am...so tired. Ah...now do I recommend Poe? Yes and No, I feel one should have experienced Poe in both forms. If you have not read a poem and a short story by Poe you should slap yourself and go do so now. As I am about to go reread the Raven...because um...I have a secret love for the rhythm. Which is not so secret now.

[heather19_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Although I don't usually like Poe's stories, I bought this book because of a few of his poems that I read and liked in school, and it ended up becoming a favorite of mine.

[bookslesstravelled · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A very good book, a dark and twisted story of the descent into madness for a killer.