Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

By Dan Ariely

One of the most original American writers, Edgar Allan Poe shaped the development of both the detectvie story and the science-fiction story. Some of his poems—"The Raven," "The Bells," "Annabel Lee"—remain among the most popular in American literature. Poe's tales of the macabre still thrill readers of all ages. Here are familiar favorites like "The Purloined Letter," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," together with less-known masterpieces like "The Imp of the Perverse," "The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym," and "Ligeia," which is now recognized as one of the first science-fiction stories, a total of seventy-three tales in all, plus fifty-three poems and a generous sampling of Poe's essays, criticism and journalistic writings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9780307808530

Dan Ariely

New York Times bestselling author Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, with appointments at the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and the Department of Economics. He has also held a visiting professorship at MIT’s Media Lab. He has appeared on CNN and CNBC, and is a regular commentator on National Public Radio’s Marketplace. He lives in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife and two children.

Reviews for Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

[antao-3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

(Original Review, 1992-12-16)Can a reader in this and age fully appreciate Poe? Maybe the age of the reader is significant - I first encountered Poe over forty decades ago - in the sense that time on the planet, life lived, experiences felt and understood, are part of the maturing process essential to entering Poe's visions and dream-states. Some of the comments I’ve read elsewhere suggest a fidgety class of pre-adolescents who have lost - if ever they had - what might be called attention spans. Then again, maybe Poe is uniquely American and the Europeans cannot fully grasp him.And still again, here's another giveaway (from a comment):"I might also see if I can watch a film adaptation of a story" which implies the commenter in question has never seen any of the Poe adaptations or any of the many, many movies inspired, through the years, by his stories; in fact my jaw dropped when I read that deathless line with its implicit admission - "I might also see if I can watch a film adaptation of a story". Wow. Expecting "scares" and "thrills"... my god, does Poe ever deserve better readers than that? OK dear commenter, I suggest forgetting Poe and taking yourself off to see “The Conjuring”, which boasts some excellent jumps, jolts and scares, plus a lovely performance by Lili Taylor. I think you'll find what you're expecting.And by the way, Poe was also a sly satirist.I think writing about the social is important, but a good deal easier than writing about the self. Society is sick and twisted indeed, and always has been, likely always will be. Why? It is because we, as selves, are what make society, and we as selves are rather like blind moles, or more on point, the creature from Kafka's Burrow. Poe peers relentlessly at the self, his "I" is almost always the "eye" (most vividly perhaps in the “Tell-Tale Heart”), and it is looking right inside ourselves. Poe ferociously anticipates the world to come, the psychoanalytic, the alienated, and the murderous. His tales foreground the serial killers, drug addicts, pedophiles, neurotics and psychotics, and the like which have become the commonplaces of our modern artistic and social environment. It is people, selves that create, and maintain, society. We can all point out what is wrong with society, but it's much harder to find the wrongs in our beloved selves.Raskolnikov seems to me as much a petty, arrogant person with the utmost contempt for all things not himself, as a victim of society. Of course, it's a vicious circle, what we are specifically is engendered and perpetuated by specific societies. But in the end it is always the same. All that redemption in Dostoevsky seems rather naive. Going after Poe, is like going after Freud. Of course, individual human pathology is disagreeable, but it is there, and it is what we are. There is nothing we can do perhaps, but we are all responsible for what we all are.If Poe had had the idea tools of psychoanalysis, complexes, repression, displacement, and so on, all of which would become literary commonplaces in the 20th century, he might not have been taken to task for his style. T. S. Eliot was outraged that Poe said "my most IMMEMORIAL year" (in “Ulalume”), but Poe in that poem, and in stories like “Ligeia”, “Black Cat”, and “Tell-Tale Heart” was inventing memory repression and he didn't have the Freudian term 'repression' to call on.He is certainly not schlock compared to ANYONE.

[nu5bibliophile · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good collection of Poe's stories and poetry.

[moonspider-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I got this collection set today and I couldn't be more pleased. :D It's the leatherbound edition sold by Barnes & Nobles with a ribbon bookmark, which is always very handy. The text is very easy to read and seems to have every last one of his works. Though currently out of print, I was lucky enough to have the last in the store. The book itself is very sturdy and anyone who loves horror and/or literature should have it. The first thing I did on the way home? Read out the first three poems, Lenore, and The Raven on the way home. :)I honestly have no complaints.

[benuathanasia · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If you're a student of the American school system, you are probably familiar (to some extent) with Edgar Allan Poe. His more popular works are staples of the education system:"Anabel Lee""The Raven""The Bells""The Tell-Tale Heart""The Black Cat""The Cask of Amontillado""The Pit and the Pendulum""The Fall of the House of Usher""The Purloined Letter""The Gold Bug""Murders in the Rue Morgue"...I'm sure most English readers have read at least two of these at one point or another.Poe was, however, an extremely prolific author beyond these works. There is a very good reason that these are the literary fallbacks most teachers rely on. To be perfectly frank, most of his work was absolute crap (and this is coming from someone who has idolized him since I first heard "The Raven" at age five and had it memorized by third grade). I set out a month or so ago to read the collected works of Edgar Allan Poe and very quickly found myself out of love. I'm not sure if his humor no longer translates to modern audiences, but anything of his outside the mystery or horror genre, I could not stand. It was a painful reading experience I hope never to repeat. As far as my particular edition of the works (B&N), it stunk. Poe frequently wrote in Greek, French, Latin and other languages and no translations or footnotes were provided for anything beyond those provided by Poe himself (which means almost no translations of any kind). Let me tell you, it's difficult to Google translate Ancient Greek in the original Greek letters.

[amwsmith-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another #1 favorite ever, but this "review" is mainly a reminder that Russell has my copy of this.

[mldavis2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Much of Poe rates a 5-star. I read the complete works which included many early poems, a genre that Poe professed to love, and some secondary early works that lack the polish and sophistication of his masterpieces, hence the overall 4-star rating. I find Poe somewhat of a humorist with his occasional use of absurd character names and his tongue-in-cheek sophisticated language in many of his tales, including those usually associated with horror.I don't know if I would expect readers to plow through the entire 5-book set of complete works as I did, but as a truly American writer, poet and analyst, Poe has set some benchmarks that led to later writers such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and other forensic efforts. This set is well worth exploring for Poe's influence on later writers.

[jbd1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Classics from Poe, all worth reading.

[nmhale_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

At long, long last, I finished this collection. Whew. This is a compilation (as the tile says) of all of Poe's poetry and short stories. Plus, the editor threw in one novel, an essay, and an unfinished play. The book has 1,000 pages of Poe madness, and it took me almost a year to finish it, because I would read it off and on in between reading other books. When you read the completed works of an author, you generally are going to come across really great and really mediocre selections, maybe even some awful ones. Unless the author is exceptional. Unfortunately, Poe is not exceptional. He's good, and he has moments of genius, but having read this anthology I have come to the realization that this trait does not carry across to all of his stories. Some of them I really loved, and others were entertaining, but some were truly awful. He is at his best when he is being macabre or ridiculous; when he started to wax philosophical he lost me every time. The only aspect that kept those stories readable was how interesting it was to read a person's ideas about how spiritual and philosophical ideas will change, from long enough ago that we can now see how wrong he was. I especially liked his ideas that in the future all travel would be via hot air balloon. Well, he was right about air travel, at least. I don't want this review to be too negative - as I wrote, he has some real sparklers in the collection. His famous, most well-known, pieces also tend to be his best written, not surprisingly, but there were plenty of others I had never heard of before that rank up at the top. "The Gold Bug" was one example; it was like his other mystery stories, and I greatly enjoyed all of those. I also really liked his satirical short stores, like "Loss of Breath" or "The Business Man", which made me laugh out loud. I never thought about Poe as a humorous writer, but when you read these, you see that his pen could have a cutting edge wit as sharp as his macabre gloom and doom. Among his classic tales, I still love "The Fall of the House of Usher" and still think "The Pit and the Pendulum" is rather boring; "The Tell Tale Heart" is a masterly tale that nonetheless leaves me with a chill and a desire not to read it again. As for his poetry, not as much stands out there. "The Raven" can never be omitted, it is great, but much of the rest is just average. I liked his riddle poems, I think "The Bells" is a wonderful poem, and there were some other dreamy quiet ones I enjoyed like "Fairy Land", but for the most part they weren't that memorable.Then, at the end, the book contains "Eureka" and The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, an essay and a novel. Poe called Eureka his prose poem, but it was actually a long essay on the nature of the universe and the meaning of life and eternity, and it was deadly dull. I plodded through it because at that point I was so close to the end that it would have been a shame to stop. The novel, too, was a disappointment. I just don't understand asking the reader to commit so much time and reading to a fictional travel account, and then abruptly ending with no closure and the excuse that author suddenly died. Could Poe not think of a suitable ending? I felt cheated.In sum, the short stories were the best part of the book, the poetry was entertaining but not often wonderful, and you can easily skip the longer pieces at the end. Also, be prepared to experience a wide variety of quality between the stories, as well as a breadth of genre you might not expect from Poe's general reputation. Definitely worth it for the collected short stories, but I have to say, I am happy to be done.

[horatio10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having been given this book as a child, I appreciated the finely written horror - made all the more keen by the directness of the first person narrative. 'The Pit and the Pendulum', 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and 'Berenice' all cases in point. 'The Fall of the House of Usher' absolutely terrified me.As I was reading a lot of Conan Doyle at the time, I also couldn't help but notice the parallels between the protagonist in Poe's original detective stories (The Murders in the Rue Morgue, the Mystery of Marie Roget) and Sherlock Holmes. To have been the originator of the short story form as well as the detective story, Poe deserves much credit. To this day I'm struck by the intimacy of his stories, how as readers we're allowed into the world of Poe's personal fears and manias. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in studying the human condition.

[drled_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Review: Some of the poems and many of the stories are very good. The analyses of furniture is horrible!

[sirenremi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I got the edition Barnes&Noble had and I say, it is a neat leather bound book that offers a little ribbon bookmark. The edge of the pages are silver, which is also pretty neat. I do enjoy a good Edgar Allan Poe poem or story. I've been a fan for a while now! I thought the book was actually a pretty good read and worth the money I had paid for it. It might not have all of his works nor his greatest works, but it is still a book worth reading! I am very glad to have this on my shelf.

[terpsichoreus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not many people outside of literary study or detective fiction fandom realize that the character of Sherlock Holmes was inspired by Poe's Dupin. Dupin was the brilliant and insightful idle noble who occasionally aided the authorities in particularly difficult cases. However, unlike Holmes, Dupin took it up merely as a hobby, mimicking Holmes' brother Mycroft.I'm not fond of Poe's poetry. Emerson's leveling of 'Jingle Man' is appropriate. Poe puts sounds together, but usually says very little with them. It is unusual that his prose was so varied while his poetry tended to obsessive repetition. Poe presents an example of the turning point when poetry ceased to represent the most complex and dense literary form (as in Milton and Eliot) and became the most frivolous and unrefined (the beat poets), while prose moved contrarily from the light-hearted to the serious.When divorced from his single-minded prosody, Poe's mastery of the language elegantly serves the needs of mood, characterization, and action. This is not always the case: his Ligeia retains his poetic narrowness, but his detective stories have a gentleness and wit found nowhere else in his oeuvre.The three Dupin stories helped to inspire detective fiction, using suspense and convoluted mystery to tantalize and challenge the reader. He may not have been as influential or innovative as Wilkie Collins, but his contribution still stands.Any book of Poe's is worth purchasing simply for these three stories. They are studies in the careful use of language to develop mood, character, and drive--even in a sparse plot. They are not quite the equals of Ambrose Bierce's short fiction, but they are solid enough.

[level250geek · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

No self-respecting purveyor of dark things should be without this book.

[tuffsme · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This brilliant compilation of the works of one of histories most iconic literary artists is cynically captivating. His dark yet humorous tales and poems are thrilling and even relateable. I found myself sympethizing with most of his work. Very recommended.

[vyode_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

[ "he's too verbose for me." - grammie ]the humor ( yes, "humor" ) in his story's often goes unacknowledged. but once you start thinking in his speech there are roflmao moments.

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Views on a few of the stories within:Purloined LetterI read this because it is one of the books on the 1001 Books You Must Read List. It's clear why it's on there - a clear antecedent of Sherlock Holmes in almost every respect.

[suso711_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Edgar Allan Poe really inspired my love of reading and writing in middle school. If just words on a page can incite such horror and emotion - well, that was just amazing to me.

[ysar_6 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Genius. I read every word of this as a teen (my copy of the book is actually stolen from my dad's personal library) and have re-read it multiple times since then. From the stories to the poetry, Poe is the master of his art.

[rybeewoods · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Poe is intruiging. He reminds me of Hitchcock in many ways (it should be the other way around right?). Mostly the resemblence has to do with thier M. Night Shamalongadingdong style twists and suspence. I find that we are so acustomed to that type of reading these days that Poe comes across pretty routine. Too bad.

[valentipoetry · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the Green leather bound edition that has all the short stories, poems, etc. It has come in very useful for the kids for thier schoolwork.

[camarie_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Edgar Allen Poe was one of the most creative and captivating authors ever in existence. His stories envelope your imagination and cause you to face your fears. They are very eye-opening and heartily enjoyable. This is a wonderful collection of great classics.

[datrappert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This review was occasioned by re-reading, for the umpteenth time, "The Fall of the House of Usher". Like much of Poe, there are traces of sheer genius and elements, that if you care to look at them that way, are pretty bad writing. In this case, for instance, the narrator says on at least three occasions that words simply cannot describe something. And repeatedly Poe breaks one of the cardinal rules of writing, "Show, don't tell." Yet the overall oppressive atmosphere of the story is brilliant, as is the long opening sentence. I, as I suspect many others did, was fascinated with the stories and particularly the poems of Poe by the time I was 10 years old. There were Poe stories around my parents' house and of course there was the endless series of Roger Corman movies loosely based on Poe's works that one of our local channels showed almost every Friday night. Back them, however, this was one of the stories that interested me the least. The language was way overdone (and still is--even for Poe) and there is a scarcity of dialogue that certainly doesn't make for a quick read. As I've grown older, though, this is a story I have returned to periodically simply to get lost in the darkness. Poe's stories, even if they have physical aspects of horror as this one does, really take place in the heads of his characters. It isn't the horrible thing that matters--it is our impression of it. 160 years after his death, Poe is still feeding those parts of our minds that draw their strength from our innermost fears.

[jimmaclachlan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I didn't read this particular edition, but have several books by him, so this was easier to add here. He's not my favorite author, but I'm not much of a horror or poetry buff. I can't deny his influence & popularity nor his skill. Some of his ideas have been re-used as much as Shakespeare's. If you've never read him, you should, if only to know where a lot of knock-off plots are coming from.

[peptastic · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I did a school report on this highschool that required using a song from popculture. I recall I played the cure's "all cats are grey" and made up a flimsy reason to use it.

[greymowser · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ah, the Ambassador of creepy, he will always rule.

[wonderlandgrrl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the great masters of horror

[lostfrog_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Poe's overrated. But still good. I read this a while ago, I remember liking a story about a maelstrom, mainly because I just like that word.

[caerulius · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love Poe. He's brilliant.So you may wonder why I gave this 4 stars, instead of 5?It's the book's fault, really. There is an enormous number of stories, articles and poems in this volume, and yet there is no header to the pages, telling you which story you are passing, which is frustrating when you are trying to find something. The print is absolutely tiny, which is difficult. Granted, it is a very large book, so the print issue may have been unavoidable, but the heading thing is a far bigger issue than I would have anticipated.This review assumes that you are familiar with the chilling, marvelous beauty of Poe's writing, because you will note I am not critiquing the content. Poe is well-ensconced in the pantheon of writers. Hands-down.

[sumisbooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite authors of ALL TIME! Please, if you don't read his complete works, read just some. Though his subjects are rather macabre, his use of the English language is astounding! His word usage and sentence structure is matched by no other before or after. Pure genius. ❤❤❤

[headinherbooks_27 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good collection of Poe's stories and poetry.