Tales, Mysteries, and Contrivances

Few authors have left a legacy as enduring and influential as Poe’s. The first to make his living as a professional writer, he not only composed some of the most famous and haunting short stories of all time, but single-handedly invented the genre of detective fiction and was one of the earliest authors to explore the bounds of science fiction. In the span of his short life, he produced a groundbreaking body of work that has defined the genres of horror and mystery for the last two hundred years. Acclaimed Harvard historian Jill Lepore guides us through the twists and turns of Poe’s life and works, and with incisive wit, brings her expertise to bear on a man famous for concocting riddles, mysteries… and outright lies. Together, we have assembled a collection of fourteen of Poe’s most iconic works, including his infamous tales, groundbreaking mysteries, and contemptuous contrivances. The entire edition is dramatically illustrated with bone-chilling original artwork by Brooklyn tattooist John Reardon, whose signature style presents a vivid and haunting representation of Poe’s sinister worlds.