Edgar Allan Poe: Amazon.ca: Edgar Allan Poe: Books

Product Description

Today, Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his rather macabre Gothic writings, but during his lifetime, he was a respected literary critic who, on the side, wrote brilliant short stories and poetry, and developed the modern detective/mystery genre. Countless authors -- and mystery fans -- owe Poe a great debt for his contributions to American literature. Canterbury Classics is proud to present the stories and collected works of Edgar Allan Poe in this handsome, leather-bound volume. Fans will discover some of his most famous works, including "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Purloined Letter," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "The Pit and the Pendulum," as well as some of his notable poems, including "The Raven" and "Lenore." These masterpieces get the royal treatment, and are printed on high quality ivory paper with gilded edges.

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4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Quality control issues, Oct 20 2010

By

Igor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Edgar Allan Poe (Leather Bound)

I first came across this book in a local store. I liked the font and the layout, the manageable size and weight, and the dark blue faux-leather exterior. It even has a ribbon bookmark and gold edges (though the gold paint that was used has a funny smell and a glue-like consistency that seals the book shut, requiring you to break it as you open new pages). I could see no notable omissions in the selected texts; it's a reasonably complete collection of Poe's stories and poems. Unfortunately, the three copies they had at the bookstore had the corners missing from several pages (pieces large enough that the page numbers and some of the text were missing) due to incompetent cutting by the printer.

So I thought I'd try ordering a copy from Amazon.ca, knowing that I could always return it for an exchange if I got a defective one. Well, the first copy I got was perfect, except for one thing -- the pages were bound in the cover upside down! (In retrospect, I wish I had kept that copy instead of returning it for a new one, since it was kind of cool.) The copy I received in exchange wasn't quite as nice, the jutting inner corners of the cover having slightly dented the pages, but it was good enough and I kept it.

At $16, this book is a bargain, but be prepared to go through a couple of bad specimens before you get a good one, since they are printed in China with apparently no attempt at quality control by the American publisher, Canterbury Classics (which Amazon.ca incorrectly lists as Thunder Bay).

While the book looks great, it remains to be seen how well the paper and the binding hold up over time.

Another gripe is that the book comes with a bar code sticker affixed directly to the back cover. I haven't tried removing it yet for fear that it may leave behind a sticky residue that can't be cleaned off without damaging the book.

If you're looking for a nice hardback Poe collection that won't have these sorts of problems, for about $4 more you can get the Everyman's Library edition (printed in Germany; ISBN 0679417400), or for $24 you can get the Modern Library edition (printed in USA; ISBN 0679600078) which is identical inside to the Vintage Books paperback edition (ISBN 0394716787) except that it's printed on acid-free paper.

The highest-quality (and, at 1400 pages, the most complete) Poe collection is the one put out by The Library of America (ISBN 0940450186). While Amazon.ca no longer seems to carry it, if you shop around you should be able to find a copy new for not much more than what the Modern Library collection costs. Library of America hardcovers are considered archival quality and are printed in the USA.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Value, July 27 2010

By

S. Scofield - See all my reviews

This review is from: Edgar Allan Poe (Leather Bound)

You will not be disappointed with this book. It is leatherbound with gold embossed wording and design on the front cover, the pages are gilded and there is even a ribbon bookmark attached. It looks way more expensive than it actually is. Besides its aesthetic appeal, this book is a complete collection of Poe's stories and poems. All of his famous works appear here as well as some lesser known but equally enthralling tales. This is a wonderful book and I know I will definitely treasure for years to come. I am extremely happy with my purchase and would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in literature. It is a steal for this price.

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Amazon.com: 4.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Stories, Disappointing Book, Mar 9 2010

By J. Snyder - Published on Amazon.com

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This review is from: Edgar Allan Poe (Leather Bound)

As a word of warning to potential buyers, Canterbury Classics such as the Edgar Allan Poe book are not shrink wrapped by the manufacturer. Since they travel from China then to warehouses and finally to buyers, it is a good bet the gold edges will be scratched. The manufacturer also places labels on the leather covers. The entire stories and poems are included in the text but the print is so small and light it is not easy to read them. The quality is not high, but then you're only paying $13.48.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars You pay for what you get, Nov 22 2011

By Max - Published on Amazon.com

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This review is from: Edgar Allan Poe (Leather Bound)

I read the reviews before purchasing and though some folks weren't impressed, there were enough positive reviews to encourage me to purchase the book. It is nice looking, but unfortunately cheaply made. One of the corners was bent and dented in and I suspect if the book jacket material was of better quality it wouldn't have done that. Was recycled cardboard or something like that used? The "leather" is obviously not top grain and looks and feels pretty thin. But then the price was pretty low, so you get what you pay for. The print is a little light, so you will need good lighting to read the book. The worst thing - I wondered who in their right mind would slap an excessivly sticky adhesive backed bar code label on a leather book binding. It took me over half an hour of very carefully caressing the adhesive off with my fingernails with the assistance of goo gone and lots of paper towel and there still is a tell tale mark on the leather surface. So the book is not gift worthy, but looks fine sitting on my shelf.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Completely Poe, Feb 6 2010

By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Edgar Allan Poe (Leather Bound)

I've always had a liking for Edgar Allan Poe, with his tales of horror, mystery and suspense, done in the atmospheric prose of a master writer. Since I live close enough, I've even made some trips to his gravesite, a place that is always surrounded by a sense of sadness.

Poe was a tormented genius who died young, under mysterious circumstances, and at the time of his death he wasn't deservingly popular. Certainly his work was not cute romances for the masses -- he explored the darkness of the human heart, love, satire, and the earliest whodunnit stories. And "Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe" brings together all of his poetry and writings in one book.

Poe's fiction writings include short stories and novellas, which tend to be rather weird -- a treasure-hunt and a golden insect, a ship caught in a whirlpool, a hypnotized man talks about the universe, and stories of despair, madness, and occasionally beauty. There is also his trilogy of Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin stories, which were the first to feature a brilliant detective solving an impossible crime.

Most people know about "The Raven" (which even has the Baltimore Ravens named after it) but Poe actually wrote a lot of poetry, most of which readers never heard of. Sometimes dark, or whimsical, or even both. "By a route obscure and lonely/Haunted by ill angels only/Where an Eidolon, named NIGHT/On a black throne reigns upright..."

And, of course, the horror. This is what Poe is best known for, including such well-known stories as "The Fall Of The House Of Usher." But there are also lesser-known gems -- tales of a plague invading a party, being buried alive, a portrait that siphoned the life out of its subject, and a nightly visit to an Italian crypt leading to madness.

Don't read "Complete Stories and Poems" all at once. It's too intense. It's better to soak it in a little at a time, so that you can get a better feel for the different kinds of writing that Poe did, and how he excelled at pretty much everything he put down on paper. Most great writers can't boast of that much.

Poe's writing is what makes even his least story or poem come alive -- he brought a gothic, misty vibrancy to his stories, and could make his quiet dialogue seem utterly chilling (" "I have no name in the regions which I inhabit. I was mortal, but am fiend..."). It's not hard to see why he was an influence on authors such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle and Franz Kafka.

"Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe" is a must-have for anyone with an appreciation for great literature and beautiful, dark writing.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 8 reviews 4.5 out of 5 stars