Classic authors whose works fall into the public domain enjoy elongated lives via reissue after reissue, often under more than one publisher. Occasionally, someone gets the bright idea to do something a little more special than just slapping a new cover around the same old words. With MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA PRESENTS IN THE SHADOW OF THE MASTER: CLASSIC TALES BY EDGAR ALLAN POE, Michael Connelly is that person, and his subject is, of course, Poe.
With Poe’s 200th birthday on the horizon — Jan. 19, 2009, to be exact — Connelly has collected 16 of the horror/mystery maven’s best works, and asked 20 of his MWA friends to contribute new essays related to the selections. Depending upon your familarity with Poe, they’re likely to reignite your passion for him or grant you a new perspective.
None of the selections is surprising; anyone who’s read Poe could probably rattle off several titles at random and they’d all be here. But the point is why they’re here, and for that, today’s mystery writers do the talking with brief tributes. Some — T. Jefferson Parker and S.J. Rozan — talk about how their mothers got them into reading Poe, while others — Tess Gerritsen and Peter Robinson — were introduced to his macabre oeuvre via Roger Corman’s string of adaptations starring Vincent Price and Ray Milland. Nelson DeMille remembers catching a scary 3-D film version of “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” as a kid, and taking an ill-fated shortcut through a dark graveyard on his way home.
Lawrence Block amusingly explains how crediting “The Cask of Amontillado” to Robert Louis Stevenson cost him several Edgar Awards over the years, and Laurie King employs the same kind of mocking humor to expose Poe as a literary thief of the highest order: one who steals from her. Meanwhile, Joseph Wambaugh displays an uncharacteristic light touch with an all-verse piece related to “The Raven.”
Stephen King deconstructs why and how “The Tell-Tale Heart” is one of the two works of fiction that truly frightens him. P.J. Parrish remembers the one-eyed feline she adopted from a homeless man, and named it after the title puss of “The Black Cat,” and Laura Lippmann tells about the mysterious figure who shows up at Poe’s grave every year to leave three roses and half a bottle of cognac.
Connelly himself recalls the time he researched Poe heavily for the eventual novel THE POET, and scared the hell out of himself in a hotel room one night while re-reading “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Finally, Sue Grafton bravely admits she never liked Poe until she gave his only novel — THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM OF NANTUCKET — a try.
Others giving their two cents include Edward D. Hoch, Lisa Scottoline, Laura Lippmann and Sara Paretsky. One of SHADOW’s greatest contributors, however, is artist Harry Clarke, who died in 1931; his disturbing drawings that interpret Poe’s stories add an extra layer of gruesomeness to the proceedings.
Connelly writes that with this anthology, he’s calling it quits as an editor. That’s a shame, because between this, MURDER IN VEGAS and THE BLUE RELIGION, it’s something he does quite well. —Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• THE BRASS VERDICT by Michael Connelly
• CRIME BEAT: A DECADE OF COVERING COPS & KILLERS by Michael Connelly
• ECHO PARK by Michael Connelly
• MURDER IN VEGAS: NEW CRIME TALES OF GAMBLING AND DESPERATION edited by Michael Connelly
• MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA PRESENTS THE BLUE RELIGION: NEW STORIES ABOUT COPS, CRIMINALS, AND THE CHASE edited by Michael Connelly
• THE OVERLOOK by Michael Connelly
Related posts:
- Mystery Writers of America Presents The Blue Religion: New Stories About Cops, Criminals, and the Chase
- BOOKS 2 FILM >> The Edgar Allan Poe Collection: Volume 1 – Annabel Lee & Other Tales of Mystery and Imagination
- Mystery Writers of America Presents Death Do Us Part: New Stories about Love, Lust, and Murder
- Murder in Vegas: New Crime Tales of Gambling and Desperation
- Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allan Poe
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
i first got into Poe when a friend gave me a hit of LSD before school. by 3rd period English i was out of my mind and we listened to a really old recording of “The Cask of Amontillado,” complete with dripping water sound effects and creepy echos. maybe it’s time to upgrade Poe collections?
200 years already? Time slips the hands so easily. Particularly bony hands.
Irony loves writers of genius. Poe could hardly live off his earnings as a writer yet all his known works are likely to remain in the public domain for as long as human kind remains civilized.
What writer comes close to Poe’s phrasing and mood prowess while remaining true to storytelling (ie. actually having a plot)? None that I know of.
Rereading Poe as an adult is different from reading him for the first time as a teenager. Fortunately, he remains brilliant.