Poe's preference for not naming his narrators is potent once again in "The Tell-Tale Heart", a story that is trying so hard to appear sane, but fails miserably in the end. With minute preparations, perfect calculations, and even more precise execution of the conceived gruesome act, the narrator successfully fulfils his purpose, only to be lost in a battle with his sanity and guilt afterwards. Backed by the numerous movie and theatrical adaptations,...

The story opens with the narrator recounting a summer sea voyage from aboard the ship 'Independence'. The narrator learns that his old college friend Cornelius Wyatt is aboard with his wife and two sisters, though he has reserved three state-rooms. After conjecturing the extra room was for a servant or extra baggage, he learns his friend has brought on board an oblong pine box: "It was about six feet in length by two and a half in breadth." The narrator...

Winesburg, Ohio is a 1919 short story cycle by the American author Sherwood Anderson. The work is structured around the life of protagonist George Willard, from the time he was a child to his growing independence and ultimate abandonment of Winesburg as a young man. It is set in the fictional town of Winesburg, Ohio (not to be confused with the actual Winesburg), which is based loosely on the author's childhood memories of Clyde, Ohio. Mostly written...

While 'Moby Dick' is Herman Melville's best known book, 'Billy Budd, Sailor' is considered by many to be his greatest work. Billy, a foundling from Bristol, has an innocence, good looks and a natural charisma that make him popular with the crew. His only physical defect is a stutter which grows worse when under intense emotion. He arouses the antagonism of the ship's master-at-arms, John Claggart. Claggart, while not unattractive, seems somehow defective...

After slipping on a lemon peel and breaking his leg, Flemming has been ordered to remain at his New York City home for three to four weeks, confined to a couch. A robust, normally active young man of twenty-four, he finds his confinement at best tedious, at worst intolerable, and becomes extremely moody. When his sister Fanny comes home from the family's summer resort to care for him, he drives her away in tears. Flemming's servant Watkins then bears...

Inspired by the developments in cryptography and the gradually emerging detective fiction, "The Gold-Bug" surely got mixed critical reception from the public. Hailed as both "ingenious" and "trashy", the story's influence cannot be neglected, and surely Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" can vouch for that. What is more, the use of cipher in the story brought to the fore the interest in puzzles and hidden objects that would later be developed...

In Von Kempelen and His Discovery, Edgar Allan Poe crafts a tantalizing tale of scientific ambition and dark mystery. Set in the 19th century, the story revolves around the brilliant yet enigmatic inventor, Von Kempelen, and his revolutionary creation-a machine that promises to alter the course of human understanding. As secrets unravel and the boundaries between reality and the supernatural blur, Poe's masterful storytelling explores themes of obsession,...

The first-person unnamed narrator describes his struggle with "attacks of the singular disorder which physicians have agreed to term "catalepsy", a condition where he randomly falls into a death-like trance. This leads to his fear of being buried alive. He emphasises his fear by mentioning several people who have been buried alive. In the first case, the tragic accident was only discovered much later, when the victim's crypt was reopened. In others,...

"Laddie: A True Blue Story" is somewhat autobiographical, pulling places, characters, and experiences from her youth in Indiana at Limberlost. Porter's styles were wide ranging, from naturalist tales to romance stories. Her talents in photography would lead her to become one of the first women to establish a movie studio and production company. Laddie: A True Blue Story is a fascinating account of a young woman growing up in a rich Indiana environment,...

Step into the hilariously absurd world of "The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq."-a satirical masterpiece by Edgar Allan Poe. This delightful tale introduces us to Thingum Bob, a comically pretentious author whose literary aspirations are matched only by his misguided beliefs about fame, success, and the nature of true artistry. As Bob navigates the tumultuous waters of the literary elite, he encounters a colorful cast of characters, each more eccentric...