Edgar Allen Poe, 1809-1849, is one of the great figures of American literature; though he worked as a jobbing writer and gained a reputation as a literary critic during his own lifetime, Poe is best remembered now for his mysterious and macabre stories. ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’, which is often considered the first modern detective story, and his most enduring poem ‘The Raven’ both appear in this collection. There are eight short stories and eleven poems in this volume including ‘The Premature Burial’, ‘The Purloined Letter’, ‘Startling Effects of Mesmerism on a Dying Man’, ‘Lenore’, ‘The Haunted Palace’, and ‘The Gold-Beetle’ (published as ‘The Gold-Bug’ in America), one of Poe’s most successful works during his lifetime’.