Mystery Writers of America presents In the shadow of the master : classic tales

Format:

Book

Title:

Mystery Writers of America presents In the shadow of the master : classic tales

Other title(s):

In the shadow of the master

Author:

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849.

ISBN:

9780061690396

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

xx, 389 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Contents:

A descent into the maelstrom -- On Edgar Allan Poe / T. Jefferson Parker -- The cask of Amontillado -- Under the covers with Fortunato and Montresor / Jan Burke -- The curse of Amontillado / Lawrence Block -- The black cat -- Pluto's heritage / P.J. Parrish -- William Wilson -- Identity crisis / Lisa Scottoline -- Manuscript found in a bottle -- In a strange city: Baltimore and the Poe toaster / Laura Lippman -- The fall of the house of Usher -- Once upon a midnight dreary / Michael Connelly -- The facts in the case of M. Valdemar -- The thief / Laurie R. King -- Ligeia -- Poe and me at the movies / Tess Gerritsen -- The tell-tale heart -- The genius of "The tell-tale heart" / Stephen King -- The first time / Steve Hamilton -- The pit and the pendulum -- The pit, the pendulum, and perfection / Edward D. Hoch -- The pit and the pendulum at the Palace / Peter Robinson -- The masque of the red death -- Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, and me / S.J. Rozan -- The murders in the Rue Morgue -- The quick and the undead / Nelson DeMille -- The gold-bug -- Imagining Edgar Allan Poe / Sara Paretsky -- The raven -- Rantin' and ravin' / Joseph Wambaugh -- A little thought on Poe / Thomas H. Cook -- The bells -- Poe in G minor / Jeffrey Deaver -- Excerpt from The narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket -- How I became an Edgar Allan Poe convert / Sue Grafton.

Summary:

Collected here to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth are sixteen of his best tales accompanied by twenty essays from beloved authors, including T. Jefferson Parker, Lawrence Block, Sara Paretsky, and Joseph Wambaugh, among others, on how Poe has changed their life and work.

Personal Subject:

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849.

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849

Subject(s):

Horror tales, American.

Genre:

Added Author:

Connelly, Michael, 1956-

Clarke, Harry,

Added Corporate Author:

Mystery Writers of America.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Silver Falls Library	MYS POE	Searching... Unknown
Searching... McMinnville Public Library	Stories Mystery	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

"A wonderful treat for the Poe connoisseur, or a perfect introduction to his works."

--Charlotte Observer

In the Shadow of the Master is an exceptional collection of classic stories from the lord of literary darkness himself--the inimitable Edgar Allan Poe--accompanied by enthralling essays from twenty of his bestselling acolytes and admirers. With appreciations by Michael Connelly, Stephen King, Lisa Scottoline, Tess Gerritsen, Laura Lippman, Nelson DeMille, Lawrence Block, and thirteen others, In the Shadow of the Master is a must-have for thriller and mystery fans of all ages.

Author Notes

Michael Connelly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 21, 1956. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1980 where he majored in journalism and minored in creative writing. After graduation, he worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, specializing in the crime beat. In 1986, he interviewed survivors of a plane crash with two other reporters and the magazine story subsequently written on the crash was on the short list for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. This story led to a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times. After three years there, he began writing his first novel.

His first novel, The Black Echo, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for best first novel. He is the author of the Harry Bosch series, the Jack McEvoy series, and the Mickey Haller series. He has won numerous awards including the Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), .38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho Award (Spain).

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

The Mystery Writers of America presents a collection of Poe tales with afterwords by 20 distinguished writers who honor Poe's powerful influence on the modern crime story. Stephen King, reflecting on "The Tell-tale Heart," credits Poe with writing "the first tale of criminal sociopathy." Lisa Scottoline, in her perceptive appreciation of "William Wilson," cites a score of contemporary works that silently acknowledge its influence in their exploration of "the spookiness that comes from the fragmenting or doubling of the self, and the splintering of identity." P.J. Parrish, writing reverently on "The Black Cat," praises it as, among other things, "an early example of genre-crossing" in its splice of horror and detection. Contributions from Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky, Tess Gerritsen and others-many of them Edgar winners-vary in their appreciation from the deeply personal to the respectfully analytical, and from the lightly humorous to the deadly earnest. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* What mystery novelist worth his or her advance isn't indebted to the dark-souled inventor of the detective-fiction genre? And what reader hasn't left the lights lingering a little longer after indulging in one of his tales? This compulsively readable collection, commemorating the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's birth, unites some of Poe's best short works (including The Black Cat, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher) with commentary by a slew of Edgar Award winners and nominees. Here readers find T. Jefferson Parker reflecting on the awe he experienced, as a 12-year-old boy, upon reading the unforgettable opening lines of The Cask of Amontillado. And Nelson DeMille as a teenager, quivering in his boots as he cuts through a cemetery after seeing the 3-D movie based on The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Novelist Lisa Scottoline, who didn't buckle down and read Poe until adulthood, writes about Poe's spooky representations of the splintered self that inspired her own prose. Editor Connelly recounts a memorable, albeit terrifying, night in a hotel room spent under the author's spell. Opining on The Tell-Tale Heart, Stephen King doesn't miss a beat.: Poe foresaw the darkness of generations far beyond his own, he writes. Ours, for instance.--Block, Allison Copyright 2008 Booklist

Library Journal Review

The bicentennial of the birth of the father of modern mystery-on January 19, 2009-is bound to be observed by writers of the genre. The Mystery Writers of America (whose award of excellence is the Edgar) presents these two publications simultaneously, with identical introductory articles about the author and the organization. In the Shadow of the Master features 13 of Poe's best-known tales, poems "The Raven" and "The Bells," and an excerpt from his sole novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, followed by essays about these works from contemporary mystery authors. Most speak either generally in appreciation of the master of horror or about the effects of his work on them personally. P.J. Parrish details what writers can learn from Poe, S.J. Rozan praises his language, and King observes that Poe "foresaw the darkness of generations far beyond his own." Varied in length and quality, these afterwords serve to add a dimension to Poe's work. While libraries may own ample Poe collections intended largely for students, this volume would be useful to refresh current holdings. The 20 new tales in honor of Poe in On a Raven's Wing act as riffs on the original works. Some echo the themes of Poe's tales (e.g., Mary Higgins Clark's "The Tell-Tale Purr" and P.J. Parrish's updated "The Tell-Tale Pacemaker"), while others focus on the horror of confinement (e.g., Brendan DuBois's "The Cask of Castle Ireland"). There are also stories involving scams centering on Poe's work or artifacts; in others, Poe's work helps to unite characters (e.g., Thomas H. Cook's "Nevermore" and Don Winslow's "Poe, Jo, and I"). Among the most frightening tales are James W. Hall's "Bells" and Stuart M. Kaminsky's "Rattle, Rattle, Rattle"; both ratchet up an atmosphere of suspense and madness in the manner of the master. Full appreciation of these tales requires a familiarity with Poe, but the collection is entertaining on its own.-Michele Leber, Arlington, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.