Edward Gorey

Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an American artist and writer of little illustrated stories and experimental plays. 

He was known for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for books by other writers. He designed sets and costumes for Edward Gorey’s Dracula in 1977. That play won two Tony Awards in 1978. One was for Best Costumes.

Gorey was born in Chicago, Illinois. From grade 9, he was a successful student at the Francis Parker School. He was drafted into the U. S. Army when he was 18. In 1946 he went to college at Harvard University. He was the roommate there of poet Frank O'Hara. They both worked in the Poets Theater in Cambridge. 

Gorey's first book was The Unstrung Harp in 1953. Different from comic books, it was an early kind of graphic novel. It used both words and pictures to tell the story.

From the 1950s on, Gorey was well-liked as an illustrator and designer of other people's books. Many people know his work by watching the animated opening for public telelvision's Mystery series.

In 2000 he died of a heart attack at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
Books
 The Unstrung Harp 1953
 The Listing Attic 1954
 The Doubtful Guest 1957
 The Object-Lesson 1958
 The Bug Book 1959
 The Fatal Lozenge: An Alphabet 1960
 The Curious Sofa: A Pornographic Tale by Ogdred Weary 1961
 The Hapless Child 1961
 The Willowdale Handcar: Or, the Return of the Black Doll 1962
 The Beastly Baby 1962
 The Vinegar Works: Three Volumes of Moral Instruction 1963
 The Gashlycrumb Tinies
 The Insect God
 The West Wing
 The Wuggly Ump1963
 The Nursery Frieze1964
 The Sinking Spell 1964
 The Remembered Visit: A Story Taken from Life 1965
 Three Books from Fantod Press (1) 1966
 The Evil Garden
 The Inanimate Tragedy
 The Pious Infant
 The Gilded Bat 1967
 The Utter Zoo 1967
 The Other Statue 1968
 The Blue Aspic 1968
 The Epiplectic Bicycle 1969
 The Iron Tonic: Or, A Winter Afternoon in Lonely Valley 1969
 Three Books from the Fantod Press (2) 1970
 The Chinese Obelisks: Fourth Alphabet
 Donald Has a Difficulty
 The Osbick Bird
 The Sopping Thursday 1970
 Three Books from the Fantod Press (3) 1971
 The Deranged Cousins
 The Eleventh Episode
 The Untitled Book
 The Awdrey-Gore Legacy 1972
 Leaves from a Mislaid Album 1972
 The Abandoned Sock 1972
 A Limerick 1973
 The Lavender Leotard 1973
 CatEgorY 1973.
 The Lost Lions 1973
 The Green Beads 1978
 The Glorious Nosebleed: Fifth Alphabet 1975
 The Grand Passion: A Novel 1976
 The Broken Spoke 1976
 The Loathsome Couple 1977
 Gorey Games 1979 
 Dancing Cats and Neglected Murderesses 1980
 The Water Flowers 1982
 The Dwindling Party 1982
 Gorey Cats 1982 
 The Prune People 1983
 Gorey Stories 1983
 The Tunnel Calamity 1984
 The Eclectic Abecedarium 1985
 The Prune People II 1985
 The Improvable Landscape 1986
 The Raging Tide: Or, The Black Doll's Imbroglio 1987
 Q. R. V. (later retitled The Universal Solvent) 1989
 The Stupid Joke 1990
 The Fraught Settee 1990
 The Doleful Domesticity; Another Novel 1991
 La Balade Troublante 1991
 The Retrieved Locket 1994
 The Unknown Vegetable 1995
 The Just Dessert: Thoughtful Alphabet XI 1997
 Deadly Blotter: Thoughtful Alphabet XVII 1997
 The Haunted Tea-Cosy: A Dispirited and Distasteful Diversion for Christmas 1998
 The Headless Bust: A Melancholy Meditation on the False Millennium 1999

Some of Gorey's books are very hard to find. These four books collect many of them. Because his books are very short, these collections may contain 15 or more in each volume.

 Amphigorey, 1972 () contains The Unstrung Harp, The Listing Attic, The Doubtful Guest, The Object-Lesson, The Bug Book, The Fatal Lozenge, The Hapless Child, The Curious Sofa, The Willowdale Handcar, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Insect God, The West Wing, The Wuggly Ump, The Sinking Spell, and The Remembered Visit
 Amphigorey Too, 1975 () contains The Beastly Baby, The Nursery Frieze, The Pious Infant, The Evil Garden, The Inanimate Tragedy, The Gilded Bat, The Iron Tonic, The Osbick Bird, The Chinese Obelisks (bis), The Deranged Cousins, The Eleventh Episode, [The Untitled Book], The Lavender Leotard, The Disrespectful Summons, The Abandoned Sock, The Lost Lions, Story for Sara [by Alphonse Allais], The Salt Herring [by Charles Cros], Leaves from a Mislaid Album, and A Limerick
 Amphigorey Also, 1983 () contains The Utter Zoo, The Blue Aspic, The Epiplectic Bicycle, The Sopping Thursday, The Grand Passion, Les Passementeries Horribles, The Eclectic Abecedarium, L'Heure bleue, The Broken Spoke, The Awdrey-Gore Legacy, The Glorious Nosebleed, The Loathsome Couple, The Green Beads, Les Urnes Utiles, The Stupid Joke, The Prune People, and The Tuning Fork
 Amphigorey Again, 2006 () contains The Galoshes of Remorse, Signs of Spring, Seasonal Confusion, Random Walk, Category, The Other Statue, 10 Impossible Objects (abridged), The Universal Solvent (abridged), Scenes de Ballet, Verse Advice, The Deadly Blotter, Creativity, The Retrieved Locket, The Water Flowers, The Haunted Tea-Cosy, Christmas Wrap-Up, The Headless Bust, The Just Dessert, The Admonitory Hippopotamus, Neglected Murderesses, Tragedies Topiares, The Raging Tide, The Unknown Vegetable, Another Random Walk, Serious Life: A Cruise, Figbash Acrobate, La Malle Saignante, and The Izzard Book

References

Category:1925 births
Category:2000 deaths
Category:Writers from Chicago
Category:Artists from Chicago
Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction