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'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 Ump*1963
* *The Nursery Frieze*1964
* *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