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The only novel completed by the master of the short-story form, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym relates the rollicking adventures of a boy from Nantucket as he boards a succession of ships and travels in the farthest regions of the southern hemisphere. On the way, he experiences the hardships and dangers of life at sea, surviving a violent storm, stowing away on a whaling ship and being reduced to the most extreme measures by hunger. The result is a yarn as thrilling as any of Poe''s horror stories.Alongside Pym''s exploits, this collection includes many celebrated tales, such as ''The Cask of Amontillado'', ''The Gold Bug'' and ''Hop-Frog'', as well as Poe''s second, unfinished novel, The Journal of Julius Rodman, all of which bear witness to the narrative genius of one of America''s greatest storytellers.>
About the author
Born in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) was brought up by the Allan merchant family after the death of his mother and being abandoned by his father. While studying at the University of Virginia he started self-publishing volumes of poetry, and after a stint in the military began writing essays and fiction for a living. He died of unknown causes - with rabies, cholera, alcoholism and tuberculosis among the hypotheses - in Baltimore.
