Who was Edward Gorey?
Edward Gorey (1925–2000) was an American writer and artist who made more than a hundred small, strange books. They look like Victorian or Edwardian picture books, drawn in fine black pen-and-ink, but the stories are full of vanishing children, unwelcome guests, sinister gardens and very polite doom.
His humour is dry and deadpan. Terrible things happen, and nobody makes a fuss. That mix of elegance and dread is why goths, illustrators and lovers of the macabre have collected him for decades.
Many of his original books were tiny print runs that are now hard to find. The Amphigorey collections gather them into four big volumes, which is why most readers start there.
What is the difference between the Amphigorey books?
Each Amphigorey volume collects a different set of Gorey's little books. None of them repeat each other, so they are not different editions of the same thing.
|
Volume |
First published |
Works collected |
Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amphigorey |
1972 |
15 |
The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Doubtful Guest, The Curious Sofa, The Unstrung Harp, The West Wing |
|
Amphigorey Too |
1975 |
20 |
The Beastly Baby, The Pious Infant, The Evil Garden, The Deranged Cousins, The Abandoned Sock |
|
Amphigorey Also |
1983 |
17 |
The Utter Zoo, The Epiplectic Bicycle, The Glorious Nosebleed, The Awdrey-Gore Legacy, The Loathsome Couple |
|
Amphigorey Again |
2006 |
28 |
The Haunted Tea-Cosy, The Galoshes of Remorse, Neglected Murderesses, The Izzard Book |
Amphigorey Again was published in 2006, after Gorey's death, and gathers many of his later and harder-to-find pieces.
Which Amphigorey book should I read first?
Read Amphigorey first. It has the stories most people already half-know, like the alphabet of unlucky children in The Gashlycrumb Tinies ("A is for Amy who fell down the stairs"), and it shows every side of Gorey: the gloom, the wordplay and the nonsense.
If you are reading them all, go in publishing order. Gorey's style grows stranger and more playful over time, and the order lets you watch that happen.
Which book has The Gashlycrumb Tinies?
The Gashlycrumb Tinies is in the first Amphigorey. It was also published on its own as a tiny standalone book, and that small edition is a popular gift.
Who was Ogdred Weary?
Ogdred Weary is Edward Gorey. The name is an anagram of his own, and he used it, along with many other scrambled pen names, as a private joke. The Curious Sofa was first published as "a pornographic work by Ogdred Weary." It is full of innuendo but entirely innocent on the page, which is exactly the joke.
Are Edward Gorey books for children?
They look like children's books, but most were written with adults in mind. The humour is dark and the endings are rarely happy. Older children with a taste for the spooky often love them, but read one first if you are buying for a young reader.
Where to find Edward Gorey books
Gorey titles that have passed through Out of the Inkwell include:
- Amphigorey and Amphigorey Too, the two classic collections
- The Curious Sofa, The Glorious Nosebleed and The Awdrey-Gore Legacy as standalone books
- The World of Edward Gorey and Floating Worlds: The Letters of Edward Gorey & Peter F. Neumeyer, for fans who want to know the man behind the drawings
- The Theatrical Adventures of Edward Gorey, his rare drawings and scripts for the stage
- Edward Gorey: The New Poster Book and Gorey Creatures, a book of postcards
Many of these are used or collectible copies, so stock changes often. Browse [link: Art & Illustration] to see what is on the shelf now, or visit [link: Gothic & Horror Fiction] for more elegant dread.
Looking for a particular Gorey title? Requests are always welcome. [link: Contact page]
Frequently asked questions
Where should I start with Edward Gorey? Start with Amphigorey (1972). It collects 15 of his best-known books, including The Gashlycrumb Tinies.
How many Amphigorey books are there? Four: Amphigorey (1972), Amphigorey Too (1975), Amphigorey Also (1983) and Amphigorey Again (2006).
Do the Amphigorey books repeat stories? No. Each volume collects a different group of Gorey's little books.
Is The Curious Sofa really by Edward Gorey? Yes. "Ogdred Weary" is an anagram of Edward Gorey.
Are Edward Gorey books suitable for kids? They look like picture books but are written mostly for adults, with dark, deadpan humour.