William Wilson (Fantasy and Horror Classics)

by Edgar Allan Poe

Overview

This antiquarian volume contains Edgar Allen Poe’s 1839 short story, "William Wilson". Inspired by his time spent living in the suburbs of London, Poe’s uncanny story tells the tale of William Wilson and his doppelgänger. The two boys look and move similarly, and when one leaves school, the other does the same. The only difference between the two is their moral code, a disparity that eventually leads to a fatal incident in later life. Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was an American author, editor, poet, and critic. Most famous for his stories of mystery and horror, he was one of the first American short story writers, and is widely considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre. Many antiquarian books such as this are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781447499800
Publisher:	Fantasy and Horror Classics
Publication date:	10/19/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	30
File size:	913 KB

About the Author

Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was orphaned at the age of three and adopted by a wealthy Virginia family with whom he had a troubled relationship. He excelled in his studies of language and literature at school, and self-published his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, in 1827. In 1830, Poe embarked on a career as a writer and began contributing reviews and essays to popular periodicals. He also wrote sketches and short fiction, and in 1833 published his only completed novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. Over the next five years he established himself as a master of the short story form through the publication of "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and other well–known works. In 1841, he wrote "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," generally considered the first modern detective story. The publication of The Raven and Other Poems in 1845 brought him additional fame as a poet.