Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1923) – by Edgar Allan Poe, illustrated by Harry Clarke

This haunting 1923 NEW edition of Tales of Mystery and Imagination presents Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre masterpieces through the mesmerizing and nightmarish illustrations of Harry Clarke. Published by George G. Harrap & Co. in London. The book features Clarke’s intricate black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings, where sinewy figures, spectral landscapes, and gothic architecture coil together in hypnotic detail. His artwork for stories like The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Tell-Tale Heart amplifies Poe’s psychological horror, blending Art Nouveau flourishes with grotesque, almost hallucinatory intensity. The volume also includes eight stunning color plates and one black and white illustration for this new edition, where Clarke’s use of jewel tones—deep blues, blood reds, and eerie greens—lends a surreal, stained-glass luminosity to the tales.

A masterpiece of dark artistry, this Clarke-illustrated Poe is a must for lovers of gothic horror and bibliophiles alike—a tome where every page whispers with dread and beauty.

About the Illustrator
Harry Clarke (1889–1931) was an Irish artist and stained-glass designer whose illustrations became synonymous with the darker realms of fantasy. Influenced by Aubrey Beardsley and Symbolism, Clarke’s style fused meticulous detail with decadent horror, making him the perfect interpreter of Poe’s work. Though he died young, his legacy endures in this edition, considered one of the greatest illustrated books of the 20th century.

Recommended for Collectors

• Andersen’s Fairy Tales (1916) illustrated by Clarke – For his equally chilling take on fairy tales
• The Raven (1884) illustrated by Gustave Dore – A stark, earlier visual interpretation of Poe
• The Vinegar Works (1963) by Edward Gorey – For a modern heir to Clarke’s gothic whimsy

Other books illustrated by the great Harry Clarke are also available for perusal in our gallery: Faust, The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault, Selected Poems of Charles Swinburne, Andersen’s Fairy Tales, Year’s at the Spring.

Art Gallery: Harry Clarke – Edgar A. Poe’s Tales of Mystery & Imagination 1923