Edward Gorey

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil assaulted by bears. C is for Clara who wasted away. D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh. Some people regard Gorey primarily as a writer who drew, or an artist who wrote and even a cartoonist. He has produced books set in a surreal late Victorian era of sudden death, and has had a long cult following. At first glace the books do look like they are meant to be for children but adults are the real audience here. Gorey insisted there was nothing morbid involved in his books. He said that he wrote about everyday life. He never strayed from his curious, careful and sinister nostalgia.

My favourite book is the The Gashlycrumb Tinies. It is simply illustrated and written. It consists a number of rhythms about small children who suffer various deaths. I found this book hilarious because it has a very witty with a drop-dead humour involved and should be taken light heartedly. Gorey's children have a proper Victorian look to them which makes their scenarios that much more bizarre. Looking at some of his works I will take away with me simplicity and space which he depicts in his drawings. I found the idea of the story amusing. His work does leave me with one question. Why do story books need to be for children? Rather than writing more about Edward Gorey, I feel it would be better to display and illustrate his work. This underlines the graphical impact and visualisation that his work captured.