The Masque of the Red Death

By Edgar Allan Poe

Book Overview

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Formatted for e-reader Illustrated About The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe "The Masque of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1984173693
• ISBN13: 9781984173690
• Release Date: January 2018
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 28 Pages
• Weight: 0.11 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

At 33, this "kid's" book is still one of my faves!

When I was in the third grade this book came out in the Troll Book Order Club. (Now a part of Scholastic, if I'm not mistaken) I think it was all of $1.97. It quickly became one of my favorites. The years went by, I buried it in a multitude of other children's books that I outgrew and proceded to forget about. When I graduated college with my Elem. Ed. degree, I reclaimed all of my books from home and put them in my "professional" library. :) Ten years later, I've never read this to a group of kids without them sitting on the edge of their seats. Waiting... Wondering what the prince will find... It's always the most popular book in my classroom library. I need to replace my original, actually, because it was loved so much it disappeared. ;)

Red-masked Death

"The "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous." Edgar Allen Poe had a talent for the macabre and gothic, all wrapped up in beautiful prose. But more beautiful -- and macabre -- than most is "Masque of the Red Death," a short story crammed with symbolism, beauty, and the horror of a disease that no gates can keep outside. A horrible plague called the Red Death (due to the bleeding from pores) is sweeping a country, killing half of the country's inhabitants in a brief time. Prince Prospero, thinking that the "external world could take care of itself," seals himself and a thousand of his closest friends inside a secluded abbey and prepares a lavish, luxurious party. Five or six months pass, and still the prince and his pals enjoy the wild, strange parties he throws. But as a clock strikes midnight, a strange figure appears -- a blood-soaked mummer disguised as the Red Death. The enraged prince orders for him to be seized and unmashed... but the figure's true identity is more horrific than anyone can handle. It's a simple story, and when Prince Prospero orders the doors to be sealed so they can't possibly catch the Red Death, you just know exactly what is going to happen. It's Poe's presentation that really makes the story come alive -- his lack of drama, and his sensually creepy prose. And he takes time out of the plot to paint a beautiful, bizarre setting -- gilded, jagged, vividly colourful, with stained windows and flaming braziers, but no lights. Poe's writing is at its most exquisitely poetic here ("But the echoes of the chime die away... and a light, half-subdued laughter floats after them as they depart"), and he builds up a sense of foreboding that lingers through the story. Prince Prospero is one of those people who is always around -- because of his birth and money, he thinks he's immune. Big sense of entitlement, and he's pretty hedonistic. Yet the only compelling character in the entire story is the Red Death itself, a creepy figure who never speaks a word and who simply glides through the abbey. "The Masque of the Red Death" is one of Poe's most unique, poetic stories, ditching your average chills in favour of a more aesthetically-pleasing kind of horror. A gothic treat.

Fun and hair-raising!

Edgar Allen Poe (1809-49) is one of the most famous of American authors of mysterious and macabre stories, certainly the most famous 19th century one. The Masque of the Red Death was first published in 1842, and is rightly considered one of the greatest works of Gothic horror ever penned. When the story begins, a strange and deadly plague is stalking the land. When the disease is contracted, the victim is dead within a half hour, bleeding from every pore, giving the ghastly disease its name, the "Red Death." The strange and demented Prince Prospero decides to defeat the disease by sequestering himself and a thousand courtiers in a sealed-off abbey, where they can lead a life of comfort, safety and sensuality. But, when the Prince throws a masquerade ball, there appears among the guests a figure dressed as one who died of the Red Death. Why is he dressed like that, and who is it beneath the costume? I must say, it is easy to see why this is considered a classic of American literature, and why it is still such a popular read over 150 years after it first appeared! I found the story to be quite scary, in the older way, without recourse to blood and severed limbs, and keeps you glued to your chair reading it. I am now quite sorry that it took me so long to get around to reading this story, it's great, and I highly recommend it. SPOILER BELOW: By the way, there are those who see this story as something of an allegory, with the seven rooms of the prince's suite representing the journey of life, with the final, black room representing death. Prince Prospero (prosperity?) runs through life, finally meeting his end in the black room of death. Well, I don't know about that, but read it for yourself and see what you think!

Red Death

The book The Masque of the Red Death is by Edgar Allan Poe. I thought this book was great. It is about a ghost that haunts a castle. All the people were scared and they could not escape the ghost. The "red death" killed many people. If you want to find out what happens you should read this book.

Re: Edgar Allan Poe

I love Edgar Allan Poe's work, but this would have to be the best because of all the symbols he uses in his style of writing. Most of his work deals with the dark-side of reality and fiction, and I love it.