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| Author | Edward Gorey |
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| Genre | Alphabet book |
| Published | 1963 |
The Gashlycrumb Tinies: or, After the Outing is an alphabet book written by Edward Gorey that was first published in 1963 as the first of a collection of short stories called The Vinegar Works, the eleventh work by Gorey. The book tells the tale of 26 children (each representing a letter of the alphabet) and their untimely deaths. It is one of Edward Gorey's best-known books and is the most notorious amongst his roughly half-dozen mock alphabets. It has been described as a "sarcastic rebellion against a view of childhood that is sunny, idyllic, and instructive". The morbid humor of the book comes in part from the mundane ways in which the children in the story die, such as falling down the stairs or choking on a peach. Far from illustrating the dramatic and fantastical childhood nightmares, these scenarios instead poke fun at the banal paranoias that come as a part of parenting.
Gorey has stated the book to be inspired by "those 19th-century cautionary tales, I guess, though my book is punishment without misbehavior".
Description
The book tells of the deaths of twenty-six children in thirteen rhyming dactylic couplets, accompanied by the author's distinctive black-and-white illustrations. The book incorporates several elements common to alphabet books, such as naming each child in the book after a letter in the English alphabet and including illustrations for each entry. It describes the cause of death for each child, such as being set on fire, being run over by a train or being attacked by wild animals.
See also
References
- Tina Kelley (2000-04-16). "Edward Gorey, Eerie Illustrator And Writer, 75". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
- ^ Bodmer, George R. (Fall 1989). "The Post-Modern Alphabet: Extending the Limits of the Contemporary Alphabet Book, from Seuss to Gorey". Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 14 (3). Johns Hopkins University Press: 115–117. doi:10.1353/chq.0.0838. S2CID 143221079. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- Kevin Shortsleeve (Spring 2002). "Edward Gorey, Children's Literature, and Nonsense Verse". Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 27 (1). Johns Hopkins University Press: 27–39. doi:10.1353/chq.0.1442. S2CID 144756269. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- Haskel Frankel, "Edward Gorey: Professionally Preoccupied with Death", Herald Tribune, August 25, 1963
External links
| Edward Gorey | |
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| Selected works |
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