The Fall of the House of Usher
Overview
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story
by Edgar Allan Poe
, first published in September 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine
. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque
. It contains within it the poem "The Haunted Palace
", which had earlier been published separately in the April 1839 issue of the Baltimore Museum magazine.
The tale opens with the unnamed narrator
arriving at the house of his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country complaining of an illness and asking for his help.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
, first published in September 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine
Burton's Gentleman's Magazine
Burton's Gentleman's Magazine or, more simply, Burton's Magazine, was a literary publication published in Philadelphia in 1837-1841. Its founder was William Evans Burton, an English-born immigrant to the United States who also managed a theatre and was a minor actor.-Overview:The magazine included...
. It was slightly revised in 1840 for the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque is a collection of previously published short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1840.-Publication:It was published by the Philadelphia firm Lea & Blanchard and released in two volumes...
. It contains within it the poem "The Haunted Palace
The Haunted Palace (poem)
"The Haunted Palace" is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. The 48-line poem was first released in the April 1839 issue of Nathan Brooks' American Museum magazine...
", which had earlier been published separately in the April 1839 issue of the Baltimore Museum magazine.
The tale opens with the unnamed narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
arriving at the house of his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country complaining of an illness and asking for his help.
Unanswered Questions
