One of the most original American writers, Edgar Allan Poe shaped the development of both the detectvie story and the science-fiction story. Some of his poems--"The Raven, " "The Bells, " "Annabel Lee"--remain among the most popular in American literature. Poe's tales of the macabre still thrill readers of all ages. Here are familiar favorites like "The Purloined Letter, " "The Fall of the House of Usher, " and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue, " together with less-known masterpieces like "The Imp of the Perverse, " "The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym, " and "Ligeia, " which is now recognized as one of the first science-fiction stories, a total of seventy-three tales in all, plus fifty-three poems and a generous sampling of Poe's essays, criticism and journalistic writings.