The Gashlycrumb Tinies
The Gashlycrumb Tinies: or, After the Outing is an abecedarian book written by Edward Gorey that was first published in 1963. Gorey tells the tale of 26 children (each representing a letter of the alphabet) and their untimely deaths in rhyming dactylic couplets, accompanied by the author's distinctive black and white illustrations. It is one of Edward Gorey's best-known books,[1] and is the most notorious amongst his roughly half-dozen mock alphabets.[2] It has been described as a "sarcastic rebellion against a view of childhood that is sunny, idyllic, and instructive".[2] The morbid humor of the book comes in part from the mundane ways in which children 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.[3]
References
- ↑ Tina Kelley (2000-04-16). "Edward Gorey, Eerie Illustrator And Writer, 75". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
- 1 2 "The Post-Modern Alphabet: Extending the Limits of the Contemporary Alphabet Book, from Seuss to Gorey". Project MUSE. doi:10.1353/chq.0.0838. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
- ↑ "Edward Gorey, Children's Literature, and Nonsense Verse". Project MUSE. 2000-04-15. doi:10.1353/chq.0.1442. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
External links
- Worldcat listing for The Gashlycrumb Tinies
- Popova, Maria. "The Gashlycrumb Tinies: A Very Gorey Alphabet Book". – showing all the illustrations.