Harper Muse Classics: The Gothic Chronicles Collection

Timeless Gothic Literature in Hardcover

These spine-chilling classic novels are now available in a very special edition, featuring gold foil-accented hardcovers, stained page edges, ribbon markers, and distinctive decorative interior pages. Great for holiday gifts, as well as the perfect companion while traveling, this is a 4-volume horror collection including Bram Stoker's Dracula, Dante's Inferno, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven and Other Selected Works.

Books can be purchased individually or as a collection.

Harper Muse Classics: The Gothic Chronicles Collection - Dracula

Harper Muse Classics: The Gothic Chronicles Collection - Int

Harper Muse Classics: The Gothic Chronicles Collection - Dorian Gray

Harper Muse Classics: The Gothic Chronicles Collection - The Raven

DRACULA

Bram Stoker

ABOUT THE BOOK

Unfolding in a series of diary entries, letters, newspaper articles, and ships' logs, Bram Stoker's renowned tale of terror opens with young lawyer Jonathan Harker journeying to Transylvania to meet with the mysterious Count Dracula. There Harker discovers his nobleman client is a bloodthirsty vampire on the hunt for new prey. After imprisoning Harker in his castle, Dracula travels to England, where he encounters Harker’s fiancée, Mina Murray, her tragic friend Lucy Westenra, and the formidable Doctor Abraham van Helsing. What transpires in London is a wildly terrifying and haunting battle against an unspeakable and seemingly indestructible evil.

Bram Stoker's wildly terrifying horror novel of the evil Count Dracula, viewed by many as one of the best vampire stories ever written; its 1897 publication helped secure Stoker's place in literature's pantheon of great writers. It explores such themes as the darker side of female sexual expression, madness/insanity, distrust of the "other," the negative effects of modernization and wealth, and the power of Christian ritual.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Abraham Bram Stoker (1847—1912) was an Irish author known during his lifetime for his work as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and business manager for Irving’s Lyceum Theater in London. Though Stoker wrote more than a dozen novels, he is today best known for his Gothic horror novel Dracula. Stoker’s early career included work as a theater critic as well as a member of the literary staff for The Daily Telegraph. After the publication of Dracula in 1897, he authored several more works including the horror novels The Lady of the Shroud and The Lair of the White Worm.

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I want you to believe . . .
to believe in things you cannot.

INFERNO

Dante Alighieri & Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

ABOUT THE BOOK

On Good Friday eve in the year 1300, a traveler (the narrator, Dante himself) loses his way and wanders into a dark mysterious wood, where he happens upon the ghost of the ancient Roman poet Virgil. Virgil promises to help Dante find his way back to the top of the mountain (Heaven), but first they must traverse the nine levels of Hell. As each concentric circle increases in horror and wickedness, the traveler encounters monsters (human and otherwise) and other fantastical creatures as he comes to understand the various sins of humanity such as lust, gluttony, heresy, and violence toward others. Transformed by his harrowing experience, Dante reaches his mountain-top destination as the sun rises on Easter morning.

A fascinating and haunting allegory of a narrator (Dante himself, guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil) who journeys through the nine concentric circles of Hell, each level increasing in despair and wickedness. It explores such universal themes as the necessity for piety, the ramifications of sin, the inherent dangers of fame, the tension between this world and the afterlife, the eternal value of love, and the permanence of storytelling as an art form.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dante Alighieri (c. 1265--1321) was an Italian poet, writer, politician, and philosopher born in Florence, Italy. His epic poem Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy) of which Inferno is the first Canticle, is regarded as the one of the greatest works of world literature. Dante’s depictions of Hell, Heaven, and Purgatory have influenced global culture and writers for centuries. Amidst the political upheaval of the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict, Dante was labeled an absconder and permanently exiled from Florence under threat of burning at the stake upon his return. It was during this exile that The Divine Comedy was conceived, altering the literary landscape forever. Dante died of malaria in 1321.

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There is no greater sorrow than to be mindful of the happy time in misery.

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

Oscar Wilde

ABOUT THE BOOK

When renowned artist Basil Hallward meets the wealthy Dorian Gray, he is immediately drawn to Dorian's countenance. Hallward becomes fitfully obsessed with capturing Dorian’s remarkable beauty, confessing as much to his friend Lord Henry Wotton. Wotton counters, arguing that Hallward's portrait is an unparalleled masterpiece. After his final sitting, in an impulsive fit of despair over losing his vitality to the ravages of time, Dorian pledges his soul, pleading that his portrait age and fade in exchange for Dorian's eternal youth. What follows is an unsettling descent into decadence, sensualism, murderous secrecy, and tragedy as the portrait supernaturally begins to reflect Dorian's spiritual and moral deterioration while his outward physical appearance remains unchanged.

Oscar Wilde's unsettling Gothic tale of a man who sells his soul in exchange for eternal youth but who also pays for its tragic ramifications; its 1890 publication helped secure Wilde's place in literature's pantheon of great writers. It explores such themes as the narcissistic worship of youth and beauty, the corrupting power of influence, the superficiality of society, and the true purpose of art and artistic expression.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Oscar Wilde (1854--1900) was an Irish poet and playwright known for his biting satire and sharp-edged wit. His comic plays including A Woman of No Importance, Lady Windermere’s Fan, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest brought him widespread fame. The Picture of Dorian Gray, criticized as overly provocative and immoral in Victorian England at the time, was Wilde’s only novel. Wilde died in poverty and obscurity in Paris after having endured a cruel two-year prison sentence for violating Britain’s Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885. He was pardoned in 2017.

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Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.

THE RAVEN AND OTHER SELECTED WORKS

Edgar Allan Poe

ABOUT THE BOOK

Do people haunt us from beyond the grave? Are there sinister supernatural forces intent on antagonizing us? When does our solitude shift into insanity? Edgar Allan Poe addresses these and countless other questions in his time-honored literary artistry, presented here as a curated collection featuring his most famous poem The Raven and 25 frightful tales of terror. His renowned poem is unparalleled in its supernatural imagery and hypnotic musicality while each story is a masterpiece of vivid observation, chilling readers to the bone with thrilling nightmarish detail and unsettling twists and turns.

This volume features Poe's best-loved stories including The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Purloined Letter, and twenty more macabre tales of terror, revenge, and mystery. Explore such themes as humanity's morbid fascination with death, the insatiable need for retaliation, the volatile power of memory and recollection, and the far-reaching trauma of solitude.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Edgar Allan Poe (1809--1849) was an author and poet best known for his stunning short fiction. He is regarded by many literary experts as one of America’s earliest practitioners of the short story, the inventor of the detective story, and an important contributor to the science-fiction genre. Though his literary career began in poetry, he shifted focus to prose sometime around 1829. His beloved poem The Raven established him as a literary celebrity almost immediately. He is one of America’s first writers to have earned a living by his writing alone. His works of fiction, poetry, and literary criticism have influenced not only generations of writers but also popular culture on a global scale. Poe’s mysterious death in Baltimore, Maryland, at the untimely age of forty continues to be a source of scholarly speculation.

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Suddenly there came a tapping.

HARPER MUSE CLASSICS

THE GOTHIC CHRONICLES COLLECTION

Timeless Gothic Literature in Hardcover

DRACULA

Bram Stoker

INFERNO

Dante Alighieri & Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

Oscar Wilde

THE RAVEN AND OTHER SELECTED WORKS

Edgar Allan Poe

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