The narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.

Item

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym”. The Limited Editions Club, Terra Incognita, accessed February 11, 2026, https://digitalexhibits.library.wustl.edu/s/terra-incognita/item/18978

Title: The narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.
Description: (with wood engravings by Rene Clarke)

Poe's novel was written early in his career after being advised that his short stories would not make a profit in the publishing climate of that time. He took the suggestion and produced a narrative in a genre that was very popular, the discovery or travel narrative.

Poe included many elements of the genre: the story is told in first person as though based on a journal, the plot takes a traveler into unknown territory, and troubles and sufferings encountered en route are related.

Even with these stylistic similarities Poe made the story distinctly his own. The emptiness and isolation of the Arctic landscape fit well with his affinity for horror.
Creator: Poe, Edgar Allan
Publisher: The Limited Editions Club
Date: 1930
Rights: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

Item sets: Terra Incognita

Site pages: Popular Media

Media: poe1.gif