I first came across Edward Gorey, without knowing, through ‘The Shrinking of Treehorn‘, written by Florence Parry Heide. The book was a popular feature of the reading programme in the primary school where I taught. I read it many times without taking note of the illustrator; I was obviously preoccupied with making sure the children were reading well! The first book by Gorey I came across was ‘The Gashlycrumb Tinies‘; I loved the juxtaposition of the bizarre text and the staid, Edwardian-style drawings.
‘The Doubtful Guest’ tells of a strange, silent creature who turns up unannounced at a family’s country pile. With odd, non-sequitur motivations but no ill intent, its behaviour disrupts everyday life. The family accommodate the creature as best they can, only because the situation they find themselves in lies beyond etiquette, and they don’t know how to react. Haven’t we all been there!?
There’s an oddness to Gorey’s work, beguiling and at times unsettling, that is rooted deeply in his eccentricity; it seems to have flown naturally from brain to arm to hand to page. The books never seem to grow stale, and I find myself returning to them time and again, intrigued by a world of fur coats, gothic settings and something dreadful just around the corner.
West Folio 