At Bas Bleu, we are big fans of Edward Gorey's morbidly clever and darkly whimsical writing and art, and his cultural influence is so vast that "goreyesque" is a de rigueur descriptor for all sorts of popular trends. But while his work has long delighted bibliophiles and art lovers, Gorey himself has remained rather an enigma. Mark Dery's smart, funny, and stylish biography pulls back the curtain on the eccentric artist. From his "suspiciously normal" childhood to his "famously inscrutable" sexuality, from his revolutionary contribution to children's literature to his infatuation with writing for the theater in his twilight years, Gorey's singular genius and unconventional style (full-length fur coats, clanking jewelry, and all) come to colorful life on the pages of this remarkable, scholarly, and wholly entertaining tribute to "the eccentric master of macabre nonsense."