Edward Gorey

Edward Gorey was born in Chicago in 1925. He studied French at Harvard before moving to New York, where he designed book covers for Doubleday. His first illustrated book appeared in 1953.

Gorey’s finely hatched drawings suggest a Victorian or Edwardian world, yet its rules are often absurd and its inhabitants strangely unmoved by disaster. In “The Gashlycrumb Tinies” (1963), twenty-six children meet unfortunate ends, one for each letter of the alphabet. His work reached a wider audience through the animated titles for television’s “Mystery!”. He also designed sets and costumes for “Dracula”, winning a Tony Award for costume design in 1978.

In New York he was a devoted visitor to the ballet, recognisable in fur coats, trainers and rings. He resisted straightforward descriptions of his sexuality; in one interview he tentatively described himself as gay while stressing his limited interest in sex. Critics have since explored the queer sensibility of his work.

He eventually settled in Yarmouth Port on Cape Cod, sharing his home with cats. After his death in 2000, aged 75, the house became a museum.