Speaking of Edward Gorey, I came across two things about him a day or so after posting about the "tribute" exhibition in Leith.

One was a link on Hacker News about a Comics Journal article by Cynthia Rose about how she had some correspondence with him many years ago. A lovely little story, short and sweet. It shows off more workings of his eccentric mind.

Over time, we discussed a range of topics: the Moors murders, the benefits provided by a ha-ha, Gustave Doré's views about the London slums, Lillian Gish in The Wind, Japanese ghost behaviour in the Edo era, spirit photography, London's cheap bookstores, Rudolf Nureyev's feet, illicit dissections and why green wallpaper had killed Victorians.

I'd never heard of a "ha-ha" until I came across it in Ian McEwen's book Atonement. It is : "a ditch with a wall on its inner side below ground level, forming a boundary to a park or garden without interrupting the view".

The other Gorey reference was seeing that he had done the covers for two books by the writer of "strange" stories, Robert Aickman. I've read some Aickman (and will read some more) and his subtle and odd (sometimes unsettling) stories seem to be a good combination with the artist.

On the right is Gorey's cover for Aickman's collection Cold Hand in Mine. His art also graces Aickman's Painted Devils collection. I have Cold Hand in Mine and it is on my "to be read" list. Unfortunately it is not the one with the Gorey cover.

I found the image of the cover on the blog feuilleton by artist and designer John Coulthart. Some of his artistic interests closely match mine.

Take Back Plenty
By Colin Greenland

I have been trying to curate "good" books to read, so have been picking up "classics" (of whatever genre), as well as recommendations (whether BookTube, personal or otherwise). So far with a lot of success, but it can be hit or miss of course. I heard good things about Colin Greenland's Take Back Plenty (BookTube I think) so picked it up as my next read. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a miss for me.

Greenland is an academic and, according to the Science Fiction Encyclopedia, did a PhD at Oxford in science-fiction (yes, I am surprised). Originally, he seemed to have some association with British New Wave science-fiction in the 1970's but this may have been tenuous with respect to his written work. This is his fourth novel, first published in 1990.

Take Back Plenty is not a bad book per se, just written in a jokey and "knowing" way I didn't always appreciate. I almost put it aside a couple of times actually, but carried on and finished it.

It's a "space opera", so expect spaceships, aliens, technology and planetary adventure; a story that could almost be described as a "romp" in times gone by. Although I'm not a fan of humorous books, I did find one or two moments in the book funny. But overall, the novel was a bit of everything, all over the place and too much going on. The central character, Tabitha Jute, had a lot of potential, but was a bit of a standard issue wise-cracking cargo ship captain, swept along by a never-ending sequence of events strung together. She seemed a bit feckless in some ways. I never felt much excitement or suspense and the "world-building" seemed a little confusing to me as well.

The novel won a few awards and also spawned a couple of followups but I will probably not bother with them.

Edward Gorey was an American artist/illustrator famed for his quirky, gothic and somewhat macabre drawings. In his centenary year (he was born in 1925, died in 2000), the Customs House in Leith was the venue for a small exhibition of works by artists paying him tribute.

Above: A view of The Shore in Leith from the Customs House. A blue sky in February.

Right: From the Pious Infant by Edward Gorey.

The art of drawing, illustration and printmaking is such a neglected field that it was great to have a show like this. I think most cities could really do with a dedicated gallery for the graphic arts, Edinburgh included.

Thanks to Paper Galaxy (Linda Hughes) and everyone else involved for taking the time to curate and put this together.

The exhibition was called Phantasmagorey.

The The Gashlycrumb Tinies is a great example of Gorey's work and black humour: an "ABCD" book of weird and wonderful situations ... and untimely deaths. The "tinies" come to unforunate ends.

Below: From the The Gashlycrumb Tinies (1963). This illustration is taken from the Gorey page at Lambiek.

Almost all the art at Phantasmagorey was by artists paying Gorey tribute, including a few I know such as Kate Charlesworth (who lives in Leith apparently), Tom Gauld and Steven Appleby. As you would expect, many pieces were quirky or macabre as well.

Right: The Prim Reaper by Morten Morland

Right: The Match by Ray Baker. A great "Pen on Paper" construction.

Below: I didn't catch the creator of this. Gorey loved making up strange animals.