About the Holiday

Today’s holiday was instituted in 1928 by Nellie Verne Burt McPherson, president of the Bement, Illinois Women’s Club. An avid reader, she established Author’s Day to thank writer Irving Bacheller—author of 31 novels and founder of the first modern newspaper syndicate—who sent her an autographed story in response to her fan letter. The day was officially recognized in 1949 by the United States Department of Commerce. McPherson’s granddaughter, Sue Cole, promoted the holiday after Nellie’s death in 1968. To celebrate, people are encouraged to write a note of appreciation to their favorite author.

Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers and Barbara Fisch of Blue Slip Press for sharing a copy of As Edward Imagined with me for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own.

As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts

Written by Matthew Burgess | Illustrated by Marc Majewski

Edward Gorey’s artistic life began early—very early—and built on itself, bit-by-bit, experience-by-experience just like a play, and so it is fitting that Matthew Burgess’s biography is divided into three acts. In Act One readers meet Edward Gorey as a precocious preschooler, creating his first drawing at a year and a half and learning to read at three and a half.

As a voracious reader, he devoured books from his father’s library, including Dracula before he was six. It didn’t take long before he was writing and illustrating his own stories. One was “titled ‘Hand of Doom,’ in which a skeleton’s fingers crept from page to page.” But Edward didn’t consign his “delightfully peculiar” personality to the page, “he [dared] to live the life he imagined.”

Image copyright Marc Majewski, 2024, text copyright Matthew Burgess, 2024. Courtesy of Knopf Books for Young Readers.

In Act Two, Edward has graduated from college and is living in New York, where he took the subway to attend nearly every performance of the New York City Ballet, dressed in his singular look: a fur coat, tennis shoes, and “plenty of clinking rings.” While working as a book illustrator, he also wrote, illustrated, and published his own stories, and little by little people began to take notice of “his stylish drawings, his outlandish poetry, and his deliciously sinister sense of humor.”

This popularity earned him an invitation to design the costumes and sets for a Broadway production of that classic he had read long ago—Dracula. The play was a smash, and Edward was nominated for Tony awards. Eschewing the limelight, however, Edward watched the ceremony and his own win from the comfort of his home and surrounded by his six beloved cats.

Image copyright Marc Majewski, 2024, text copyright Matthew Burgess, 2024. Courtesy of Knopf Books for Young Readers.

His success on Broadway brings readers to Act Three, and his purchase of an old captain’s house on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, drew, wrote, and collected. “Teddy bears, sea stones, skeletons of all sizes and shapes, and books by the thousands” became his companions and his inspirations. He also worked with local actors to bring his original plays to theaters. Here, Edward was happy living “his life precisely as he wished.” For readers today, he lives on in his one-of-a-kind characters and inimitable stories. 

Back matter includes an Author’s Note, a Bibliography, a photograph of Edward Gorey and one of his cats, and a Chronology of his life that fleshes out experiences from his childhood, during which he once owned a baby alligator, to his higher education and military service to his publishing career and animations for PBS’s Mystery! series to his time living on Cape Cod.

Image copyright Marc Majewski, 2024, text copyright Matthew Burgess, 2024. Courtesy of Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Matthew Burgess’s charming storytelling highlights the quirky ingenuity of Edward Gorey’s stories, plays, and illustrations. Cleverly divided into three acts, his biography emphasizes how Edward remained true to himself throughout his life, finding jobs that complimented his skills and pastimes that fed his imagination. Inspirational and celebrating the individual, Burgess’s breezy and uplifting text will engage children and encourage them to listen to and stay true to their own unique voice.

Marc Majewski’s enchanting and atmospheric illustrations will captivate readers with their combination of realism and whimsy that give them a tour through Edward Gorey’s childhood home, New York City haunts, Dracula sets, and Cape Cod comfort. Kids and adults alike will enjoy dawdling over each page to discover the themes of and influences on Edward’s life as well as his eccentric decor and characters and, of course, to point out all the cats.

A fabulous introduction to a truly unique talent and individual, As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts will not only fascinate kids but also spark their creativity and an appreciation for the happiness that comes from following their own path. The book would be an often-asked-for favorite on home bookshelves and for public libraries and offers many applications for school libraries and creative arts programs. Pair with readings of Edward Gorey’s books to acquaint young readers with his endearing characters.

Ages 4 – 8

Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2024 | ISBN 978-1984893802

About the Author

Matthew Burgess is the author of Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings, and The Unbudgeable Curmudgeon. He has been a poet-in-residence in New York City elementary schools through the Teachers & Writers Collaborative since 2001. His work has appeared in various magazines and journals, and he recently received an award from the Fund for Poetry. He teaches creative writing and composition at Brooklyn College and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit Matthew at matthewjohnburgess.com.

About the Illustrator

Marc Majewski is a French author-illustrator based in Berlin. After obtaining a degree in literature and arts, he studied illustration and painting for two years. His picture books include, Does Earth Feel?, and Butterfly Child. Visit Marc at marc-majewski.com.

National Author’s Day Activity

Watch The Doubtful Guest by Edward Gorey

To celebrate today’s holiday listen to this reading of Edward Gorey’s The Doubtful Guest, a short, eccentric and slightly eerie tale of an uninvited guest. Then check out your local library for more books by Edward Gorey. 

You can purchase As Edward Imagined: A Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (to support your local independent bookstore)

Picture Book Review