Product Description

In addition to writing and illustrating more than one hundred works, the renowned artist Edward Gorey (1925-2000) was also a playwright, an award-winning set and costume designer, and the creator of the animated introduction to the PBS series Mystery!

This sorry tale of petite Charlotte Sophia's catastrophic, short life is classic Gorey. The poor child is orphaned and treated mercilessly by schoolmates and ruffians alike, and only barely survives--for a time, anyway--by the skin of her baby teeth. Even her doll suffers a gruesome end.

The little girl's journey is perfect fodder for Edward Gorey's brilliant penwork, so detailed and perfectly wrought that it's hard to believe he could master these images at such a small size (the illustrations reproduced in the book are the same size as his original drawings). The Hapless Child is widely regarded as one of Gorey's best books; happily it is now back in print after an absence of many years, so that we can all enjoy weeping for Charlotte Sophia again...and again, and again.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #112954 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 64 pages

Customer Reviews

A masterpiece!
This is one of Gorey's best stories, about the sad life of a sickeningly sweet orphan. Some people might prefer "The Gashlycrumb Tinies", but I think "The Hapless Child" is superior. This book is the epitome of Gorey's weird style, a parody of Victorian fiction, and always funny in a gruesome way, or gruesome in a funny way, depending on how you look at it. "The Hapless Child" is also collected in the first "Amphigorey" collection, but any serious collector of Goriana will have to own this edition as well.

My favorite of his works
This is the first book I ever read by Gorey. After becoming a bit of a fan and exploring his writings further, I think this story holds up as having the best narrative and shock value. A great little yarn and a must for the collector.

So miserable, it's funny!
This book is just awesome. I bought this for my daughter. I read it, laughed, and realized I would never read this to a small child. It's so miserable it's funny. The drawings are morbidly beautiful, the story is tragic and hilarious, Edward Gorey is like the Tim Burton of adult children's books.