Edward Gorey was one of the most influential illustrators and artists of his time. A notoriously private figure, little was known about the man behind the pictures. Drawing from a multitude of references and his own personal relationship to Gorey, literary heavyweight Alexander Theroux has accomplished an amazing feat of illuminating the real Edward Gorey with ambiguity, wit, fervour and reverence, combined with honest and clear-eyed appraisals of his work.