American poet, fiction writer, and literary critic EDGAR ALLAN POE (1809-1849) pioneered the short story, popularized romantic Gothic fiction in the United States in the 19th century, and almost single-handedly invented the genre of detective fiction. Appreciating Poe's work is essential to any understanding of American literature. Here, in 10 volumes, is the complete oeuvre of this American original. Available again in Cosimo's beautiful replica of the 1902 edition, finely illustrated by Canadian artist FREDERICK SIMPSON COBURN (1871-1960), and edited and with a critical introduction by American literary historian and journalist CHARLES F. RICHARDSON (1851-1913), this is a collection readers will treasure. Volume VIII: Criticisms features: - "J. Fenimore Cooper" - "Amelia Welby" - "Some Secrets of the Magazine Prison-House" - "Mr. Longfellow and Other Plagiarists" - "William Cullen Bryant" - "The Literati" (continued in Vol. IX) - and more.