This slim volume contains a subset of Poe's prose tales, selected by the publisher as representative of his best works. There's a brief introduction by Lowell, and a sweet homage in the publisher's note at the beginning, noting that the selections are from the 1850 edition published by Mrs. Clemm, "Poe's faithful mother-in-law and good angel."

It contains:

The Fall of the House of Usher
Ligeia
The Gold Bug
The Black Cat
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Mystery of Marie Roget
The Purloined Letter
The Masque of the Red Death
M.S. Found in a Bottle
A Descent Into the Maelstrom
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar

(That last terrified me when a read it, as a young girl.) ( )