Paradise Square

Many mystery fans know that the father of the genre was none other than Edgar Allen Poe. In Paradise Square, a remarkable novel by E.M. Schorb set in the 19th century, Poe himself assists in the investigation of a young woman's murder. This thrilling and satisfying work, which won the Grand Prize at the Frankfurt Ebook Awards, delves into the mystery of the killer's identity and also explores the spotty record surrounding the end of Poe's career when he disappeared and was later found dying, apparently as a result of a drinking binge. Schorb brings Poe to vivid life as he joins Officer Goode--a 'leatherhead' as municipal patrolmen were nicknamed for the thick helmets they wore--in investi­gating the grisly slaying of a street vendor. Initially re­cruited to clear the name of a West Point friend, Poe is drawn by his fascination with mystery and deduction into aiding the inexperienced officer. Goode himself, who owes his appointment to political connections, sus­pects his assignment to the case is based largely on his inexperience, and that he was never intended to learn the killer's identity. In 19th-Century New York, gangs exerted powerful influence, practical and political; even fire service was provided by rival groups. Like the House of Usher looming over its moor, the specter of the corrupt Tammany Hall political machine casts its shadow over the pair's investigation. By mixing elements of the historical novel and the con­ventional mystery with a speculative reconstruction of Poe's final days, Schorb has crafted a fascinating tale. He does great honor to Poe's memory and fame as the father of the genre. The scribe would be pleased with his protegee's work.

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Schorb., E.M.

Mystery

Hill House New York

This book engages the literary, the bawdy, and the surreal. Beyond its obvious skill, the feeling that comes through most clearly is a respect for the versatility of light verse--the forms it can be found in and the subjects it will accommodate.

Muddling Through: a Gallimaufry of Light Verse, Prose Poems, Short Plays, Songs, and Cartoons

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Once Upon Each Time: Collected Poems

Literature & Fiction

Poetry

Schorb's poetry has won numerous awards in many categories from a wide range of competitions over recent decades-from the formal, to prose poems and free verse. The poems collected here are in all styles; unpredictable and intriguing in subject matter, and reprinted from literary journals from around the world.

Manhattan Spleen is a rich and complex smorgasbord of prose poems; sustenance for mind, body and soul. In the title of this engrossing work, E.M. Schorb tips his hat to Charles Baudelaire (Paris Spleen), the nineteenth century French poet that we credit with giving birth to the prose poem. Yet this is truly an American work, as American as Walt Whitman. One might say that Whitman’s lines describe Manhattan Spleen: A vast similitude interlocks all, All spheres, grown, ungrown, small, large, suns, moons, planets All distances of place however wide, All distances of time, all inanimate forms, All souls, all living bodies. Each poem in Manhattan Spleen probes the depth of our understanding, explores the porous barrier between our real and imagined worlds, asks us to delve beneath the surface and question the truths that we have taken for granted. —from Knowing, by Pat Mullan, Critic, Novelist, and Poet E.M. Schorb’s prose poems are intelligent, humorous and perplexing in an odd sort of way. I almost want to use the train wreck analogy to describe them as I just couldn't stop reading them, even when they left little question mark filled light bulbs over my head. There is a tale of a woman whose house is made out of soap, right down to her sheets, tiny little carbon people who fall to the earth in raindrops and scurry off into the grass, a woman who hides her murdered husband by hanging him on the clothesline where the police don't think to look. Mr. Schorb's prose poems all fall along these lines and you will be entertained by his imagination which shows no signs of limitation. —Christine L. Reed, Editor Maelstrom

Manhattan Spleen

Aldrich Press

Needleneck is an unusual, vivid tale, combining elements of sexual compulsion and enduring love, of violence and intellectual questioning, of action so handled that it becomes morally symbolic, of the carnal and the spiritual. This is a fast-paced adventure and a moral dream that turns into nightmare. The dialogue rings with the truth of the spoken word and the story moves with shocking speed.

Needleneck: A Noir Novel

Dates and Dreams: Short Fictions, Prose Poems, Cartoons

Dates and Dreams is a collection of over a hundred prose poems, all originally published in literary magazines and quarterlies from England, Austria, Canada, Germany, China, Australia, India, and America; from Oxford Poetry, Poetry Salzburg Review, The North American Review, to Envoi, The Outrider and the University of Windsor Review, among many others. Dates and Dreams also includes a generous selection of Schorb's unique drawings and an introduction by X.J. Kennedy.

An Authors Guild Backinprint.com EditionThis title won the Grand Prize Fiction, which is one of the largest monetary awards for literature, at the prestigious Frankfurt International eBook Awards in October of 2000. Now it is available for the first time in paperback! Edgar Allan Poe is called upon for assistance in solving the shocking murder of a young hot corn girl in the Five Points section of Manhattan. A former classmate of Poe's at West Point, Peter Van Brunt, is accused of the crime, and Poe, always the gentleman, is honor-bound to help clear the young man who had years before helped to save him from complete disgrace upon leaving the Academy. Young Detective Sergeant Jonathan Goode is assigned to the case and though he finds the poet's insights into solving the matter invaluable, his patience with poetic genius is occasionally severely tested. Sergeant Goode and Poe follow all leads from the murder scene, through the thug-infested streets, taverns, and tenements of the Five Points to the more genteel environs of Washington Square. The victim's employer, Dr. Eleanor Whitney, administrator of the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, lends aid in discovering the truth of the crime while becoming friends with the poet and more than friends with Sergeant Goode. Their adventures lead them into the struggle between the corrupt political regime, whose Boss is also the leader of one of the largest outlaw gangs in New York, the Plug Uglies, and the reform party. Things get so hot in the city for Poe and Sergeant Goode, that they decide to seek refuge at Poe's cottage at Fordham. Dr. Whitney goes along with the two in order to keep an eye on Poe, who has developed a high fever. During their stay of several days at Fordham, Sergeant Goode and Dr. Whitney fall in love, Poe recovers, and all are menaced by a strange lone rider with a rifle. Their return to the city brings the story to a thrilling climax, when Poe, Goode, and a squad of Municipal police, called leatherheads for their protective headgear, attempt to arrest Boss Meade. A riot ensues between the Plug Uglies and various factions of the police, and the United States Cavalry is called in to restore order. But Meade escapes into the Old Brewery with Goode and Poe in hot pursuit, only to be assassinated by the true killer. The killer is at last cornered in the Phoenix Theatre. What happens next is a bit of Poesque legerdemain.

Genre Fiction

Denlingers Pub Ltd

Scenario for Scorsese

Thrillers & Suspense

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Books by Schorb., E.M.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Schorb., E.M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Paradise Square

Muddling Through: a Gallimaufry of Light Verse, Prose Poems, Short Plays, Songs, and Cartoons

Once Upon Each Time: Collected Poems

Once Upon Each Time: Collected Poems

Manhattan Spleen

Needleneck: A Noir Novel

Dates and Dreams: Short Fictions, Prose Poems, Cartoons

Dates and Dreams: Short Fictions, Prose Poems, Cartoons

Paradise Square

Scenario for Scorsese