Review of “William Wilson” (1839)
Edgar Allan Poe (writer).
Read in 2022.
An allegorical fantasy, the key to which is given up front, in the epigraph. The best thing about it is that it takes place in a series of vivid environments that read as if they were painted by John Blanche. I also like the detail that the pseudonymous narrator’s conscience grows out of an experience with childhood bullying. His first serious offence is that he literally mocks his Doppelgänger for being unable to speak above a whisper, which is such a clever touch.