The Fall of the House of Usher

"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, then included in the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1840. The short story, a work of Gothic fiction, includes themes of madness, family, isolation, and metaphysical identities.

The story begins with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his childhood friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country, complaining of an illness and asking for his help. As he arrives, the narrator notices a thin crack extending from the roof, down the front of the house and into the adjacent tarn, or lake.

It is revealed that Roderick's sister, Madeline, is also ill and falls into cataleptic, deathlike trances. Roderick and Madeline are the only remaining members of the Usher family...

CREATED:

Narrated by Logan Keen

Author: Edgar Allan Poe

Date of original publication: 1840

Genre: short story

Language : English

Version : unabridged, full/complete

Without subtitles

© 2025 Vectura (Audiobook): 9798318442070

Release date

Audiobook: August 15, 2025