The Remembered Visit

Edward Gorey's book for 1965 is The Remembered Visit. Published by Simon and Schuster, New York., TRV is a volume that shows wear easily because the dark blue printing scuffs and the bright white paper yellows or gets dirty. My copy is signed and inscribed to me by Mr. Gorey. This story was included in Amphigorey.

In this story, we follow the adventures of a girl named Drusilla, who goes abroad in her eleventh year. It is a story of forgotten promises and distant remembrances. This book features another favorite character name, Miss Scrim-Pshaw. I also enjoy how the title of the book is rendered in wispy hand-lettered type, as though it were just a memory floating in the sky.

The illustrations for this title are beautifully detailed, especially Mr. Gorey's renderings of hedges and turbulent waters. The 60's really are Gorey's glory years for crosshatching. Every drawing is tight, details are minute and he seemed to have embraced his style with abandon and enthusiasm.