['Metzengerstein' Ebook Reader]
Metzengerstein, subtitled from the second edition "a tale imitated from the German" (in English, Metzengerstein. A Tale in Imitation of the German) is the first published short story by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. It takes place in Hungary in a gothic atmosphere and against a backdrop of hatred between two families. The young Baron Metzengerstein seizes his rival's horse after a fire, then the beast causes his undoing. This news appeared on January 14, 1832 in the Philadelphia Saturday Courier, as part of a competition. Republished in the Southern Literary Messenger, it was the subject of various comments, notably on the intention that Poe may have had to parody German fantastic tales.

Summary
The story is set in Hungary, in a forest region of Transylvania, after the expulsion of the Ottomans from the territory in 1763. The plot is based on the hatred between two German-Hungarian noble families, following an old feud. . The first is represented by the young Frederick, Baron Metzengerstein, who came into possession of his domains at the age of eighteen following the death of his parents, who leads a life of debauchery and tyrannizes his vassals. The second is by old Wilhelm, Count Berlifitzing, who has Turkish blood in his veins. Frederick maintains his hatred by regularly contemplating a tapestry which illustrates the fall of Metzengerstein Castle at the time of the Battle of Mohács, won by the Turks in 1526...(Audiobook)