A new book of Edward Gorey’s drawings shows what’s lost when the artist’s sexuality is glossed over

Edward Gorey on the set he designed for the Broadway revival of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' in 1977. Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

Artist, illustrator and writer Edward Gorey would have turned 100 this year, and the recently published “From Ted to Tom: The Illustrated Envelopes of Edward Gorey” is a fitting celebration of his wit and talent.

The book reproduces, in stunning detail, a series of 50 elaborately illustrated envelopes Gorey created in the mid-1970s. But when I started reading “From Ted to Tom,” I felt confused – and a little let down.