THE BETRAYED CONFIDENCE by Edward Gorey...

THE BETRAYED CONFIDENCE by Edward Gorey (Parnassus: $12.95). Ignoring the popularity of brighter colors and increasingly simple forms in contemporary illustration, Edward Gorey continues to depict a haunted Victorian Never-Land in his intricately cross-hatched black-and-white drawings. This anthology of seven little books by Dogear Wryde (an anagram of the artist’s name) showcases his graphic imagination and deliciously macabre humor. A noted balletomane, Gorey spoofs the history of dance prints in “Scenes de Ballet” and satirizes a variety of graphic styles in “Neglected Murderesses.” “Tragedies topiares” depicts a succession of hapless people in the clutches of weirdly pruned hedges that would astonish Edward Scissorhands. Gorey skillfully contrasts the dark, leafy depths of his botanical traps with the outlined forms of the humans.