This short story was first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey’s Lady’s Book. The tale is set in a nameless Italian city in an unspecified year and is about narrator’s deadly revenge on a friend whom he believes has insulted him. Like several of Poe’s stories, and in keeping with the 19th-century fascination with the subject, the narrative revolves around a person being buried alive — in this case, by immurement. As in “The Black Cat” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe conveys the story through the murderer’s perspective.