The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science
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- Create Date：2021-06-13 03:19:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：John Tresch
- ISBN：0374247854
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Summary
One of The Christian Science Monitor's ten best books of June
An innovative biography of Edgar Allan Poe—highlighting his fascination and feuds with science。
Decade after decade， Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the most popular American writers。 He is beloved around the world for his pioneering detective fiction， tales of horror， and haunting， atmospheric verse。 But what if there was another side to the man who wrote “The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”？
In The Reason for the Darkness of the Night， John Tresch offers a bold new biography of a writer whose short， tortured life continues to fascinate。 Shining a spotlight on an era when the lines separating entertainment， speculation， and scientific inquiry were blurred， Tresch reveals Poe’s obsession with science and lifelong ambition to advance and question human knowledge。 Even as he composed dazzling works of fiction， he remained an avid and often combative commentator on new discoveries， publishing and hustling in literary scenes that also hosted the era’s most prominent scientists， semi-scientists， and pseudo-intellectual rogues。 As one newspaper put it， “Mr。 Poe is not merely a man of science—not merely a poet—not merely a man of letters。 He is all combined; and perhaps he is something more。”
Taking us through his early training in mathematics and engineering at West Point and the tumultuous years that followed， Tresch shows that Poe lived， thought， and suffered surrounded by science—and that many of his most renowned and imaginative works can best be understood in its company。 He cast doubt on perceived certainties even as he hungered for knowledge， and at the end of his life delivered a mind-bending lecture on the origins of the universe that would win the admiration of twentieth-century physicists。 Pursuing extraordinary conjectures and a unique aesthetic vision， he remained a figure of explosive contradiction: he gleefully exposed the hoaxes of the era’s scientific fraudsters even as he perpetrated hoaxes himself。
Tracing Poe’s hard and brilliant journey， The Reason for the Darkness of the Night is an essential new portrait of a writer whose life is synonymous with mystery and imagination—and an entertaining， erudite tour of the world of American science just as it was beginning to come into its own。
An innovative biography of Edgar Allan Poe—highlighting his fascination and feuds with science。
Decade after decade， Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the most popular American writers。 He is beloved around the world for his pioneering detective fiction， tales of horror， and haunting， atmospheric verse。 But what if there was another side to the man who wrote “The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”？
In The Reason for the Darkness of the Night， John Tresch offers a bold new biography of a writer whose short， tortured life continues to fascinate。 Shining a spotlight on an era when the lines separating entertainment， speculation， and scientific inquiry were blurred， Tresch reveals Poe’s obsession with science and lifelong ambition to advance and question human knowledge。 Even as he composed dazzling works of fiction， he remained an avid and often combative commentator on new discoveries， publishing and hustling in literary scenes that also hosted the era’s most prominent scientists， semi-scientists， and pseudo-intellectual rogues。 As one newspaper put it， “Mr。 Poe is not merely a man of science—not merely a poet—not merely a man of letters。 He is all combined; and perhaps he is something more。”
Taking us through his early training in mathematics and engineering at West Point and the tumultuous years that followed， Tresch shows that Poe lived， thought， and suffered surrounded by science—and that many of his most renowned and imaginative works can best be understood in its company。 He cast doubt on perceived certainties even as he hungered for knowledge， and at the end of his life delivered a mind-bending lecture on the origins of the universe that would win the admiration of twentieth-century physicists。 Pursuing extraordinary conjectures and a unique aesthetic vision， he remained a figure of explosive contradiction: he gleefully exposed the hoaxes of the era’s scientific fraudsters even as he perpetrated hoaxes himself。
Tracing Poe’s hard and brilliant journey， The Reason for the Darkness of the Night is an essential new portrait of a writer whose life is synonymous with mystery and imagination—and an entertaining， erudite tour of the world of American science just as it was beginning to come into its own。
Reviews
Chad Guarino
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Approaching a canonical， American titan of literature such as Edgar Allan Poe must seem incredibly daunting for a biographer。 In Poe we have a man already the subject of countless articles， books， and films that， thanks in part to some cleverly placed slander after his death， carries with him the stigma of alcoholism and itinerant poverty to go along with his genius in letters。 John Tresch's solution to that is to approach Poe from a novel angle， taking into account the burgeoning scientific sce Approaching a canonical， American titan of literature such as Edgar Allan Poe must seem incredibly daunting for a biographer。 In Poe we have a man already the subject of countless articles， books， and films that， thanks in part to some cleverly placed slander after his death， carries with him the stigma of alcoholism and itinerant poverty to go along with his genius in letters。 John Tresch's solution to that is to approach Poe from a novel angle， taking into account the burgeoning scientific scene of his time and the author's contributions to the cause as well as the inspirations he took into his writing。The Reason for the Darkness of the Night paints Poe in a far different light from the other biographical accounts of his life that I have read。 Rather than completely focusing on Poe's reputation as tortured and poverty stricken goth genius， Tresch shows Poe as actively engaged with， and often at odds with， the wider scientific community around him。 Alternating between debunking hoaxes and perpetuating them himself as well as fraternizing and then later being at loggerheads with the premier scientific minds of the time， Tresch shows Poe as an often enigmatic figure who nevertheless added （and took inspiration from） scientific advancement far more than he is given lasting credit for。 Tresch also does a fantastic job showing the overarching sadness and tangle of contradictions that defined Poe's life。 He achieved critical success with his writing and became a household name with the publication of the Raven， but was never able to turn this into any sort of lasting monetary success。 Tresch juxtaposes glowing critical reviews of Poe's work with stark depictions of the author and his family engulfed in near starvation poverty made worse by his unpredictable bouts of drunken sickness。 While Poe's struggles cannot be denied， Tresch ardently defends and debunks the image of the man dying "friendless and alone in a gutter" as the product of jealous posthumous revisionist history and proves Poe's undeniable contributions to both American literature and modern science。 **I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 My thanks to Farrar， Straus and Giroux** 。。。more
Brenda
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Ever since my mom quoted Edgar Allan Poe's poetry to me as a child， I was fascinated by the enigma and mystery which enshrouded him。 He seemed almost otherworldly。 But this book answered many questions as well as posed others。 Poe is still mysterious but I know much more about him now than ever before。 He accomplished so much by the time he died at 40。。。it makes me wonder what else he would have accomplished had he died at 75。 Most of us know Poe best by his powerful poems such as the dark and s Ever since my mom quoted Edgar Allan Poe's poetry to me as a child， I was fascinated by the enigma and mystery which enshrouded him。 He seemed almost otherworldly。 But this book answered many questions as well as posed others。 Poe is still mysterious but I know much more about him now than ever before。 He accomplished so much by the time he died at 40。。。it makes me wonder what else he would have accomplished had he died at 75。 Most of us know Poe best by his powerful poems such as the dark and stark "The Raven" and short stories including The Pit and the Pendulum， The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart and his character Auguste Dupin in The Murders in the Rue Morgue and others。 As a young man he wrote for and edited many newspapers， tantalizing with his cliffhangers and ongoing sagas。 Poe's scientific slant was completely new to me， though unsurprising。 He was also a brilliant lecturer and expounded upon religion， philosophy， astronomy and metaphysics。 He believed "Eureka" to be his best work which I now long to read。 Poe married his young cousin， Virginia， who had chronic illnesses much of her life。 At times he said he thought he was insane。 He had been an orphan and had a cruel step father。 Extreme poverty and homelessness were common to him。 To me it seemed he was sorely misunderstood and in ways much ahead of his time。 He liked Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde but disparaged Longfellow。 Even after his death he was scorned， though also venerated。Poe's quick intelligence and wit must have been truly fascinating。 I would love to see him debate his contemporaries such as Wilde。 Poe did enjoy spurts of fame now and then during his lifetime but as he was an orphan and not connected to wealth or position was not as known as he ought to have been。 My sincere thank you to Farrar， Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this book about a writer I've held in esteem and admired for his unparalleled writing of his time。 。。。more
Diane S ☔
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3。5 This is the first full length biography I have read of Poe and it revealed many， to me at least， surprising insights。 Science vs。 literary pursuits。 There is much I had known of Poe， snippets I read here and there， in other books。 I did know he went to West Point， served in the military， married his cousin， etc。 What I didn't know was his avid interest in science。 An interest that formed in his youth and that was reflected in some of his poems and fiction。 His life was prolific but personall 3。5 This is the first full length biography I have read of Poe and it revealed many， to me at least， surprising insights。 Science vs。 literary pursuits。 There is much I had known of Poe， snippets I read here and there， in other books。 I did know he went to West Point， served in the military， married his cousin， etc。 What I didn't know was his avid interest in science。 An interest that formed in his youth and that was reflected in some of his poems and fiction。 His life was prolific but personally sad。 The early death if his wife， his drinking all presented challenges that he never seemed to overcome。 His last lectures on science， were ones he hoped would provide redemption and bring him back into the public eye。The author I think has presented a good portrait of this tortured genius。 I enjoyed his insightful outlook and discussions of Poe's many literary pursuits。 。。。more
Nancy
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