A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe
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- Create Date：2023-01-09 11:21:35
- Update Date：2025-09-08
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- Author：Mark Dawidziak
- ISBN：B0BDHMLS73
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Reviews
Selena
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I enjoyed this book。 There is so much mystery about what happened to Poe。 I had only heard of a couple， it is interesting that there are so many theories as to what happened。 I， like many， only knew of the mysteries Poe wrote。 I was not aware that he wrote in as many genres he did。 I am interested to research and get my hands on some of the other texts。 For Poe fans， and those new to the author， this is a great introduction/reintroduction in his writing。I have to add。 I am interested in the titl I enjoyed this book。 There is so much mystery about what happened to Poe。 I had only heard of a couple， it is interesting that there are so many theories as to what happened。 I， like many， only knew of the mysteries Poe wrote。 I was not aware that he wrote in as many genres he did。 I am interested to research and get my hands on some of the other texts。 For Poe fans， and those new to the author， this is a great introduction/reintroduction in his writing。I have to add。 I am interested in the title。 It is the DEATH and life。。。 not the usual LIFE and death。。。I was given the opportunity to read this by NetGalley， in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Joy Whiteside
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This book was a non stop read that once I started reading I had a really hard time putting down。 It moves along at a great pace that makes for an easy and enjoyable read， one that grabs you and keeps you interested。 The characters are so real that you want to be there for them and the story grabs you and does not let you go no matter what。 This book is a must read that needs to be on your TBR list。
Courtney
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Well researched and there were some interesting points。 However， I found nothing ground breaking。 Additionally， there was so much detail I found my interest was sometimes lost in the minutiae。Thank you St。 Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this arc。 Well researched and there were some interesting points。 However， I found nothing ground breaking。 Additionally， there was so much detail I found my interest was sometimes lost in the minutiae。Thank you St。 Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this arc。 。。。more
Marie Aitchison
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Did you know that Edgar Allan Poe was basically a book reviewer before he became a well known author？ He would have fit right in on bookstagram。 It’s no secret that I love Poe。 So， when I had the opportunity to review a book that details his life and examines his strange and mysterious death， I jumped on the chance to read it。 I loved that this book focuses on Poe as a writer of poetry and all his complex facets that make him human instead of just his horror side。 Yes， he contributed so much to Did you know that Edgar Allan Poe was basically a book reviewer before he became a well known author？ He would have fit right in on bookstagram。 It’s no secret that I love Poe。 So， when I had the opportunity to review a book that details his life and examines his strange and mysterious death， I jumped on the chance to read it。 I loved that this book focuses on Poe as a writer of poetry and all his complex facets that make him human instead of just his horror side。 Yes， he contributed so much to this genre and his legacy is important， but he was also much more than that。 I also loved that it used various quotes of his work throughout the text。 The book begins by describing Poe’s mysterious death。 Poe was found disoriented and disheveled and died soon after at the age of 40。 The circumstances of his death are so strange， that they could have been used in one of his stories。 The book goes on to examine the various theories of his cause of death。 The one thing that hung me up a bit was that it isn’t a linear read。 It jumps around a lot to various moments and if it had been more cohesive， I feel it would have been more impactful。 Nonetheless， it is a fascinating book and I really enjoyed the readability of the text as I learned more about the life and death of one of my favorite writers。Grab this one when it’s published February 14th！ Thanks @netgalley for the ebook ARC to review and enjoy。 🖤3。5/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review 。。。more
Leah 🧜♀️
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Edgar Allen Poe has always fascinated me。 I’ve even seen a rock opera about his life。 I think this book did a very nice job explaining the story of his life in a manner that didn’t simply feel like a timeline。 I feel like we got more of an actual feel for Poe himself。 I think this book would be great for anyone who finds themselves intrigued by the mystery surrounding Edgar Allen Poe and his death， as well as those who want to know more of what he was truly like besides to horror role we’ve type Edgar Allen Poe has always fascinated me。 I’ve even seen a rock opera about his life。 I think this book did a very nice job explaining the story of his life in a manner that didn’t simply feel like a timeline。 I feel like we got more of an actual feel for Poe himself。 I think this book would be great for anyone who finds themselves intrigued by the mystery surrounding Edgar Allen Poe and his death， as well as those who want to know more of what he was truly like besides to horror role we’ve type cast him in。 。。。more
Darcia Helle
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The mystique surrounding Edgar Allan Poe， the man and the myth， fascinates me。A Mystery of Mysteries swipes away the mythos and speculation to paint an image of who Poe truly was。 At the heart of this story is an attempt to unravel the circumstances of Poe’s death and the three missing days before he was found， incoherent and dying of an unknown cause。The information is interesting， and I learned a lot。 But the way content is formatted made this a jumbled， disconnected read that wasn’t nearly as The mystique surrounding Edgar Allan Poe， the man and the myth， fascinates me。A Mystery of Mysteries swipes away the mythos and speculation to paint an image of who Poe truly was。 At the heart of this story is an attempt to unravel the circumstances of Poe’s death and the three missing days before he was found， incoherent and dying of an unknown cause。The information is interesting， and I learned a lot。 But the way content is formatted made this a jumbled， disconnected read that wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as it could have been。Chapters alternate between the forty years of Poe’s life and the short period before his death。 This would have been fine， since the author wanted particular focus on those final days。 But the chapters of his life were all out of order， as if spans of time were decided upon and written， then shuffled and presented in random order。 Consequently， the information was so disjointed that it was nearly impossible to keep the timeline straight in my head。I can’t think of any logical reason for this kind of disordered timeline in a biography。 It just didn’t work for me at all。 If you want to read this book， my suggestion is to check each chapter’s heading for the time period， number them in their natural order， then read the book that way。*I received an eARC from St。 Martin’s Press， via NetGalley。* 。。。more
Montzalee Wittmann
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A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan PoeBy Mark DawidziakI know I am not the only one that has tried to figure out what could have happened to Poe based on the scant knowledge and rumors that is known。 Being a nurse and working in a drug rehab unit I thought sure he died of DT's。 That can kill a person and make them delirious enough to possibly have different clothes。 But I also knew doctors probably thought of this already and they have。 No， he didn't die of that。 This book A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan PoeBy Mark DawidziakI know I am not the only one that has tried to figure out what could have happened to Poe based on the scant knowledge and rumors that is known。 Being a nurse and working in a drug rehab unit I thought sure he died of DT's。 That can kill a person and make them delirious enough to possibly have different clothes。 But I also knew doctors probably thought of this already and they have。 No， he didn't die of that。 This book not only tells the very intimate and emotional story of his life but also goes through each myth and tells the truth。 So many lies we have been told and we are told by who and why！ So sad he was treated like this。 We are told of his active happy times， and his sad times。 His achievements and struggles。 His works and when and why he wrote them。 This itself is interesting。Many experts in many fields had united to piece together the time， place， science from DNA， and history， diaries， and more to come up with an answer as to what happened to Edgar Allan Poe！ It was nothing I would have thought of because I don't have knowledge in all those fields and it took all that knowledge to come to this conclusion！ All steps are explained。 This is an amazing book！ I loved it！ I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this wonderfully researched book！ 。。。more
Garth
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2023 - 12 Months of Biographies
Linda
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Edgar Allan Poe is still one of the most popular writers and has dozens of books written about him。 Nevertheless， most of us know the myths about him rather than the facts。 A Mystery of Mysteries is full of things about Poe that I never knew， even though I've read several biographies about him。 He had a good sense of humor。 He wrote satires。 His combined works take up 17 volumes。 We remember his detective stories and his horror， but he wrote hundreds of reviews， comedy， hoaxes， even puzzles that Edgar Allan Poe is still one of the most popular writers and has dozens of books written about him。 Nevertheless， most of us know the myths about him rather than the facts。 A Mystery of Mysteries is full of things about Poe that I never knew， even though I've read several biographies about him。 He had a good sense of humor。 He wrote satires。 His combined works take up 17 volumes。 We remember his detective stories and his horror， but he wrote hundreds of reviews， comedy， hoaxes， even puzzles that were published。 Oh， and he didn't grow a mustache until the last couple of years of his life。 One more Oh！ He went by Edgar Poe or Edgar A。 Poe。 not Edgar Allan Poe。I haven't given it all away。 There's plenty more where that came from， especially about the theories surrounding his death。 There is so much I didn't know about his life that I'm going to buy A Mystery of Mysteries to use for research。Thank you to St。 Martin's Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review A Mystery of Mysteries。 。。。more
Spalanai ⋆ 。 ⊹
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I watched the Edgar Allan Poe episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved which was amazing。 Being my favourite writer whose life itself was a web of mysteries only intrigues me even more。 Can’t wait for this book <3
Sarah-Hope
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As Mark Dawidziak points out， we all "know" what Edgar Allan Poe was like: gloomy， alcoholic， drug addict—also， gloomy。 And gloomy。 But as Dawidziak takes pains to explain in A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe， this view of Poe is based largely on the poorly documented last years of Poe's life and on not-necessarily-accurate posthumous stories about Poe。 Dawidziak's Poe does suffer some hard downs， but that aspect of his character is balanced by a general optimism， bel As Mark Dawidziak points out， we all "know" what Edgar Allan Poe was like: gloomy， alcoholic， drug addict—also， gloomy。 And gloomy。 But as Dawidziak takes pains to explain in A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe， this view of Poe is based largely on the poorly documented last years of Poe's life and on not-necessarily-accurate posthumous stories about Poe。 Dawidziak's Poe does suffer some hard downs， but that aspect of his character is balanced by a general optimism， belief in himself as a writer， willingness to take on new projects， and intense work ethic。 He is energetic， takes regular， long walks， and can laugh at himself to set others at ease。Mystery of Mysteries offers a combined biography of Poe and investigation of his death。 The chapters alternate: one chunk of bio， one look at the final days， another chunk of bio， another look at the final days， and so on。 The idea underlying this structure is interesting—alternately dealing out the the big picture and the smaller， more-focused view—but I found it to be a mixed success。 The larger-scale biography feels rushed at times。 The changes in timeline occasionally confuse。 Readers don't get to explore Poe's death with a full sense of the trajectory of his life because his life story isn't completed until the book's end。 In addition to pushing for a more complex， less stereotypically glum picture of Poe， Dawidziak emphasizes how much we don't know—and probably never will。 Over twenty-five years， the doctor treating Poe at the time of his death wrote three different and conflicting accounts of Poe's last days。 Those who felt slighted by Poe's literary criticism—and he wrote many smart， but uncompromising reviews—used his death as an opportunity for revenge。 For them， Poe is an habitual drunkard and madman。 Others， who didn't face Poe's criticism—or did， but weren't as thinned skinned—emphasize his many years of sobriety and productivity。 Poe knew alcohol had a hugely deleterious effect on his work and relationships and repeatedly managed to hold off from the drink in order to retain a job or to better care for those he loved。The consistent features in accounts of Poe's demise were that he was fevered， anxious， and sometimes hallucinating。 Unfortunately， these aren't diagnostically useful symptoms。 Fever， anxiety， and hallucination can correlate with any number of medical conditions。 None of the symptoms recorded at the time is unique enough to enable diagnosis。 Dawidziak reviews a number of major theories about his cause of death， but each of these involves some guesswork and use of incomplete evidence。If I were to read this book over again， I would move through it reading the large-scale biographical chapters first and reading the chapters on his death after。 That reading would miss some interesting moments of juxtaposition， but would allow for a fuller grasp of all the material Dawidziak offers。I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus; the opinions are my own。 。。。more
Rebecca Brenner Graham， PhD
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A MYSTERY OF MYSTERIES recounts the life of Edgar Allan Poe through the lens of his death。 while the cause of the poet’s death cannot be proven， the authors prove that Poe’s death has shaped how people view him。 in that sense， this accessible， engaging trade-press book offers analysis of both historical memory and reception history of one of the most widely read poets in the history of the U。S。
Debra
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Thank you Netgally and the publisher for an arc copy for a honest review。 I really didn't care for the book at all。 It kept skipping around and wasn't congruent。 Thank you Netgally and the publisher for an arc copy for a honest review。 I really didn't care for the book at all。 It kept skipping around and wasn't congruent。 。。。more
Nancy
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The mystery of Poe’s life and death still baffles scholars and scientists。 Poe was reported to be a self-possessed gentleman and a wild， illogical drunk。 He married his beloved Sissy， his thirteen-year-old cousin whose mother embraced Eddy as a son。 But what the true nature of their relationship was， we don’t really know。We do know his life was haunted by tragedy。 His parents were actors， and his father abandoned his family after his birth。 His mother died of tuberculosis at age twenty-four。 His The mystery of Poe’s life and death still baffles scholars and scientists。 Poe was reported to be a self-possessed gentleman and a wild， illogical drunk。 He married his beloved Sissy， his thirteen-year-old cousin whose mother embraced Eddy as a son。 But what the true nature of their relationship was， we don’t really know。We do know his life was haunted by tragedy。 His parents were actors， and his father abandoned his family after his birth。 His mother died of tuberculosis at age twenty-four。 His brother died of alcohol related disease at age twenty-four。 His beloved Virginia suffered from tuberculosis， dying at age twenty-four。 Poe fell in love and was spurned before his marriage and after his wife’s death。 He became famous and infamous but lived in poverty， always looking for the next big chance to make his mark。 And he disappeared for days before found out of his mind， in some one else’s clothing， feverish and ill。 He was buried even before his family was notified。Early biographies and reports of his death can’t be trusted。 We know he didn’t tolerate alcohol， but what medical conditions did he have that could have led to his death？ Hair analysis doesn’t present an answer。A Mystery of Mysteries gathers together a multitude of sources， trying to cobble together the truth。 It’s entertaining and wide ranging。 It will change your perception of Poe。 Including learning that he had brown hair and light eyes， was slender and handsome and strong as a young cadet， and his wife wrote a poem for him。I received a free egalley from the publisher though NegtGalley。 My review is fair and unbiased。 。。。more
Teaqueen
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As a newbie to Poe I was very interested in reading this book， A Mystery of Mysteries by Mark Dawidziak。 Incredibly well written and researched it is told in dual timelines。 One timeline is about Poe’s life， the other about his death and they run concurrently （every other chapter） until they merge。 I loved this technique of storytelling。 It gave me a complete picture of Poe。 I had assumed things about him but turns out he and his life was very different than I had imagined。The research is detail As a newbie to Poe I was very interested in reading this book， A Mystery of Mysteries by Mark Dawidziak。 Incredibly well written and researched it is told in dual timelines。 One timeline is about Poe’s life， the other about his death and they run concurrently （every other chapter） until they merge。 I loved this technique of storytelling。 It gave me a complete picture of Poe。 I had assumed things about him but turns out he and his life was very different than I had imagined。The research is detailed and unique with so much information but it never overpowers the narrative。 The author is careful to keep things in check and the story moving。 As I was learning about Poe I was also absorbing the Victorian landscape around him， his friends and family。 His life had so many twists and turns。Even though I am a very fast reader I purposely read this slow。 Sometimes I would put down the book and read a poem that was mentioned or make notation of a short story。 Learning the background of how some of Poe’s stories came about was fascinating。 Highly recommend this book and I will definitely be reading it again！ Many thanks to Mark Dawidziak and St。 Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC。 。。。more
debbicat *made of stardust*
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I almost didn't take this when I saw it on NetGalley， but I am glad to have read it。 Lots of facts and research about Poe's life but also his death and last days。 I have been a fan of Poe most of my life。 He has been definitely misunderstood by many。 The writer sheds some light on this cold case of Poe's death and I was fascinated。 Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy to read for review。 I highly recommend it if you are a Poe lover。 I almost didn't take this when I saw it on NetGalley， but I am glad to have read it。 Lots of facts and research about Poe's life but also his death and last days。 I have been a fan of Poe most of my life。 He has been definitely misunderstood by many。 The writer sheds some light on this cold case of Poe's death and I was fascinated。 Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy to read for review。 I highly recommend it if you are a Poe lover。 。。。more
Ceelee
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Biographies and memoirs are one of my favorite genres to read。。 You learn about the person's life but you can also learn a lot of history from when and where the person lived。I was very excited to read a biography of Edar Allan Poe because I have never read one。WOW！ This is a stunning work by author Mark Dawidziak who did a terrific job in setting the 19th century life and world of the author。 He provided a lot of detailsi of Poe's death and life from other authors who have written on the subjec Biographies and memoirs are one of my favorite genres to read。。 You learn about the person's life but you can also learn a lot of history from when and where the person lived。I was very excited to read a biography of Edar Allan Poe because I have never read one。WOW！ This is a stunning work by author Mark Dawidziak who did a terrific job in setting the 19th century life and world of the author。 He provided a lot of detailsi of Poe's death and life from other authors who have written on the subject of Poe as an author and a man。 Poe's parent's were actors who died young。 That probably explained the different "roles" in his life from a charming Southern gentlemen ， a well read and intelligent author to a drunken angry and jealous man ready for literary and other battles。 Poe's dark and dreary writing propelled him to tte top of 18th century America literary curcles。。 He was a superstar and the ladies adored him， he never went far long without female companionship。 He also got into literary feuds with almost every notable author in America at that time and even Charles Dickens in England。 To me， it sounds like Poe was very too clever for his own good in his various roles 。 People would turn away from him as quickly they embraced him。 He made a large circle of friends but in the end they deserted him and when he died he was a pathetic and lonely man。Thank You to NetGalley， publishers St Martins Press and author Mark Dawidziak for providing me a free copy of this book and I freely give my enthusiastic and honest opinion。 It's one of the best literary biographies I have read in a long time。 。。。more
Ashley Brown
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Mystery of Mysteries is an interesting and in depth biography on a man I am realizing we don’t truly know like we think we do， Edgar Allen Poe。 While I had heard snippets of trivia about his life， I never saw beyond the caricature of the gloomy Gothic man we typically associate with Poe。 Mark Dawidziak intricately goes through every possible detail of Poe’s life that can be known and talks to many experts about Poe’s life and his mysterious death。 The impact Edgar Allen Poe has had on literature Mystery of Mysteries is an interesting and in depth biography on a man I am realizing we don’t truly know like we think we do， Edgar Allen Poe。 While I had heard snippets of trivia about his life， I never saw beyond the caricature of the gloomy Gothic man we typically associate with Poe。 Mark Dawidziak intricately goes through every possible detail of Poe’s life that can be known and talks to many experts about Poe’s life and his mysterious death。 The impact Edgar Allen Poe has had on literature， poetic and prose style， critical reviews， and countless authors and artists is astounding。 Like Daidziak asserts， Poe should get more credit for all his impacts in fields beyond Gothic and horror because his reach and style were so much more than what is typically remembered of him。 I think this book is for literature， history， and Poe fans alike。 It isn’t the fastest paced biography ever but it is rewarding to learn so much more about the mysterious Mr。 Poe than one could ever bargain for。 。。。more
Christina
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Absolutely thoroughly enjoyed learning so many things about Poe’s life！ Highly recommend。 I’ll probably read it again because surely I missed a few things。
Jan
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It's the tintinnabulation of the bells。No getting away from the fact that Poe was a genius and that he had a genetical physical problem with alcohol。 But the life and times of the man is often lost amid the myths。 This author takes his whole life as a cold case and does meticulous due diligence complete with an exhaustive bibliography。 It also points to the many writers， screenwriters， and actors who revere him as the Father Of their particular genre。 Great read！I requested and received an EARC It's the tintinnabulation of the bells。No getting away from the fact that Poe was a genius and that he had a genetical physical problem with alcohol。 But the life and times of the man is often lost amid the myths。 This author takes his whole life as a cold case and does meticulous due diligence complete with an exhaustive bibliography。 It also points to the many writers， screenwriters， and actors who revere him as the Father Of their particular genre。 Great read！I requested and received an EARC from St。 Martin's Press via NetGalley。 Thank you so much！ 。。。more
Fiona
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This work is a reminder of how hard it is to write a good book; Poe himself only wrote one novel which， by all accounts， was rotten。 Dawidziak has clearly done plenty of research but it never really comes together; offering a biography of Poe， a dissection of his works and influence， and an investigation of his death， the whole thing lacks focus。 The writing itself is dreary and academic， although the structure was good。 There is no shortage of books already available on this author， which makes This work is a reminder of how hard it is to write a good book; Poe himself only wrote one novel which， by all accounts， was rotten。 Dawidziak has clearly done plenty of research but it never really comes together; offering a biography of Poe， a dissection of his works and influence， and an investigation of his death， the whole thing lacks focus。 The writing itself is dreary and academic， although the structure was good。 There is no shortage of books already available on this author， which makes me feel like the real mystery is why anyone would bother to write another when there's nothing revelatory in it？ The last chapter might have made a very nice article， much as Poe's short fictions were his best work。I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher。 。。。more
Ali Bunke
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I am fascinated by the life of Edgar Allen Poe。 I was nice to get an unbiased， fact based account of who he was before he became the image icon we know today。 Pale faced， mustache， frown， a man deep in substance abuse。 These are the modern image of Edgar Allen Poe。 Mark Dawidziak has presented us with a book written in an engaging story that is accessible。 While the facts of Poe's life and death are presented， the mystery of his death will probably never be solved。 What really occurred in the da I am fascinated by the life of Edgar Allen Poe。 I was nice to get an unbiased， fact based account of who he was before he became the image icon we know today。 Pale faced， mustache， frown， a man deep in substance abuse。 These are the modern image of Edgar Allen Poe。 Mark Dawidziak has presented us with a book written in an engaging story that is accessible。 While the facts of Poe's life and death are presented， the mystery of his death will probably never be solved。 What really occurred in the days and weeks before his death have been lost。 It is nice， however， to get to meet the real person that Edgar Allen Poe was。Thank you NetGalley and St。 Martin's Press for the arc。 This is my honest review。 。。。more
Martha
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This was a very informative book about the life of Edgar Allan Poe。 It told about his difficult childhood and his basically having no home life。 Many of his stories could be tied in with what was going on in his life。 He definitely loved his wife but her early death took a toll on him。 The book gives a lot of facts and ideas， but leaves the readers to speculate on what really happened as with his death。 Well written and not like a text book。
Christina Faris
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Edgar Allan Poe’s bizarre death paralleled the dark and twisted things he wrote about。 Though there have been many things written about his death and his life， here Mark Dawidziak shed some new light。 Told in dual-timelines， a new theory emerges about his cause of death。As a long time Poe fan， I found this to be a refreshing look at his life。 He was always a writer I admired for his ability to write such dark and twisted things with such emotion behind it。 I enjoyed this look at his life。Thank y Edgar Allan Poe’s bizarre death paralleled the dark and twisted things he wrote about。 Though there have been many things written about his death and his life， here Mark Dawidziak shed some new light。 Told in dual-timelines， a new theory emerges about his cause of death。As a long time Poe fan， I found this to be a refreshing look at his life。 He was always a writer I admired for his ability to write such dark and twisted things with such emotion behind it。 I enjoyed this look at his life。Thank you to St。 Martin’s Press for the ARC！ This book will release February 14th。This review will be shared to my Instagram blog （@books_by_the_bottle） shortly 😊 。。。more
Beth Eats And Reads Walsh
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This was a very detailed， exhaustive account of Edgar Allan Poe’s life & death， As a fan of his work， I enjoyed it。 I had always liked Poe， and assumed I knew a little about him。 But after reading this book， my biggest takeaway was how different Poe was in real life from his popular legend of a dark， tortured， spooky man。 Apparently he was a little of that， but much more。 Athletic， good humored， sharply intelligent， but also his own worst enemy and full of drama。 There is still mystery surroundi This was a very detailed， exhaustive account of Edgar Allan Poe’s life & death， As a fan of his work， I enjoyed it。 I had always liked Poe， and assumed I knew a little about him。 But after reading this book， my biggest takeaway was how different Poe was in real life from his popular legend of a dark， tortured， spooky man。 Apparently he was a little of that， but much more。 Athletic， good humored， sharply intelligent， but also his own worst enemy and full of drama。 There is still mystery surrounding his death & there always will be （best guess is died from tuberculosis or complications from it） but his life was pretty well documented & this was a fascinating， if perhaps overly detailed， read & I’d recommend it to any fan of literature。 。。。more
Saltygalreads
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When most people hear the name Edgar Allan Poe， they immediately think of a grim and gaunt figure and the associated connotations - gloom， melancholy， madness， death and despair。 The fact that most people are only familiar with his horror stories are partially responsible for this impression。This biographical book focuses on EAP's final years leading up to his mysterious death， and sheds some light on his romantic relationships and friendships over the years。 There was indeed some melancholy and When most people hear the name Edgar Allan Poe， they immediately think of a grim and gaunt figure and the associated connotations - gloom， melancholy， madness， death and despair。 The fact that most people are only familiar with his horror stories are partially responsible for this impression。This biographical book focuses on EAP's final years leading up to his mysterious death， and sheds some light on his romantic relationships and friendships over the years。 There was indeed some melancholy and even despair in Poe's life， but not to the extent that is generally believed。 He experienced periods of great happiness and productivity in his life， often the times when some of his greatest work was produced。 Of course he was also mercurial， querulous and needy - he made a number of enemies throughout his short life and some of them did their best to disparage his memory。In 1849 he went missing for three days and when finally found， he was desperately ill and wearing someone else's tattered clothing。 Deliriously feverish， he died in Baltimore at just 40 years of age。The author attempts to put some clarity around these mysterious last days， and he does a reasonable job of providing a plausible explanation。 He also shines a light on Poe's tragic losses， his need to be loved， struggle with alcohol and poverty and the series of friendships and enemies he made over his brief life and career。 The author also wisely acknowledges that some of the mystery around EAP will never be solved and this mystique has helped him linger in the popular imagination for all these years。 An excellent read - well-researched and fascinating。 Many thanks to St。 Martin's Press and NetGalley for the copy to review。 。。。more
Ann
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Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy of this fact filled biography。 I learned much about the life and times of the talented， often misunderstood author。 With a fabulous bibliography of sources the author provides an opportunity to use the tantalizing details to attempt to piece together Poe’s last days as well as the life that lead him to the catalog of poems and stories that delight us today。
Jessica
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Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC。 I can’t believe I’ve never read a book about Poe’s life。 I’ve studied， read， and taught him for years。 I also feel like I was super misinformed and shared this misinformation with my students。 This book was a good one to read for someone who wanted to get a lot of info on his life and plausible theories of his death。 Myths were debunked。 Expert opinions were shared。 All good stuff。 The only thing I really didn’t like was that it flipped from way past to future an Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC。 I can’t believe I’ve never read a book about Poe’s life。 I’ve studied， read， and taught him for years。 I also feel like I was super misinformed and shared this misinformation with my students。 This book was a good one to read for someone who wanted to get a lot of info on his life and plausible theories of his death。 Myths were debunked。 Expert opinions were shared。 All good stuff。 The only thing I really didn’t like was that it flipped from way past to future and modern theories in a seemingly random way。 I often started reading a section and got confused before figuring out when it was supposed to be taking place。 Otherwise， excellently researched and presented。 I feel like I got a lot of great factual info in this book。 。。。more
Regina Mastrogiacomo
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I enjoy the book immensely because it took away the spooky aspect of Poe's life and shows the real person behind all those stories that we love。 It also gives a map to what made Poe the way he was and made him a real person to relate to。 I found that the life of Edgar Allan Poe was both very sad and very exciting。 His life was very exciting when he was writing and when he was working at jobs that support his small family， but for some reason he seem to sabotage any progress he gains。 Maybe it wa I enjoy the book immensely because it took away the spooky aspect of Poe's life and shows the real person behind all those stories that we love。 It also gives a map to what made Poe the way he was and made him a real person to relate to。 I found that the life of Edgar Allan Poe was both very sad and very exciting。 His life was very exciting when he was writing and when he was working at jobs that support his small family， but for some reason he seem to sabotage any progress he gains。 Maybe it was because the people who loved him died when he was young or maybe it was because the people who were suppose to support him abandon him and made him feel like he was a burden。 And what I gather from the book he must have been very lonely and had a problem with alcohol which made any problem he found himself in worst， and even though he made friends they never lasted。 And even in the end He seem to leave a sad story， the one about his death。 It seemed no one knows what he died of， and there are only more stories than solution。 I want to thank St。 Martin's Press and NetGalley for a eye opening biography of Edgar Allan Poe。 。。。more
C。 Purtill
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