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Cover of EDGAR ALLAN POE
★★★★★
4.21

Based on 14 Goodreads ratings

EDGAR ALLAN POE

by Leland, who leads a Poe walking tour of Providence, Rhode Island, offers a basic introduction to the beloved author’s life and work. Complete with bullet points and sidebars, it writes a biography for the PowerPoint generation. It would be best for middle schoolers who have heard of Poe but need to know more. We get the basic outlines of his life, the list of works, and guides to further reading. Interrupting the flow of narrative are sections titled “The More You Know.” These are little paragraphs, in different type and different color, that offer tidbits of history. Did Poe believe in God? A paragraph raises the question, offers a few tantalizing details (a phrase, a personal letter, an aside), and then concludes: “Like many facets of Poe’s life, it may never be known exactly where he stood on spiritual or religious matters. His love of hoaxes, satire, controversy, and sensationalism often concealed his true beliefs.” Interspersed among these comments are the texts of Poe’s poems, printed in a font that looks like that of an old manual typewriter. The literary criticism goes only so deep: “Poe’s ‘Annabel Lee’ is a masterpiece of gothic romanticism. The poem delves into Poe’s usual themes of love, loss, and grief, describing a childhood love that transcends time and even death.” The best parts of the book retell the last months of Poe’s life—his nuttiness, his drinking, and his strange love affair with death itself."

Book Details

Publisher:Of
Published:2024-01-01
Pages:240
Format:paperback
Language:English
ISBN:9781507224

Reading Info

Age Range:12-18

About This Book

This concise biography brings the haunting world of Edgar Allan Poe to life, tracing his mysterious literary career from his early struggles to his enduring legacy as the master of macabre fiction. Y...

Our Review

This concise biography brings the haunting world of Edgar Allan Poe to life, tracing his mysterious literary career from his early struggles to his enduring legacy as the master of macabre fiction. Young readers will discover the real stories behind "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart," exploring how Poe's own turbulent life shaped his chilling tales of mystery and suspense. The narrative captures both the darkness and brilliance of this iconic American writer, making his complex life accessible without losing the eerie atmosphere that makes his work so compelling.

What sets this biography apart is its ability to balance factual accuracy with the gothic sensibility that defines Poe's literary universe, making it particularly engaging for middle school and high school students discovering classic horror literature. Parents will appreciate how the book contextualizes Poe's darker themes within his historical period, while young readers will be drawn to the dramatic storytelling and psychological depth that still feels remarkably modern. This portrait ultimately reveals why Poe's tales of terror continue to captivate generation after generation of readers.

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