Shelley Costa Bloomfield

THE EVERYTHING GUIDE TO EDGAR ALLAN POE is an easy-to-read, fairly comprehensive of “The life, times, and work of a tormented genius.”
His father walked off when Edgar was a young child and his mother died a month before his third birthday. His father may have died a few days later. Edgar, his older brother, and younger sister were separated and Edgar was adopted by Frances and John Allen. John, who inherited more than $13 million in today’s currency from an uncle,had plans for Edgar. Unfortunately, Edgar did not live up to his adopted father’s expectations.
THE EVERYTHING GUIDE..tells us what happened to him in both his life and career and offers explanations as to why. It talks about his schooling, military service, writings and personal relationships as he tries to find himself (reinventing himself several times in the process) and seeks the love he lacked at home. He lied about his age to join the service, then figured out how to leave West Point by being court-marshaled and dismissed. Poverty was his constant companion.
The format of the book is unusual. It includes numerous inserts. Many are quotes from some of his writings. Some, titled “they said,” offer quotes about him from people who actually met him or members of his family. Another, called “question,” defines words or phrases used in the text while “fact” is used for providing incidental information about topics that are discussed. In many books some of these may appear as footnotes or endnotes. In this book, they are included on the page.
People who are not very familiar with Poe will find this a good introduction. Those who are more knowledgeable will learn that some of the things they knew about him are not true.
The book includes “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Pit and the Pendulum.”… (mais)