Hometown of Edgar Po. Biography of Edgar Poe, military career, creativity

American writer, poet and critic Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston (USA) into a family of actors of a traveling troupe. At the age of two, he was left an orphan, after which he was adopted by a merchant from Virginia, John Allan. He was brought up in a boarding school in England; in 1826 he entered the aristocratic University of Virginia in Charlottesville. IN student years got carried away gambling, participated in revelry, which provoked conflicts with his stepfather. After one of these quarrels, the future writer left the home of his adoptive parents.

In 1828, with the financial support of his adoptive parents, he returned to Boston, where he published the collections Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems (1829) and Poems (1831), but these endeavors were not successful. had.

In 1830 he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, but soon left his studies, which provoked a final break with John Allan. Left without financial support, Edgar Allan Poe again found himself on the brink of poverty.

In 1833, he made his first appearance as a prose writer with the story “A manuscript found in a bottle,” for which he received an award from the Baltimore Saturday Visitor magazine.

During the 1830s he continued to write short stories and published regularly in the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond, where he gained a reputation as an original and witty critic. These publications later formed the famous two-volume book “Grotesques and Arabesques” (Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, 1840).

In 1836, Edgar Poe married his cousin Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe.

In 1837, in search of better-paying work, he moved to New York, but due to the financial crisis, he was unable to find work there.

In 1838-1843 he lived with his wife and her mother in Philadelphia, worked at Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine and Graham’s Magazine, and tried to publish his own The magazine Stylus. He published about thirty stories and many literary critical articles.

In October 2009, 160 years after his death, Edgar Allan Poe was honored with a second funeral service. The costume ceremony took place at the writer's museum in Boston, where the coffin with a mannequin of Edgar Allan Poe was on display.

The originality of Poe's style did not find followers in America. In European literary tradition Poe's influence was felt by Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, Maurice Maeterlinck, Oscar Wilde, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Robert Louis Stevenson. Russian symbolists such as Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Konstantin Balmont, Valery Bryusov were also keen on Poe’s work.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

A forerunner of decadence and modernism, whose creations were marked by boundless melancholy, the writer Edgar Allan Poe is familiar to many as the creator of iconic dark stories with mystical overtones. The writer, trying to take readers beyond trivial thinking, in his short stories, philosophical fiction and rationalizations, was engaged in an artistic study of the activities of the human intellect. The formation of the detective and psychological thriller genres is the direct merit of the prose writer.

The best minds of the 19th century, including symbolist writers and, admired the realism of the mental suffering described in the works of the “damned poet” and the professionalism with which Poe balanced between the horror of life and the joy of death. Even during Edgar’s lifetime, people who were not devoid of imagery of thought declared that the name of the creator, shrouded in a halo of a romantic sufferer, would go down in the history of world literature.

Childhood and youth

The future spiritual mentor was born on January 19, 1809 in the northeastern United States in the capital of Massachusetts - the city of Boston. The poet's parents, Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins and David Poe, were creatively gifted people. His mother is an English actress who emigrated to America, and his father is a law student from Baltimore who chose the path of acting instead of a well-paid legal profession. From the biography of the genius of literary arabesque, it is known that, in addition to him, two more children were raised in the family: older brother William Henry Leonard (1807–1831) and younger sister Rosalie (1810–1874).

The head of the family left his wife when Edgar was barely a year old. ABOUT future fate men know nothing for certain. In 1811, the poet's mother died of consumption. All three children officially found adoptive parents. Edgar ended up in the family of the co-owner of a trading company involved in the sale of cotton and tobacco - John Allan and his wife Frances. The spouses, being highly respected individuals, had big influence in the elite circles of Richmond, where they lived before leaving for England.

In the Allan house, the boy, who knew neither warmth nor affection, found the care that he so lacked. Frances doted on Edgar and did not deny anything to the child whom she considered her own. John did not share his wife's delight. The man did not understand why his beloved chose adoption over the natural process of childbearing. Despite some misunderstanding, the businessman also spoiled his adopted son. As a child, Edgar had at his disposal whatever he wanted. At that time, parents did not set a price limit on whims and needs.

Edgar showed early ability to learn, and at the age of 5 he was sent to school. In 1815, the Allan family left for Great Britain to work. There, Poe's educators were exposed to the harsh climate and equally harsh customs of English educational institutions. He returned to America as a stronger, precocious teenager. The knowledge acquired by the future poet in the Old World allowed him to enter a local college in 1820 without much difficulty. However, the financial difficulties that the family faced upon returning to their homeland, and the conflicts that periodically arose between Francis and John, had a negative impact on Poe.

The once cheerful guy increasingly retired to his room, preferring the company of books to the noisy companies of his peers. During the period of voluntary seclusion, Edgar's interest in poetry manifested itself. Allan did not understand the young man’s new hobby. In the opinion of a man devoid of creative thinking, the best occupation for Edgar would be to work hard in the family store, where in the future Poe could gain the right to a share in the business. During quarrels, the causes of which were different life priorities, John constantly reminded his adopted son that his life depended entirely on his guardian.

As a college student, Poe fell head over heels in love with his friend's mother, Jane Stanard. Communication between an older lady and an ardent young man was reduced to behind-the-scenes meetings and conversations all night long. Subsequently, Edgar dedicated the poem “Elena” to his beloved (as the prose writer called his chosen one). For the first time in his life, Poe was happy. True, the prose writer did not enjoy the delights of mutual love for long.

In 1824, Jane contracted meningitis, lost her mind and died. Heartbroken, Edgar began to suffer from nightmares. The young man was most frightened when, in the pitch darkness of the night, it seemed to him that someone’s icy hand was resting on his face. A well-functioning imagination repeatedly pictured the terrible face of a hitherto unknown creature approaching him from the pre-dawn twilight.

According to biographers, it was at this time that the first symptoms of the writer’s mental disorder began to appear, which subsequently transformed into a frequently occurring apathetic state, persecution mania and thoughts of suicide. In the spring of 1825, the writer’s stepfather received an inheritance of $750 thousand from his deceased uncle and became one of the richest people in Richmond. Poe decided to take advantage of the opportunity and persuaded Allan to pay for his studies at the University of Virginia. True, John, who became greedy for money in his old age, decided to save money. Instead of the $350 required for payment, he gave the young man only $110.

Upon arrival at the educational institution founded, Edgar found himself in a bourgeois environment alien to him. In the company of wealthy young men and women, Poe tried in vain to fit in with them, but the handouts sent by his guardian were only enough to pay for housing. Edgar decided to earn money by playing cards, aggravating the already precarious state of affairs. In December 1826, John Allan received numerous bills from Edgar's creditors. In terrible anger, the merchant arrived in Charlottesville and told his adopted son that this was the end of his university epic, which had not yet really begun.

Despite Poe’s obvious success in his studies and successfully passing his exams, the young man could no longer remain at the university even after graduation. school year On December 21, 1826 he left him. The aspiring poet felt his shame acutely. The stepfather added fuel to the fire and every day accused the former student of irresponsibility, and after another quarrel he kicked Po out of the house. Edgar settled in the Court-House tavern, from where he wrote letters to Allan, continuing the showdown in epistolary form. After spending a couple of days in a barroom room, Poe went to Norfolk and then to Boston.

Literature

In his hometown, the writer by chance met the young typographer Calvin Thomas, who agreed to publish his first collection of poems, Tamerlane. The work was published in 1827. In the preface, Poe apologized to readers for the crudeness of the works published in the book and explained that he wrote these masterpieces at the age of 12–14 years.

In 1829, the second poetry collection “Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Other Poems” was published; in April 1831, the poet’s third book, “Poems”, was published, which included previously unpublished works (“Israfel”, “Paean”, “The Condemned City” ", "To Elena", "Sleeping"). The success of "The Raven" at the beginning of 1845 gave Edgar the opportunity to collect his new poems in a separate publication, "Stories", which hit the shelves in the same year.

It is worth noting that the short story genre has always occupied the main place in Allan’s work. Poe's short stories can be divided into several thematic groups: psychological ("The Black Cat", "Ligeia", "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Oval Portrait"), logical ("The Gold Bug", "Murder in the Rue Morgue", "The Mystery of Marie Roget" ", "The Stolen Letter"), humorous ("Glasses", "Breathless", "The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade") and science fiction (" An extraordinary adventure a certain Hans Pfaal", "Sphinx", "The Balloon Story").

The era of detective literature began with four logical works of the writer, in which the main character was the detective Auguste Dupin. The detective born from Edgar's imagination became the prototype of famous bloodhounds: Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Although it was stories that made Poe popular, it was only in poetry that the writer showed the world his true self. With the help of poems, Edgar established closer contact with readers.

Personal life

The writer met his first and only wife the year his stepfather kicked him out of the house. Having learned that her nephew had nowhere to live, Aunt Klemm happily accepted Poe into her estate in Baltimore. It was then that love broke out between the melancholy Edgar and good-natured Virginia. The wedding took place on September 12, 1835. The wedding was secret. Edgar was 26 years old at the time of his marriage, and his chosen one was only 13 years old. Mrs. Klemm's relatives opposed the marriage.

In their opinion, depriving Virginia of her childhood by marrying her to a slacker (at that time, poetic work was not considered an occupation for worthy man), was extremely unwise. The elderly woman thought differently: from the very beginning she saw a genius in Edgar and knew that she could not find a better match for her daughter.

Virginia became the guiding light of Poe's life, inspiring him to create outstanding works. The young lady loved her Eddie so much that she put up with poverty, which stubbornly did not let go of their family, and with difficult character writer. It is worth noting that Edgar, in a strange way, depended on the well-being and mood of his wife. When Poe's beloved died of tuberculosis in January 1847, the writer fell into a prolonged depression. The widower preferred strong drinks to work and the hugs of other women. Only alcohol allowed the creator to forget the horror that he had to endure.

Death

Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849 in a Baltimore hospital. According to the testimony of a doctor who observed the writer’s condition in the last days of his life, the author of the story “Little Frog” was taken to the hospital on October 3, 1849. Disoriented in space and time, the writer was dressed in clothes from someone else’s shoulder and did not remember his last name or first name. The man, who had lost his mind, was placed in a room with barred windows. After a couple of days in the hospital, Poe never regained consciousness. He was tormented by hallucinations and convulsions, he mentioned his long-dead wife, and also repeatedly uttered the name of a certain Reynolds, whose identity could not be identified.

After four days in the medical institution, the poet died. His last words were: “Lord, accept my poor soul.” All medical records, including Poe's death certificate, have disappeared. Newspapers of that time explained the death of the writer by brain disease and inflammation of the central nervous system. In the 19th century, these diagnoses were often given to people who died from alcoholism. What actually caused the death of the legend of world literature is still unknown. The funeral procession, which was attended by only a couple of people, took place on October 8 of the same year. Poe was buried in Baltimore's Westminster Cemetery in a cheap coffin without handles, a name tag, a blanket or a pillow under his head.

On October 1, 1875, the writer’s ashes were transferred to a grave located closer to the entrance. Also, at the expense of fans of the writer’s work, a monument was made and erected. The hoaxer’s literary heritage has been preserved in collections of poems, poems and stories. Among other things, the works “The Well and the Pendulum”, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “The Masque of the Red Death”, “Berenice”, “Murder in the Rue Morgue” and “Metzengerstein” formed the basis of the plot of modern films and television series.

Bibliography

• "Spirits of Death" (1827);
• "Dreams" (1827);
• "Romance" (1829);
• "Metzengerstein" (1832);
• “Manuscript Found in a Bottle” (1833);
• "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839);
• "Silence" (1840);
• “The Well and the Pendulum” (1842);
• "Linor" (1843);
• "The Masque of the Red Death" (1843);
• "Premature Burial" (1844);
• "The Raven" (1845);
• "Enigma" (1849);
• "Annabel Lee" (1849);
• “Jump-Skok” (“Little Frog”) (1849).

The “black aroma” of madness and sadness, which only a select few, or rather, the doomed, can feel. Brutal murders committed by non-human beings (whether an unknown entity or an orangutan). Mysterious beauties - more frightening than attractive - who return from world of the dead only to call out, or even take away with them those who, by the whim of fate, lingered in this world. All these are images from the macabre texts of Edgar Allan Poe.

Poe's posthumous fame is enormous: his characters filled the collective unconscious, his plots became wandering, his works inspired not just many followers, but gave birth to entire movements in literature and cinema. The raven from Poe's most famous poem spread his wings in Hollywood, inspiring the dark films of the same name. The story about a black cat avenging his own death and the murder of his mistress has become firmly established in... Soviet children's folklore: the Octobrists and the pioneers, who frightened each other with this horror story (which acquired a completely modern flavor among children), hardly knew that they were retelling the plot, created in the 19th century by a consistent supporter of black slavery. And these are just a couple of many examples. A romantic poet who, as befits a romantic poet, wore elegant black outfits and amazed many women with his “poetic madness.” The founder of the detective genre, who brought into literature the private detective Dupin, a worthy predecessor of Sherlock Holmes (although, of course, if you nitpick, the elements of the detective story and unusual forms of this genre - the Chinese detective story, for example - appeared before Poe). And besides everything else. Edgar Poe is one of the founders of science fiction, black fantasy, horror novels, thrillers and suspense.

It would seem that the life of such a person should be shrouded in a cocoon of the mystical. This assumption is so obvious that a number of screenwriters and writers “invited the late writer to the pages of their works, where the ghost of Poe is eager to unravel the terrible secrets of the past, or Edgar himself, alive and well, helps the inspector find a maniac who commits bloody crimes under the influence of his terrible works.

The authors were echoed by biographers who expected mysticism and mystery from Poe’s life. Many of them willingly transferred to the pages of the writer’s biographies his own memories of fascinating and incredible things... which never happened to him in reality. Among these gullible and admiring people was Charles Baudelaire, who highly revered Edgar Allan Poe, translated his works and was inspired by them to create his own decadent and psychedelic texts. And also the romantic Konstantin Balmont, who decorated the essay about Poe’s life with an incredible number of poetic images.

In fact, there was little mysterious in the life of Edgar Allan Poe (although unusual things still happened from time to time), for the most part it was the tragedy of a man who, despite talent and perseverance, did not know how to take into account either people, or circumstances, or even yourself.

The paths of fathers, the crossroads of children

The favorite of Europe, Edgar Allan Poe, was born in America, in Boston, on January 19, 1809. Relatively soon, one of the few mysterious events connected with his fate occurred: Edgar’s father disappeared without a trace when the boy was two years old. Later there were rumors that David Poe had died (they even named the probable cause of death: transient consumption), interspersed with gossip that he simply left his wife after learning that they youngest daughter Rosalie is not his child. It was not possible to find out what really happened to David Poe.

On September 27, 1849, 38 years after the disappearance of David Poe, forty-year-old writer Edgar Poe set off on a short (it was supposed to last 24 hours) business trip from Richmond to New York. On September 28, he suddenly disappeared. On October 3, in Baltimore (!), a kind-hearted passer-by found a man unconscious and sent him to the hospital, not knowing that in front of him was a writer lost by his fiancée and relatives. A few days later, Edgar Allan Poe died in his hospital room. What happened to him in those days “erased” from his life and his memory (when he came to his senses, he claimed that he did not remember what happened to him) is still unknown.

A short tragedy by Elizabeth Arnold

Konstantin Balmont wrote about Edgar Allan Poe’s mother that she was “a girl without any country”: “... she was born in the middle of the ocean when her mother, crossing the Atlantic, left England for America. The mother died after giving birth to her, the girl had no father, and someone stranger, taking pity on the child, sheltered her, raised her and prepared her for the stage." The reality is not so poetic: Elizabeth Arnold's mother was a widowed English actress who went to try her luck in America. Following family tradition, Elizabeth appeared on stage early (she played her first role at the age of ten) and served very successfully in the theater. Her short life was difficult and full of losses: the girl’s mother died, and later, just a few years after the wedding, Elizabeth’s first husband, actor Charles Hopkins, died of a fever. The young widow married a second time to David Poe. This young man from a good, albeit poor, family left law for the stage. According to one version, he did this because he fell in love with Elizabeth, according to another, he dreamed of theatrical fame, according to a third, he had no luck in legal matters and hoped that he would become a successful actor. Unfortunately, he did not shine on stage, and, probably, if he had the opportunity to return to law, he would have done so - if not for himself, then for the sake of his wife, who was in poor health, and three small children. It is possible that this would have happened one day, but... David Poe disappeared, and Elizabeth found herself in a completely disastrous situation. David's parents took care of her eldest son, William Henry, but the two younger ones, Edgar and Rosalie, remained with their mother, whose health was steadily deteriorating: she suffered from consumption. Elizabeth Poe appeared on stage as much as she could, and when she became completely ill, spectators and colleagues tried to help her financially. The talented actress died at 23, tormented in addition to her own suffering by fear for the future of her children. An unimaginable tragedy.

Allan family

Two kind-hearted women - sisters Frances and Anne - visited Elizabeth during her illness. Anne was unmarried and lived with her sister's family, and Frances was the wife of John Allan. She felt sorry for Elizabeth, and with all her soul she became attached to little Edgar. Frances did not have any children of her own, so after the death of the young woman, Mrs. Allan took the orphaned boy into her care.

Edgar's childhood in the Allan house was happy. He was well off: no matter how things went in the Ellis and Allan trading company (and during the years of Poe’s growing up, there were ups and downs in the commercial business of the partners on the verge of bankruptcy), this did not affect the boy’s life, Edgar had the best clothes, trinkets and books, excellent teachers, your own pony, the opportunity to invite groups of friends. The boy, with his adoptive parents and aunt, crossed the ocean twice and spent five years in England and Scotland, the homeland of John Allan.

But it was not just about material wealth. Edgar’s adoptive parents instilled in him that he was talented, capable of great achievements, and in their habit of being condescending to his pranks and whims, the women of this family perhaps went too far: All his life he believed that no matter what he did, he would certainly be forgiven, and, moreover, most likely, without even an apology on his part.

"The Evil Genius" by Edgar Poe

Almost all biographies of Edgar Poe do not regret dark colors, painting the merchant John Allan as a callous and cruel person, almost the evil genius of the future writer. In fact, it is difficult to say who was the evil genius for whom. John Allan was an orphan from Scotland. He began his career in commerce from the very bottom, working for a wealthy uncle, but his enviable hard work and undoubted talent allowed him to open his own business together with his former colleague Ellis.

Pity for the orphaned child, public opinion, and most of all the great desire of his wife and her sister to keep the baby with them forced him to agree that Edgar settled in their house. He became deeply attached to the boy, but... John Allan, who went through a difficult school of life (orphanhood, hard work, emigration, which forced him to leave his homeland and relatives), was accustomed to being grateful for the relatively little that his relatives did for him, and not to wait more. The boy who lived in his house took everything he received for granted and never felt particularly grateful for anything.

Mr. Allan knew the value of money, and Edgar spent it recklessly. With age, his demands grew, and yet he, a fairly mature guy, continued to treat dollars like a spoiled child.

John Allan was hardworking - Edgar, it seemed, did not strive for any work, not particularly hiding the fact that he was counting in life on the inheritance that he would one day receive from his adoptive father (over time, this amount became significant: Allan’s rich uncle unexpectedly left his nephew an impressive portion his condition). At the same time, John had two illegitimate children, whom he generously helped financially all his life and to whom he was going to bequeath (and bequeathed) a significant part of his money.

John Allan knew how, if necessary, to cope with his feelings, while his adopted son easily fell into hysterics and could shower anyone with insults. Mr. Allan believed (and this was the natural state of affairs at that time) that the minor youth for whom he was responsible should live by his rules, and Edgar Allan did not think of taming his capricious temper and adapting to the demands of the head of the family. Note that this was not the relatively democratic and psychological 20th century, but the terry 19th century - a time when obedience to elders was considered absolutely required quality young man. Moreover, it took place in the slave-holding south of America, with its rather patriarchal and cruel morals. Even the kindest Aunt Polly in Mark Twain’s novel says about her favorite little Tom Sawyer: “He who does without a rod ruins a child,” heartily blaming himself for whipping his nephew too rarely and thus spoiling him. By such standards, John Allan showed miracles of gentleness towards his adopted son.

Let's add one more thing to this: throughout his life, Edgar Allan Poe let down people with whom he had business or personal relationships, was extremely arrogant, loved to manipulate others, suffered from mood swings, came out of most business ventures with a scandal, blaming his partners for everything , employers and mysterious “enemies” (in a word, anyone, just not himself), and could slander anyone, without, it seems, having anything sacred. For example, soon after the death of his beloved wife Virginia, he wrote to a potential lover that he had never loved his wife and married her only for her happiness, neglecting his own. So he betrayed the woman he loved with one stroke of his pen. But letters have been preserved where he wrote that if he does not marry Virginia, then he has no reason to live. In short, Edgar Allan Poe was, to put it mildly, no gift. Of course, there is a possibility that Poe acquired all these unattractive qualities as an adult. But it seems that he developed them already in early youth, and John Allan watched with alarm as yesterday's nervous and difficult boy turned into a rather unpleasant and childish young man, looking at whom the adoptive father, perhaps, increasingly caught himself relieved that this young man was not his own son.

After Edgar completed his schooling in Richmond, he continued his studies at the University of Charlottesville. By this time, Edgar was a handsome and athletic young man, an excellent swimmer, well versed in academic subjects, and even wrote poetry.

At the university, Edgar studied brilliantly, which did not stop him from running up huge debts in stores (where he had unlimited credit under the responsibility of his adoptive father), no less gambling debts, and indulging in drunken revelry. When an enraged Allan reprimanded Edgar for his behavior towards the end of the school year, instead of an apology he received... reproaches. It turns out that he himself is to blame: after all, Edgar, according to him, played only because he did not have enough money. Considering the fact that the mother and aunt usually generously provided the young man with cash ( large sums his friends and teachers at school were always surprised by his pocket money), and also taking into account the same unlimited credit in the surrounding shops and the fact that a significant part of what he borrowed from shopkeepers was spent on parties with friends, the self-whitening version of the young man does not stand up to any critics. To top it all off, it turned out that Poe tried to forge his adoptive father's signature on the bill. John Allan repaid the young man’s loans in stores, but flatly refused to pay the “debts of honor,” believing that the young gambler should extricate himself.

It is not surprising that at the end of the school year, John Allan said that he did not want Edgar to continue his studies at the university - the young rake already received a fairly good education, much better than Allan himself had. With such knowledge it is quite possible to earn money and make a career. And if you want to continue your education, well, great: self-education will help! Yes, not an all-forgiving approach, but not a frighteningly cruel approach either.

For the next six months, Poe lived at home on his adoptive father's money, making only rather feeble attempts to find a job to pay off his huge gambling debts, and not showing a shadow of remorse, only blaming Allan for ruining his life "on the influence of a momentary whim."

Edgar's antics, the troubles he got into, the tense home environment, aggravated by constant quarrels between the two men, worsened the already poor health of Frances Allan: her consumption progressed (a disease in which, as is known, any stress is destructive) . John probably thought a thousand times that if 15 years ago he had shown perseverance and refused to accept little Edgar into the family, his wife would have suffered for some time and calmed down, but because he, succumbing to weakness, let him into their family The life of this boy, his beloved woman, is doomed to constant experiences that will probably bring her death closer.

Elmira Royster - lost love

In addition to the loss of the opportunity to study, Edgar experienced the loss of his beloved girl. Even before leaving for university, he fell in love with a young neighbor, fifteen-year-old Elmira Royster. The feeling was mutual, and the young people secretly got engaged from their parents. But the girl’s father did not consider Edgar a suitable match for his daughter, so he intercepted Love letters, which the young man wrote to his bride from the university, making Elmira believe that Edgar had forgotten about her. At the same time, he systematically prepared the ground for his daughter’s marriage to another young man, Alexander Shelton - wealthy, independent and balanced. Royster's plan worked: he separated the young couple. Elmira married someone else.

Edgar, having learned that his beloved girl had left him, was inconsolable. Moreover, for him this was already the second loss of his beloved: very young, almost a teenager, he was in love with the mother of his classmate, Jane Stanard. There was a lot of filialness in this feeling with a bit of romance, but often such relationships, while remaining platonic, grow into friendship with a hint of flirtation. But this story had a truly sad ending: the unfortunate woman, whom Edgar poetically called “Helen” in poems and notes (by analogy with the beautiful Queen of Troy), lost her mind and died of an unknown illness a year after they met. And now he has lost Elmira too, considering, moreover, that she left him of her own free will. ...Oddly enough, some biographers (for example, Hervey Allen) and in this tragic event manage to blame John Allan. They say that if he had told Royster that he would leave his adopted son a good inheritance, the girl’s father would have agreed to the marriage of Edgar and Elmira. First of all, it’s not a fact. Besides money, there was also a character factor: Royster may have been observant enough to draw his own conclusions about young Edgar. Secondly, Edgar never asked John Allan to help his marriage with Elmira, he did not even inform his adoptive father that he had proposed to the girl.

And finally, Hervey Allen does not take into account that facilitating this marriage could be contrary to the sincere convictions of John Allan: he saw perfectly well that his adopted son was an unreliable young man with incipient bad habits and a difficult character, not inclined to repent of his mistakes or learn from them . Perhaps this responsible and lived life person simply did not want such a husband for a very young and inexperienced girl, the daughter of a good friend. So why should John Allan go against his conscience in such a matter? By the way, if Allan was guided precisely by these considerations, then he was absolutely right: Edgar Allan Poe’s future wife tasted in full his irresponsibility, his drunkenness, and his nasty antics. Moreover, the story of Elmira Royster was not a situation where parents simply allowed young people to make their own mistakes - initially this marriage could only take place if John Allan actually signed that he would pay for Poe’s mistakes. After all, Edgar himself did not earn money (as practice has shown, in the future he could not adequately support his family for any long time, and what he did earn, he often drank away), therefore, it was possible to defend the possibility of his marriage to Elmira, only by providing (and continuing to provide, since he has already undertaken) Poe’s future family financially.

"One Bostonian"

After another quarrel with his adoptive father, Edgar Allan Poe left home. John finally posed the question bluntly: either you live by my rules, find a job, pay off your debts - or leave.

In a letter sent the next day, the young man announced that he was acting not under the influence of impulse, but out of long-standing and mature reflection and did not want to have anything to do with Allan. He also asked... to send money and a chest with his clothes. John left the letter unanswered. Two days later, Edgar again asked for money, saying that he was poor and starving. John Allan reminded him that less than a week had passed since Poe broke with him “forever,” refusing to live according to the laws of his house.

For some time, Edgar lived on the money that his mother and aunt gave him, and then he went to try his luck away from his hometown. First he went to Boston, where he published a book of poems under the pseudonym “One Bostonian” - it was a collection of his early, not yet very mature works, some passages of which, however, were quite figurative and interesting in form.

For some time he lived in the family of relatives of David Poe, and then, having failed to achieve success in other fields (he could not find a job, the book was not popular: as it turned out, it was not enough to print, it was also necessary to advertise, and for this there were no connections, no material opportunities), entered the army.

Edgar Allan Poe served under an assumed name and was successful: he was transferred to headquarters and received non-commissioned officer stripes. His contract was signed for 5 years, but after 2 years he wrote to John Allan asking him to help him leave the garrison. Edgar could only do this by informing his superiors that he had reconciled with his relatives, and also by paying the person who was supposed to replace him in the service. After much hesitation (it seemed to John that the army could “make a man” out of a spoiled boy - a common point of view, which sometimes even justifies itself), his adoptive father agreed to intervene in the situation. True, there was a hitch: the payment to a replacement colleague was usually 12 dollars, and Poe paid his... 75. Otherwise, he had to wait, and he was in a hurry to leave the service. This surprise was not, of course, ruinous for Allan, who had become rich, but it did not cause too much Nice memories about Edgar’s unjustified expenses and frauds that took place in the past. By the way, Allan’s suspicions were justified: Poe incurred gambling debts in the army, and his creditors turned to Allan in the following years. The ambiguity of the situation did not improve the relationship between father and son. Edgar claimed that he wanted to enter the military academy, and his adoptive father, with the help of letters of recommendation and regular expenses, helped him do this.

During his studies, Edgar experienced a terrible loss for the second time: his second mother, Frances Allan, the woman who gave him the fullness of maternal love, died of consumption, like the first. It’s scary to imagine how this affected the young man: it’s not for nothing that the image of a dying woman or woman appears so often in Poe’s texts. dead woman, destroying with its death the life and/or mind of the lyrical hero; It’s not for nothing that in general his texts have such a strong theme of frightening and all-powerful death, conquering life, love, and hope. Life for Poe always loses to decay, and, given his life and moral experience, this is not at all surprising.

Poe was only a day late in Richmond, missing out on seeing Frances before he died. General grief briefly softened the two men: John warmly welcomed Edgar at home, completely updated his secular wardrobe, thought about how he could help the young man in life, and even Edgar began to call John “pa” in his letters, which had not happened for a long time.

West Point Military Academy was a quality educational institution: cadets were trained for 4 years in the natural sciences, chemistry, advanced mathematics, engineering, ballistics, drafting, law, foreign languages ​​and philosophy. Edgar hoped that, thanks to his brilliant abilities, he would be able to complete his studies in a short time (in any other place he most likely would have succeeded). But it turned out that this was simply impossible: in addition to theory, there was also military practice, designed for the entire training period. Poe was not ready for this and a year later began to demand that Allan take him away from the academy.

To say John was disappointed would be an understatement. He hoped that Edgar had finally come to his senses and become interested in something. Let's not forget that it was very difficult to get Poe into the academy: the competition exceeded 10 people per place, and we had to wait more than a year. In addition, at this time, John Allan received several demands to pay Edgar’s next “debts of honor” made while still in the army, and he was also given a letter from Edgar, in which he described Allan as a man who “is rarely sober” - this lie was as ridiculous as it is pointless. Offended to the core, John Allan stopped responding to Edgar's letters.

He, without receiving the support of his adoptive father, deliberately abandoned his studies in order to be expelled from the academy. And he succeeded. If Edgar Poe had been as successful in creation as in destruction, he would have been second to Mark Twain in terms of wealth and success.

Mrs. Klemm

A short stay in New York (no friends, no certainty, but big health problems: a cold and severe otitis media) ended with the publication of the author’s second book, called simply “The Poems of Edgar A. Poe” and even causing several good reviews, but not brought money.

In search of shelter, Edgar moved to Baltimore, to the house of his aunt, David Poe’s younger sister, Mrs. Klemm. Maria Clemm was a widow with two children, single-handedly supporting a large, unhappy family: grandmother Poe lived out her last years, lying paralyzed, Maria's eldest nephew, Edgar's brother Henry William, was dying of tuberculosis and alcoholism, Mrs. Clemm's son Henry drank bitters, and her youngest daughter Virginia was still a little girl of nine years old.

Edgar spent the next few years virtually dependent on this courageous woman with a highly developed maternal instinct. Edgar was exceptionally lucky with mothers: having accepted him into the family, Maria became his kind genius until the end of his days. Mrs. Klemm was an ideal housekeeper, knew how to save every penny, cooked well “from nothing,” was very neat, loved her family and never lost heart. Unfortunately, all these wonderful qualities did not provide a means of livelihood. At the slightest opportunity, she earned money by sewing, and when this did not help, Mrs. Klemm had to beg food from relatives and friends. She did this without losing her dignity, and they helped her. Henry's family lived on these food donations and rare earnings.

Sad events - deaths - got rid of extra mouths: I suffered old grandmother Poe, family consumption claimed the life of Edgar's brother. Mrs. Klemm's son hired himself as a sailor on a ship, left his father's home and, with no small probability, died in foreign lands.

Meanwhile, luck flashed for Edgar Allan Poe: he sent his story “Metzengerstein” to a literary competition, did not receive first place, but was noticed. He became a journalist in several publications, and his stories began to be published. A little later, his work “The Manuscript Found in a Bottle” received first place in another literary competition, and Poe won one hundred dollars, which actually saved the family from starvation.

Sow character, reap destiny...

After Frances' death, John Allan decided to marry his late wife's sister. He was an elderly man, he did not count on crazy passions, and a calm, family-filled marriage with a woman whom he had known for a long time (they got along well, learned each other’s habits while living under the same roof), seemed to him a welcome quiet haven.

This supposed marriage was destroyed by... Edgar Allan Poe. The aunt's favorite, he passionately convinced her not to agree to an alliance with Allan, recalled all the sins of her adoptive father, and insisted that getting married only a year after Frances' death was a crime. Anna refused John Allan.

A couple of years later, it turned out that Edgar Poe had outdone himself: while visiting friends, John Allan met thirty-year-old Louise Patterson, fell in love with her and proposed. The feeling turned out to be mutual, Miss Patterson said yes, married Allan and bore him two children.

Aunt Anna would have defended Edgar's interests to the last drop of blood, and Louise Allan had no obligations to the stranger Poe.

Over the years, Poe received money from John Allan several times, although he agreed to help only with the most critical situations- for example, when Edgar was threatened with a prison sentence for debts.

Deciding to make peace with his adoptive father and ask for permanent benefits, Edgar returned to Richmond, but... had a row with John's second wife. An ugly scene ensued in which Edgar Allan Poe seemed to play all the cards necessary to lose: he declared that Louise Allan had no right to turn his room into a guest room (that is, to dispose of own home), accused her of marrying John only for mercantile reasons (from the “unmercenary” Poe, who dreamed of his adoptive father’s money, this was especially disgusting to hear), told her nasty things about her and her children, not even sparing the baby cradle. And he didn’t even find the courage to wait for John Allan, whom his family had called from the office with a note, he simply ran away cowardly, insulting the woman. Reconciliation did not work out.

The last time Edgar came to the already seriously ill John Allan, who ordered that his former pupil not be allowed in: the old man wanted to save his nerves. But Edgar broke into the house for the sake of... another ugly scene, which ended with John Allan driving him out with a stick. After this difficult episode, the patient’s condition deteriorated sharply, and a short time later John Allan died, providing for his wife, legitimate and illegitimate children and leaving nothing for Edgar Allan Poe.

There is one book that Edgar Allan Poe could never have written: “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Unless, of course, we are talking about a positive influence.

Poet, writer, journalist

Without stopping his poetic creativity, Poe began to develop as a journalist and prose writer. His short stories and short stories appear in newspapers, and he publishes reviews of books and articles. In 1835, he received an offer of permanent cooperation from the Southern Literary Messenger, a small publication that had only 700 subscribers, and moved to Richmond. Editor-in-chief Mr. White is endlessly pleased with the new employee: Invaluable. He is talented, hardworking, and his work attracts more and more readers and subscribers. He is developing as a critic (in the first year of work in the magazine alone, 37 of his reviews were published) and as a prolific writer. During the few years that he worked at Southern Literary Messenger, the number of subscribers skyrocketed to 3,500 people!

But all this is true only for those periods when Poe is sober. His sprees cancel out everything. Unfortunately, this was Poe's constant style of work. Poe's criticism was interesting, original, beautifully written and... invariably angry. During his long work in this field, he had few good things to say about anyone, and the extreme bile with which he usually wrote about the texts of his victims betrayed completely undisguised envy of others’ success.

His abilities as a writer are expanding: he publishes the classic textbook “The First Book of the Conchiologist” - an illustrated guide to mollusk shells (by the way, went through 4 reprints), and a lot of extraordinary stories - from “Maelzel’s Chess Machine”, where Poe scientifically accurately described a mechanical chess player who across America with its creator and always defeating human chess players, to the mystic-romantic “Ligeia”, “The Fall of the House of Usher”.

Virginia - Lady Ligeia

Edgar Poe and Virginia Klemm were married in secret when the writer's cousin was 13 years old. Edgar Poe was in love with Virginia, the young girl reciprocated his love and admiration. Maria Klemm loved “dear Eddie” like a son.

At first, it was decided to postpone the wedding for several years, but Maria's brother Nelson Poe unexpectedly wanted to take his niece into his family to help his sister living in poverty.

Edgar, frightened by another loss of his beloved, as well as the loss of a family that gave him no less love and forgiveness than Francis and Anna, insisted on immediate marriage as a kind of guarantee of his position. Most likely, Edgar and Virginia's relationship did not become sexual until Virginia was 15. Then they had another wedding - it was easier than explaining to relatives and friends back home that they had been deceived for the previous two years. Moreover, Mrs. Klemm’s brother helped his sister financially, but it is one thing to help two single women, and another to support Edgar Allan Poe’s wife and mother-in-law. A fifteen-year-old bride is, by our standards, too young, but Edgar Allan Poe’s mother was the same age when she got married for the first time. This was a fairly early, but quite acceptable age for marriage at that time.

Virginia Poe was a kind, meek, hardworking girl: she helped her mother run the house and save the family by sewing when times got tough. She loved to play music, playing the harp and harpsichord, was happy when Edgar read aloud to her, and loved to grow flowers.

Meanwhile, life threw Poe from city to city. He got work in magazines in Richmond, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and traveled to give lectures in the northern states. His creativity grew stronger, and against the backdrop of constant literary successes, real masterpieces appeared. The only problem was that money was just as bad almost all the time.

Writing as such in America at that time could not be a source of livelihood. As a rule, writers had some other source of income - a wife's dowry, a position in the government or journalistic service. Poe was no exception. He published several collections, the poem “The Raven” enjoyed wild, exceptional popularity, but all these successes brought practically no money. Journalism opened its arms to Poe, but the story of his first magazine was repeated with some variations throughout his life: he was an excellent employee who was either fired during a binge (or after a series of patience-weary binges), or he left on his own, full of desire to publish his own magazine (These attempts were never crowned with significant success).

The Poe-Klemm family, however, kept afloat - until in 1842, Virginia, who played the harp and sang, suddenly started bleeding from her throat. The girl was hastily put to bed, the doctor was called (who did not know who to give first aid - the girl coughing up blood or the man, almost mad with horror). Edgar Allan Poe's nightmare was repeated... yet again. In 1848, Poe wrote to a friend: “ You ask if I can “at least give you a hint” of what the “terrible misfortune” was that caused those “oddities in behavior” that I so deeply regret. Yes, I can answer you, and not just with a hint. “Misfortune” was the most terrible of those that can befall a person. Six years ago, my wife, whom I loved as no mortal had ever loved, damaged an internal blood vessel while singing. Her condition was considered hopeless. Having already said goodbye to her forever, I experienced all the torment that her death brought me. However, she got better, and hope returned to me. A year later, her blood vessel burst again. Everything happened again for me. Then again, again, again and again - at different intervals. And every time death approached, I was tormented by the same torment. With each new exacerbation of the disease, I loved my wife more and more tenderly and clung to her life more and more desperately. But, being a naturally sensitive and unusually nervous person, I at times fell into madness, followed by long periods of terrible enlightenment. In these states of complete unconsciousness I drank - only God knows how much and how often. Of course, my enemies attributed madness to the abuse of wine, but not the other way around. And, truly, I had already given up all hope of healing when I found it in the death of my wife. I was able to meet her death as a man should. The terrible and endless oscillations between hope and despair - that is what I was unable to withstand without completely losing my mind. With the death of what was my life, I was reborn to something new, but - merciful God! - what a sad existence».

This bitter letter is a brief synopsis of a long and terrible tragedy. Poe was madly in love with Virginia and held on to her as his only salvation. Unfortunately, instead of support in her own suffering, she received only the entire abyss of his despair. Poe had drank before, and had ruined his well-being and their shared life before. But now periods of drunkenness and almost madness began to become more frequent: Poe disappeared from home for a long time, returning a few days later, not always sober. He was seen wandering around the streets with a detached look. Sometimes he appeared at the homes of acquaintances or people who had forgotten about him for a long time (for example, at the ex-fiancée Mary Devereaux), and started sudden brawls and proceedings (for example, he assured the long-married Mary that she did not love her husband, but loved only him). Over the years, he had several platonic lovers - usually literary ladies and poetesses, relationships with whom sometimes also led to scandals.

All this had a deplorable effect on Poe’s earnings, people’s attitude towards him, and his work. But most importantly, all this was killing Virginia. Even Mrs. Klemm's patience could not stand it at times, and she - always extremely loyal to "dear Eddie", always justifying and extolling him - several times told family friends that Edgar was killing her daughter.

However, at the same time, Poe tried to deny himself everything so that his wife would have food and medicine. A family friend, writer Gove Nichols, left a touching and sad memory of the sick Virginia: “ There was no cover on the straw mattress - only a snow-white bedspread and sheets. The weather was cold, and the patient was shaken by the terrible chills that usually accompany consumptive fever. She lay wrapped in her husband's coat and clutched a large motley cat to her chest. The wonderful animal seemed to understand what benefits it brought. The coat and the cat only gave warmth to the poor thing, except for the fact that her husband warmed her hands in his palms, and her mother warmed her feet.».

Virginia died in 1847. Edgar Allan Poe outlived her by two years. Shortly before his death, rushing from one woman to another, going crazy and almost completely despondent, he met his youthful love Elmira Royster (now Shelton). She, like him, was widowed. Now nothing stopped them from getting engaged. Elmira was rich, forgotten feelings quickly revived in both, it seemed that youth had returned to them. Mrs. Klemm was happy for her Eddie, and he did not hide from the bride that his late wife’s mother would always be by his side, and Mrs. Shelton agreed with this. The official engagement was to follow after Edgar returned from a short trip. On an autumn day the ship was taking away a famous writer...

EDGAR ALLAN POE
(1809-1849)

Edgar Allan Poe is a South American poet, prose writer, critic, editor, one of the first professors. writers of the USA, who lived only by literary work, who knew fame and popularity, which they did not immediately understand and appreciate in their homeland.

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19, 1809, into a family of actors. He came from an old Irish family. This year was stellar in the historical calendar: the poets Elizabeth Barrett-Barrett (Browning), Alfred Tennyson, Charles Darwin, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Lincoln, Gladstone were born, 2 months later, Gogol, the most breathtaking of Russian writers, who was close in spirit to Edgar Allan Poe, was born . When Edgar was only two years old, his mother and father almost immediately died of consumption, leaving behind three children. Edgar was adopted by a wealthy Scottish merchant from Richmond, John Allan, the youngest child was adopted by the Scotsman Mackenzie, and the eldest boy William was adopted by his grandfather, General Poe. Little Edgar was distinguished among the children by his lively mind, and Allen’s wife, fascinated by the child, convinced her husband to adopt him. She and her sister Anna Valentine, “Aunt Nancy,” surrounded the boy with care and love. Edgar found himself in a rich house. His foster mom she adored the boy until her own death. At the age of five or six, Edgar could read, write, draw, and recite poetry to entertain guests at dinner. He was dressed like a prince, had a pony which he rode, had his own dogs to accompany him, and a livery groom; He always had a sufficient amount of pocket money, and in children's games he always had some kind of favorite, which he showered with gifts. The adoptive father was proud of his adopted son, although sometimes he severely punished the boy. Edgar did not always obey Mr. Allen and, when threatened with punishment from time to time, showed extraordinary ingenuity. Once he asked Mrs. Allen to protect him, but she replied that she could not interfere in this. Then he went to the kindergarten, picked up a whole bunch of oak trees, returned home and silently handed them to Mr. Allen. To the question: “What is this for?” he replied, “To flog me.” Mr. Allan was captivated by this courage.

His stay with the Allens in Great Britain (1815 - 1820), where Edgar Poe studied at a prestigious English boarding house, instilled in him a love of British poetry and words in general. Charles Dickens later spoke of the writer as the only guardian of the “grammatical and idiomatic purity of the British language” in America. In 1820, the Allens returned to their homeland in Richmond. Here Poe makes new friends with whom he travels, including on boats. An enthusiasm for adventure and a passion for everything unknown awoke early in him. After returning from Great Britain, Edgar was sent to the British Traditional School, where he taught excellently English literature, which stimulated Edgar's creative talent. Then he went to study at the Virginia Institute (1826), but soon had to leave it, because he had incurred “debts of honor.” There were several fundamental turns in the life of Edgar Allan Poe. One of them, which significantly determined his fate, was the decision of eighteen-year-old Edgar, which he made on the “sleepless night from March 18 to 19, 1827.” The events of this decision are not entirely clear, but one February night in 1827, a stormy, difficult conversation took place between him and his stepfather. A brilliant student at the Virginia Institute, a young poet who shows promise, a favorite of his comrades, Edgar did not behave in the best way.

Perhaps at the institute Edgar was fond of playing cards and got into debts that he was unable to repay; a big loss put him in a very difficult situation, from which only a wealthy and influential guardian could get him out. During the conversation, the guardian may have put forward the conditions that he would pay the “debt of honor,” but from now on Edgar would have to obey his will, follow his advice and instructions. The guardian put his own adopted son, an ardent and proud nature, in a difficult position. Added to this were bitter experiences caused by the guardian’s gross interference in the intimate feelings of his own pet. The guy could not humble his pride and left the wealthy home in which he was brought up - the “impudent upstart”, in response to the uncompromising demand, answered with a decisive “no”, and “there was something bitter, “unappreciative” in his steadfastness, and, but, it was a worthy and courageous decision. Having put well-being on one side of the scale, and pride and talent on the other, he realized that the latter was more important, and preferred it to fame and honor. Moreover, although he could not know everything in advance, hunger and poverty were chosen. In general, they wouldn’t be able to scare him either.”

Thus, for the first time, the main conflict in the life of Edgar Allan Poe truly and sharply revealed itself - the conflict of a creative, generous personality and crude utilitarianism, which subordinates everything to profit. What was concentrated in the nature and appeal of the guardian soon became for Edgar a system of unshakable forces expressing the leading interests and tendencies of South American society.
A period of wandering begins. He goes to Boston and there, at his own expense, publishes the first collection of poems, “Tamerlane and Other Poems,” which had practically no demand. Hopeless poverty, which reached complete poverty, could not help but suppress Edgar Allan Poe. She caused the indescribable nervous tension, which towards the end of his life, he tried to relieve with alcohol and drugs. Later there were classes at the West Point Military Academy (1830), which lasted only six months. And despite quite frequent periods of inactivity, Poe worked with great tenacity, as impressively evidenced by his enormous creative legacy. The main reason for his poverty was “the very small remuneration he received for his work.” Only a small part of his work—journalism—had any value on the literary market of that time. The best that he did with his talent was of almost no interest to buyers. The prevailing tastes of those years, the imperfection of copyright laws and the constant flow of British books into the country deprived the works of any hope of commercial success. He was one of the first American writers-professionals and existed only due to literary work and the work of the editor. He made uncompromising demands on his own work and on the work of his brothers. “Poetry for me,” he wrote, “is not a profession, but a passion, and passion should be treated with respect - it is unrealistic to awaken it within yourself at will, thinking only about the pitiful reward, even more insignificant praise from the crowd.”

The first recognition that helped Edgar Allan Poe to believe in himself took place in 1832, when a local magazine announced a competition in which he received a prize for the story “The Manuscript Found in a Bottle,” and attracted the attention of the then famous writer John Kennedy. In the summer of 1835, Edgar Allan Poe began working for the Southern Literary Messenger magazine. This strengthened his reputation. But the exhausting work always sucked me in and deprived me of the ability to seriously create.

Edgar Poe's meeting with his seven-year-old cousin Virginia, who 6 years later became his wife, had profound consequences for his life. This meeting, and then the wedding, had a wonderful effect on Poe. Virginia was an unusual person, she “embodied within herself the only plausible compromise with reality in his relationships with the ladies, so complex and refined.”

Languid heredity, orphanhood, an overwhelming struggle with obstacles that stood in the way of a freedom-loving spirit and great aspirations, collisions with pressing little things, heart disease, extreme vulnerability, a traumatized and unstable psyche, and most importantly, the impossibility of resolving the main current conflict shortened his age. Virginia's illness and early death became a terrible blow for him, the beginning of a deep spiritual illness. Death remains hidden as before. In September 1849, with great success, he gave a lecture on “The Poetic Principle” in Richmond, from where he left with fifteen hundred bucks in his pocket. What happened later is unclear, but he was found in a tavern in a languid, sick state, then transported to Baltimore to a clinic, where he soon died.

The works of Edgar Allan Poe

One can consider the heroes and heroines of Edgar Poe’s works only as polysemantic hypostases of Poe himself and his beloved ladies, doubles, whose world he filled with suffering, trying in this way to ease the burden of hesitation and disappointment that weighed down his life. The palaces, gardens and chambers inhabited by these ghosts amaze with their luxurious decoration, it is like an unusual caricature of the poverty of its real inhabitants and the atmosphere of those places where fate threw the writer.

The writer’s work, which seems to reflect a lot of his personality, is not limited to “mental autobiography.” Poe showed himself seriously as a novelist in the story “The Manuscript Found in a Bottle” (1833). In the tradition of extraordinary sea voyages, the story “The Fall into the Maelstrom” (1841) and the only “Tale of the Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pym” (1838) were written. The "sea" works include stories about adventures on land and in the air: "Julius Rodman's Diary" - a fictional description of the first journey through the Rocky Mountains North America, made by civilized people (1840), “The Unusual Adventures of a Certain Hans Pfaal” (1835), “The Balloon Story” (1844) about a supposed flight across the Atlantic. These works are not only stories about amazing adventures, but also adventures of creative imagination, allegories of the constant dramatic journey into the unknown. Thanks to a painstakingly developed system of details, the recall of the authenticity and materiality of the fiction was achieved. In the “Conclusion” to “Hans Pfaal,” Poe defined the principles of that type of literature that would later be called science fiction.
The artistic meaning of such stories as “Li-geia” (1838), “The Fall of the House of Asheriv” (1839), “The Mask of the Reddish Destruction” (1842), “The Well and the Pendulum” (1842), “The Dark Cat” (1843), “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846), naturally, is by no means limited to pictures of horror and physical suffering. By depicting various extreme situations and showing the characters’ reactions to them, the writer touched those parts of the human psyche that are relevant to them. this moment studies science.

Edgar Allan Poe called his first published collection of stories “Tales of Grotesques and Arabesques.” The title of a work guides the reader and critic, orients them, and gives them the key to enter the sphere made by creative imagination. they can be called “stories of mystery and horror.” When Edgar Allan Poe wrote his stories, a similar genre was very widespread in America, and he knew its features and the best standards, knew about its popularity and the reason for the furore among the reader.

Edgar Allan Poe was practically the founder of the detective genre and gave a number of its traditional examples. “The Gold Bug”, for its genre qualities, is usually joined to the famous detective stories of Edgar Allan Poe - “Murder in the Rue Morgue”, “The Secret of Marie Morde” and “The Stolen Letter”, the hero of which is a through figure, the amateur detective C. Auguste Dupin, who helps to uncover the crime. In these stories, the power of logic and analytical awareness manifests itself with particular effect. Naturally, these stories begin with a statement of the fact of the atrocity, and then excursions into the past are made, where all the incidents of its commission are revealed, and material evidence arises. In general, Poe extensively uses in his short stories the motif of understatement of individual details and episodes, appealing to the imagination and fantasy of the reader. Valery Bryusov called the creator of these stories “the ancestor of all the Gaborios and Conan Doyles” - all writers of the detective genre.

Edgar Allan Poe. Born January 19, 1809 in Boston, USA - died October 7, 1849 in Baltimore, USA. American writer, poet, essayist, literary critic and editor, representative of American Romanticism. The creator of the form of modern detective fiction and the genre of psychological prose.

Some of Edgar Poe's works contributed to the formation and development of science fiction, and such features of his work as irrationality, mysticism, doom, and anomalousness of the depicted states anticipated the literature of decadence.

Edgar Poe was one of the first American writers to make the short story the main form of his work. He tried to earn exclusively literary activity, as a result of which his life and career were fraught with severe financial difficulties, complicated by a problem with alcohol.

Over twenty years of creative activity, Edgar Poe wrote two stories, two poems, one play, about seventy short stories, fifty poems and ten essays, published in magazines and almanacs, and then collected in collections.

Despite the fact that during his lifetime Edgar Poe was known primarily as a literary critic, later his artistic works had a significant influence on world literature, as well as cosmology and cryptography. He was one of the first American writers, whose fame in his homeland was significantly inferior to that in Europe. Symbolists paid special attention to his work, drawing ideas for their own aesthetics from his poetry.

Edgar Poe was highly praised by Arthur Conan Doyle and Howard Phillips Lovecraft, recognizing his role as a pioneer in the genres that they popularized.

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston., in the family of actors Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and David Poe Jr. Elizabeth Poe was born in Great Britain. At the beginning of 1796, she and her mother, also an actress, moved to the United States, where she began performing on stage from a very early age.

Poe's father was born in Ireland, the son of David Poe Sr., who emigrated to America with his son. Edgar Poe's grandfather had the rank of major, actively supported the revolutionary movement in the United States and was a direct participant in the War of Independence. David Poe Jr. was supposed to become a lawyer, but against the wishes of his father, he chose the profession of an actor.

Edgar was the middle child in the family, he had an older brother, William Henry Leonard, and a younger sister, Rosalie.

The life of touring actors involved constant moving, which was difficult to do with a child in hand, so little Edgar was temporarily left with his grandfather in Baltimore. There he spent the first few months of his life. A year after Edgar's birth, his father left the family. Nothing is known for certain about his further fate. On December 8, 1811, Poe's mother died of consumption.

A little boy, left without parental care, attracted the wife of John Allan, a wealthy merchant from Richmond, and soon the childless family took him in. Sister Rosalie ended up with the Mackenzie family, who were neighbors and friends of the Allans, while brother Henry lived with his father's relatives in Baltimore.

Edgar Poe's adoptive family was one of the wealthy and respected in Richmond. John Allan was a co-owner of a company that traded in tobacco, cotton and other goods. The Allans had no children, so the boy was easily and happily accepted into the family. Edgar Allan Poe grew up in an atmosphere of prosperity, they bought him clothes, toys, books, and he was taught by a certified teacher at home.

In 1815, the family (as well as Anne Valentine, the elder sister of Frances, John Allan's wife) went to Great Britain. John Allan, whose business was experiencing certain difficulties associated with the decline of the economy after the Napoleonic wars, sought to improve trade relations with Europe. Arriving in Liverpool, the family went to live with Allan's relatives in Scotland, in the cities of Erwin and Kilmarnock. A few weeks later, another move took place - to London, where Edgar Allan Poe graduated from Madame Dubois's elementary school.

In 1817, studies continued at the school of Reverend John Bransby in Stoke Newington, a suburb of the capital. Edgar Poe's memories of this period of his life are reflected in the story "William Wilson".

Edgar finished his last academic year ahead of schedule. The reason for this was a hasty return to the United States - John Allan’s business in England was not going well, serious financial difficulties arose, and his wife Frances was seriously ill. The merchant even had to borrow money to Return trip at the companion's. In the summer of 1820, a transatlantic sea voyage took place, and on August 2 the family arrived in Richmond.

On February 14, 1826, Edgar Allan Poe left for Charlottesville, where he entered the newly opened University of Virginia. Education at the institution founded by Thomas Jefferson was expensive (in a letter to his stepfather, Poe calculated the total costs and indicated the amount at $350 per year), so the university students were the children of wealthy families in the state.

Upon admission, Edgar Allan Poe chose two courses to study (out of a possible three): classical philology (Latin and Greek) and modern languages ​​(French, Italian, Spanish). The seventeen-year-old poet, who left his parents' home, was left to himself for the first time for a long time.

Edgar Poe's school day ended at 9:30, the rest of the time was supposed to be devoted to reading educational literature and preparing homework, but the offspring of wealthy parents, brought up in the “true spirit” of gentlemanliness, could not resist the temptation of the “eternally fashionable” card games and wine in the high society . Edgar Poe, educated in London and raised in a respected family, undoubtedly considered himself a gentleman. The desire to confirm this status, and later the need for a livelihood, led him to the card table. At the same time Edgar Poe started drinking for the first time.

By the end of the school year, Poe's total debts amounted to $2,500 (about $2,000 of which were gambling debts). Having received letters demanding payment, John Allan immediately went to Charlottesville, where a stormy discussion took place with his stepson. As a result, Allan paid only a tenth of the total amount (fees for books and services), refusing to acknowledge Edgar's gambling debts.

Despite Poe's obvious success in his studies and successfully passing his exams, he could no longer remain at the university and after the end of the academic year, on December 21, 1826, he left Charlottesville.

Returning home to Richmond, Edgar Poe had no idea about his future prospects. Relations with John Allan were seriously damaged; he did not want to put up with his “careless” stepson. At this time, Poe was intensively engaged in creativity. It was probably in the Allan house that many of the poems that were later included in the first collection of the aspiring poet were written. Poe also tried to find a job, but his stepfather not only did not contribute to this, but also, as educational measures, in every possible way prevented his employment.

In March 1827, the “silent” conflict escalated into a serious quarrel, and Allan kicked his adopted son out of the house. Poe settled in the Court-House tavern, from where he wrote letters to Allan accusing him of injustice and making excuses, continuing the showdown in epistolary form. Later, these letters are replaced by others - with requests for money, which the adoptive father ignored. After staying in the tavern room for several days, Poe traveled to Norfolk on March 23 and then to Boston.

In his hometown, Edgar, by chance, met a young publisher and typographer Calvin Thomas, and he agreed to publish his first collection of poems.

""Tamerlane" and other poems" written under a pseudonym "Bostonian", published in June 1827. Fifty copies of 40 pages were printed and sold for 12.5 cents each.

In 2009, an unknown collector purchased one of the surviving copies of Poe’s debut collection at auction, paying for it a record amount for American literature - $662,500.

In his first collection of poetry, Edgar Poe included the poem “Tamerlane” (which he would subsequently edit and refine several times), the poems “To ***”, “Dreams”, “Spirits of Death”, “Evening Star”, “Imitation”, “ Stanzas”, “Dream”, “Happiest Day”, “Lake”. In the preface to the publication, the author apologized for the possible low quality poetry, justifying this by the fact that most of the poems were written in 1820-1821, when he “was not yet fourteen.” Most likely, this is an exaggeration - Poe, of course, began writing early, but he really turned to poetry while studying at the university and later.

As one might expect, the collection did not attract the attention of readers and critics. Only two publications wrote about its release, without giving it any critical assessment.

On May 26, 1827, Edgar Allan Poe, desperate for money, signed an army contract for a period of five years and became a private in the First Regiment of Artillery of the US Army. Poe's place of service was Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island, located at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, the same fort that 50 years ago proved impregnable to the British army. The nature of the island where the writer spent a year was subsequently reflected in the story "Golden Bug".

Edgar Allan Poe served at the headquarters and handled paperwork, which is not surprising for a man who was literate (a rather rare phenomenon for the army of that time) and had neat handwriting. And the “gentlemanly” origin, good upbringing and diligence ensured sympathy among the officers.

At the end of February 1829, Frances Allan's condition worsened. The disease, which made itself felt back in England, only progressed. On the night of February 28, when his wife's condition became critical, John Allan wrote a short letter in which he asked his adopted son to come immediately. Frances Allan died on the morning of the same day. Edgar Allan Poe was able to arrive in Richmond only on March 2, not even having time to attend the funeral of his adoptive mother, whom he loved very much.

Remaining at home until the end of his leave, Poe again approached Allan, and this time they reached an understanding. Having received Required documents from his adoptive father, Poe returned to the army, where the process of releasing him from service immediately began. The order was signed, and on April 15, 1829 he was discharged from the army.

After returning from Washington, where he went to hand over the papers and recommendations necessary for admission to West Point, Edgar Poe went to Baltimore, where his relatives lived: brother Henry Leonard, aunt Maria Klemm, her children Henry and Virginia, as well as Elizabeth Poe is the elderly widow of David Poe Sr. Not having enough money to rent his own home, the poet, with the permission of Maria Klemm, settled in their house.

The time spent waiting for a response from Washington was spent caring for his consumptive brother (who aggravated the disease with alcoholism) and preparing for the publication of a second collection of poetry. Poe edited the existing material and conducted active correspondence with magazines and publishing houses. And the efforts were not in vain - at the end of December 1829 the collection was published. 250 copies “Al-Aaraaf, Tamerlane and short poems” were published by the Baltimore publisher Hatch and Dunning.

Around Christmas, Edgar Poe returned home to Richmond, where in May 1830 he received confirmation of his enrollment at West Point. In the same month, a fatal quarrel occurred between him and his adoptive father. The reason for her was a letter that was not intended for John Allan and should not have been in his hands. In it, Edgar Poe spoke impartially about his guardian, unequivocally accusing him of drunkenness. The hot-tempered Allan could not stand this and kicked Edgar Allan Poe out of the house for the second and last time. They still corresponded after this breakup, but never saw each other again. Soon John Allan married for the second time.

At the end of June 1830, Edgar Allan Poe became a cadet at the US Army Military Academy. The training was not easy (especially the first 2 months of camp life), but the army experience helped the poet quickly get used to it. Despite the strict daily routine and almost full daily employment, Edgar Allan Poe found time for creativity.

Among the cadets, pamphlets and satirical parodies of mentor officers and life within the walls of the academy were especially popular. The third collection of poems was being prepared for publication. The studies were successful, cadet Poe was in good standing and had no complaints from the officers, but in January he wrote a letter to John Allan, in which he asked for his help to leave West Point. Probably the reason for such a drastic decision was the news of the marriage of his guardian, which deprived Edgar Poe of the slimmest chances of being officially adopted and inheriting anything.

Without waiting for an answer, Edgar Allan Poe decided to act on his own. In January 1831, he began to ignore inspections and training, did not go on guard duty and sabotaged formations. The result was an arrest and subsequent trial, at which he was accused of “gross violation of official duties” and “ignoring orders.” On February 8, 1831, Poe was discharged from the service of the United States, and on February 18 he left West Point.

Edgar Allan Poe went to New York, where in April 1831 the poet's third book was published - a collection "Poems", which, in addition to the republished “Tamerlane” and “Al-Aaraafa,” included new works: “Israfel”, “Paean”, “The Condemned City”, “To Helen”, “Sleeping”. Also on the pages of the collection, Poe turned to literary theory for the first time, writing “A Letter to...” - an essay in which the author discussed the principles of poetry and problems national literature. The “poems” contained a dedication to the “U.S. Army Cadet Corps.” 1,000 copies of the book were printed at the expense of West Point cadets who subscribed to the collection in anticipation of the usual parodies and satirical poems with which their classmate had once entertained them.

Having no means of subsistence, Edgar Poe moved to relatives in Baltimore, where he made futile attempts to find work. Desperate lack of money prompted the poet to turn to prose - he decided to take part in the competition for the best story by an American author with a prize of 100 dollars.

Edgar Poe approached the matter in detail: he studied magazines and various publications of that time in order to determine the principles (stylistic, plot, composition) of writing short prose that was popular with readers. The result of the research was “Metzengerstein”, “Duke de L'Omelette”, “On the Walls of Jerusalem”, “Significant Loss” and “Failed Deal” - stories that the aspiring prose writer sent to the competition. The results, disappointing for their author, were summed up on December 31, 1831 of the year - Edgar Poe didn't win. During next year these stories, without attribution (those were the conditions), were published in the newspaper that organized the competition.

Failure did not force Edgar Allan Poe to abandon the form of short prose in his work. On the contrary, he continued to hone his skills, write stories, from which at the end of 1832 he formed a collection that was never published "Folio Club Stories".

In June 1833, another literary competition was held, with prizes of $50 for the best story and $25 for the best poem. It was known that the jury included competent people - famous writers of the time, John Pendleton Kennedy and John Latrobe.

Edgar Allan Poe participated in both categories, submitting 6 stories and the poem “The Colosseum” to the competition. On October 12, the results were announced: Edgar Poe's "The Manuscript Found in a Bottle" was awarded as the best short story., the best poem - "Song of the Winds" Henry Wilton (under this pseudonym was hiding Chief Editor newspaper that organized the competition).

Subsequently, John Latrobe confirmed that the author of the truly best poem was also Edgar Allan Poe. The jury spoke highly of the young writer's work, noting that it was extremely difficult for them to choose one best story out of his six. In fact, this was the first authoritative recognition of Edgar Allan Poe's talent.

Despite winning the competition, financial situation Poe remained extremely difficult in 1833-1835. There was no regular cash flow, the writer continued unsuccessful attempts to find work related to literature. The only source of income in the family was the pension of the paralyzed widow of David Poe Sr. - $240 a year, which was paid irregularly.

In August 1834, Richmond printer Thomas White began publishing a new monthly magazine, the Southern Literary Messenger, with whom he recruited famous writers of that time, including John Kennedy. He, in turn, recommended Edgar Poe to White as a promising talented writer, marking the beginning of their collaboration.

Already in March 1835, the story “Berenice” appeared on the pages of the monthly, and in June the first hoax written by Poe was published - "The Extraordinary Adventure of a Certain Hans Pfaal".

On May 16, 1836, Edgar Poe married Virginia Clemm. She was his cousin and was only 13 years old at the time of their marriage. The couple honeymooned in Petersburg, Virginia. Around this time, Edgar Allan Poe began to write his greatest prose text - "The Tale of the Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pym". The decision to write a voluminous work was dictated by reader preferences: many publishing houses refused to publish his stories, citing the fact that the small format of prose was not popular.

In May 1837, an economic crisis broke out in the United States. It also affected the publishing sector: newspapers and magazines were closed, and there were massive layoffs of employees. Edgar Allan Poe also found himself in a difficult situation, being left without work for a long time. But the forced idleness was not in vain - he could finally concentrate on creativity.

During the New York period, the writer wrote the stories “Ligeia”, “The Devil in the Bell Tower”, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “William Wilson”, and work continued on “Arthur Gordon Pym”. The rights to the story were sold to the reputable New York publishing house Harper and Brothers, where it was published on July 30, 1838. However, the first volumetric prose work It was not a commercial success.

In early December 1839, Lea & Blanchard published Grotesques and Arabesques, a two-volume collection of 25 stories written by Poe up to that time.

In April 1841, Graham's Magazine published a story that later brought Poe worldwide fame as the founder of the detective genre - "Murder in the Rue Morgue". “The Descent into Maelström” was published there in May.

In January 1842, Edgar Poe's young wife suffered her first severe attack of tuberculosis, accompanied by throat bleeding. Virginia found herself bedridden for a long time, and the writer lost his life again. peace of mind and ability to work. The depressed state was accompanied by frequent and prolonged binges.

All subsequent time, the condition of Edgar Allan Poe's wife had a huge influence on his mental health, extremely susceptible to the slightest deterioration of the situation. A repeated exacerbation of Virginia’s illness occurred in the summer of the same year, and again the writer’s deep experiences and mental anguish were reflected in his work - they permeated the stories “The Well and the Pendulum” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” written shortly after the incident. Poe found salvation in writing.

In November 1842, the story of Auguste Dupin's investigations was continued. The magazine Snowden's Ladies' Companion published the story "The Mystery of Marie Roger", based on a real murder that occurred in New York in 1841. Using all the materials available to the investigation, he conducted his own investigation on the pages of the story (moving the action to Paris and changing the names) and pointed to the killer. Soon after this, the case was solved, and the correctness of the writer’s conclusions was confirmed.

It is worth noting that during the difficult period of 1842, Edgar Poe was able to personally meet with, whose work he rated very highly. They discussed literary issues and exchanged opinions during the latter's short visit to Philadelphia. Dickens promised to help publish Poe's works in England. Even though nothing came of it, Dickens noted that Edgar Poe was "the only writer whom he was willing to help publish".

Finding himself without a job, and therefore without a livelihood, Edgar Allan Poe, through a mutual friend, turned to the son of President Tyler with a request to help get him a job at the Philadelphia Customs House. The need was great, since the writer began to look for work other than literary work, which brought an unstable income. Poe did not receive the position because he did not show up for the meeting, explaining this by his illness, although there is a version that the reason for the absence was heavy drinking. To a family caught in difficult situation, I had to change my place of residence several times, as there was a catastrophic lack of money, and the debts grew. A case was brought against the writer, and on January 13, 1843, the Philadelphia District Court declared Edgar Allan Poe bankrupt, but prison term managed to avoid.

Despite the difficult financial situation and loss of spirit associated with his wife’s illness, Edgar Allan Poe’s literary fame grew steadily. His works were published in many publications throughout the country and received critical reviews, many of which noted the author’s extraordinary talent and the power of his imagination. Even literary enemies wrote laudatory reviews, making them even more valuable.

Having devoted himself entirely to prose, he did not turn to poetry for three years (the last published poem was “Silence”, published in 1840). The “poetic silence” was broken in 1843 with the release of one of the writer’s darkest poems, “The Conquering Worm,” which seemed to contain all the mental anguish and despair of recent years, the collapse of hopes and illusions.

In February 1843, the New York publication The Pioneer published the famous "Linor". Poe returned to poetry, but short prose continued to be the main form of his work.

In July 1844, the New York newspaper Dollar Newspaper organized a competition for the best story, with a prize of $100 for first place. The winner was "Golden Bug" Edgar Poe. The work, in which the author revealed his talent as a cryptographer, became the property of Dollar Newspaper and was subsequently reprinted many times.

On April 6, 1844, Edgar and Virginia Poe moved to New York. A month later, Maria Klemm joined them. It is difficult to overestimate the role of the mother-in-law in the life of Edgar Allan Poe. Her thriftiness, hard work and endless care with which she surrounded her son-in-law and daughter were noted by many contemporaries who knew the family personally. Edgar loved his “Muddy” (probably short for “mummy” (“mom”) and “daddy” (“daddy”), as he often called her in letters, because with her appearance in his life she truly became like a mother to him .

In 1849, he dedicated a poem to her, full of tenderness and gratitude, “To My Mother.”

A week after the move, Edgar Allan Poe becomes the hero of a sensation: he caused a huge stir in reading circles "The Balloon Story", which was published in a special edition by the New York Sun. Originally intended as a hoax, the story was stylized as a news article. The idea for the plot was unknowingly suggested to Poe by the then famous aeronaut John Wise, who announced in one of the Philadelphia newspapers that he was going to make a transatlantic flight. The writer managed to achieve the desired effect - the next morning after publication, people literally “stormed” the publishing house.

Poe's hoaxes, in which great attention was paid to details based on technical innovations of the time, gave impetus to the subsequent development of the science fiction genre in literature.

Some time after reuniting with Maria Klemm, the family moved to new housing: the Brennan family rented them part of their mansion located outside the city. Poe continued to collaborate with many publications, offering them his articles and critical reviews. During this period, he had no problems with publications, but his income still remained modest. At the Brennan mansion, Poe wrote the poem “Dreamland,” which reflected the beauty of the nature that surrounded him. It was there that work began on the work that became the writer’s poetic magnum opus - a poem "Crow".

It is unknown whether Poe wrote The Crow with the goal of gaining final and unconditional recognition, inspired by the success of The Gold Bug and The Balloon Story, but there is no doubt that he approached the process of creating this work scrupulously and carefully.

It was an immediate and resounding success: publications across the country reprinted the poem, it was talked about in literary circles and beyond, and numerous parodies were written about it. Poe became a national figure and a frequent guest at social events, where he was asked to recite the famous poem. According to the writer’s biographer Arthur Quinn, “The Raven made an impression that perhaps no other poetic work in history could surpass. American literature" Despite the enormous success among readers and widespread public recognition, the poem did little to improve the writer’s financial situation.

On February 21, 1845, Poe became part owner of the Broadway Journal, the head of which believed to increase sales of the publication by attracting a new celebrity to cooperation. According to the terms of the contract, Poe received a third of the magazine's sales, and the cooperation promised to be mutually beneficial.

At the same time, Poe began lecturing, which would become an important source of income for him. The first theme of the performances in New York and Philadelphia was “The Poets and Poetry of America.”

In July 1845, Poe published a story entitled "No Contradiction". Reasoning on the topic human nature, which are contained in its preamble, allow us to well understand the nature of the contradictory nature of the author himself. Tormented by his own “demon,” he repeatedly committed rash and illogical actions throughout his life, which inevitably led him to collapse. This happened at the peak of his fame, when, it seemed, nothing foreshadowed trouble.

On the pages of the magazine, of which he became a co-owner, Edgar Allan Poe did not publish any of his new works; he only reprinted old ones (which were edited and finalized each time). The lion's share of his work at that time consisted of literary articles, reviews, and criticism. It is not known what caused this, but Poe became more ruthless than ever in his criticism: he got it not only from authors he personally disliked, with whom he conflicted, but also from those who treated him favorably. As a result, within a short period of time, subscribers began to refuse Broadway Journal and authors turned away, and the publication became unprofitable. Soon both of Poe's companions abandoned him, leaving him as the sole owner of the struggling magazine.

Poe desperately tried to save it, sending many letters to his friends and relatives asking for financial help. Most of them were not satisfied, and the money that he did receive was not enough. On January 3, 1846, the last issue was published, and Edgar Poe closed the Broadway Journal.

In April 1846, Poe started drinking again. Realizing the destructive role that alcohol played in his life, he still took the fatal step. The time of clouded consciousness came again: lectures were disrupted, public conflicts arose, and the reputation seriously suffered. The situation became even more complicated with the publication in May 1846 of Poe's first essays from the series "New York Writers". In them, Poe gave personal and creative characteristics of famous authors - his contemporaries, which for the most part were extremely negative. The reaction followed immediately: newspapers, at the suggestion of the “victims,” began a war against Poe - they denigrated his reputation, accusing him of immorality and godlessness. The press was dominated by the image of Poe as a deranged alcoholic with no control over his actions. They also recalled his literary affair with the poetess Frances Osgood, which ended in scandal. Among those affected by Poe's criticism, Thomas English especially distinguished himself. In the past, a friend of the writer, he published “Answer to Mr. Poe” in one of the newspapers, in which he added to the image of a poor, godless alcoholic that he was accused of forgery.

The publication with which Poe collaborated advised him to go to court, which he did. On February 17, 1846, Poe won a libel case against the Mirror magazine, which published the Reply, and received $225 in damages.

In May 1846, Edgar Poe moved to a small cottage in Fordham, a suburb of New York. The family was again in poverty, there was a desperate lack of money - Poe did not write anything in the summer and autumn. In one of the letters he refers to his illness - literary “wars” and scandals did not pass without a trace. Virginia's bedridden condition only worsened.

Virginia's condition seriously deteriorated in January 1847: the fever and pain intensified, and hemoptysis became more frequent. On January 29, Edgar Allan Poe wrote a desperate letter to Mary Shew, in which he asked her to come and say goodbye to Virginia, who had become so attached to her. Mrs. Shew arrived the next day and managed to find her alive. On January 30, 1847, towards nightfall, Virginia Poe died.

After the funeral of his wife, Edgar Allan Poe himself found himself bedridden - the loss was too severe for his sensitive, sensitive nature.

Central work the last years of Edgar Poe's life became "Eureka". “A poem in prose” (as Poe defined it), which spoke about subjects “physical, metaphysical, mathematical,” according to the author, was supposed to change people’s understanding of the nature of the Universe.

At five o'clock in the morning on October 7, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe died. According to Dr. Moran, before he died, he uttered his last words: “Lord, help my poor soul.”

Edgar Allan Poe's modest funeral took place at 4 p.m. on October 8, 1849, at Westminster Hall and Burying Ground Cemetery, now part of the grounds of the University of Maryland College of Law. The ceremony, attended by only a few people, was presided over by the Rev. W. T. D. Clemm, Virginia Poe's uncle. It lasted only three minutes due to the cold and dank weather. Psalmist George W. Spence wrote: “It was a gloomy and cloudy day, no rain, but damp, and a thunderstorm was approaching.” Poe was buried in the far corner of the cemetery, next to the grave of his grandfather, David Poe Sr., in a cheap coffin, without handles, nameplate, blanket or pillow under his head.

On October 1, 1875, the remains of Edgar Allan Poe were reburied in a new place, not far from the facade of the church. New monument was manufactured and erected with funds from residents of Baltimore and fans of the writer from other US cities. total cost monument cost was a little more than $1,500. The festive service took place on November 17, 1875. On the 76th anniversary of Poe's birth, January 19, 1885, Virginia Poe's remains were reburied next to her husband's.

The circumstances preceding the death of Edgar Allan Poe, as well as its immediate cause, remain unclear to this day. All medical records and documents, including the death certificate, if they existed at all, were lost. There are several different theories about the cause of Poe's death, with varying degrees of plausibility, ranging from hypoglycemia to murder conspiracy.

There is another theory that is highlighted by many biographers of the writer. Elections to Congress and the Maryland State Assembly were scheduled for October 3 in Baltimore. At that time, there were no voter lists, which was used by opposing candidates and parties who formed special groups of voters. People under the influence of alcohol were gathered in special places, and then forced to vote several times. It is likely that Poe, the victim of a criminal scheme similar to the "voting carousel", was rendered useless by his condition and was abandoned near the 4th District polling station, where he was found by Joseph Walker. However, this theory also has its opponents, who claim that Poe, as a very well-known person in the city, would find it difficult to participate in such a scheme.

Every year, since 1949, an unknown person visited Edgar Allan Poe’s grave, paying tribute to the writer’s talent. Early on the morning of January 19, a man dressed in black came to Poe's grave, made a toast and left a bottle of cognac and three roses on the gravestone. Sometimes notes of various contents were found on the tombstone. One of them, left in 1999, reported that the first secret admirer had died the previous year and the responsibility for continuing the tradition was assigned to his “heir.” The tradition continued for 60 years until 2009, when secret admirer last seen at the grave.

On August 15, 2007, 92-year-old Sam Porpora, a historian at Westminster Church where Poe is buried, said he started the tradition of visiting Poe's grave every year on his birthday. He said that the purpose of his action was to raise funds for the needs of the church and increase interest in it. However, his story was not confirmed - some of the details he expressed were not consistent with the facts.

In 2012, Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House Museum, who had previously denied rumors that he was a fan, declared the end of the tradition.