The picture of the cover of this book does not do it justice. The cover in real life is shimmery and a bit purply and is just gorgeous.
At any rate. Mr. Poe! What a treasure he was. It's amazing to think of all that he wrote in such a short life. So much tragedy. His father abandoned the family and his mother died when he was a little guy, leaving behind Edgar, his older brother Henry, and his younger sister, Rosalie. Henry went to live with his grandparents and Edgar and his sister were farmed out to two different families, Edgar of course going to the Allan family. He was a smart kid who got along well with his adopted mother but he and his adopted father clashed and had a huge falling out over money when Edgar was at West Point. Gambling debts caught up to him and Allan was reluctant to keep bailing him out.
Money problem plagued Poe his entire life. He was always in debt. He was also a romantic who fell in love quickly and often. He married Virginia Clemm, his cousin, who died of tuberculosis, leaving Edgar devastated. His own death, most likely from alcohol abuse, remains shrouded in mystery. While we often think of Poe as a melancholy, solitary man sitting alone in a garret with a raven cawing from the doorframe, he was actually a well liked and athletic man. Rereading some of his poetry, I'm just in awe of how brilliantly he was able to convey thoughts and feelings in so few words. I love his Dupin mysteries, they're so well written. It was a beautiful, well done tribute to not just an author but a man.