The United States was only some two decades old when Edgar Allan Poe was born. He stands at the very beginnings of American literature, an orphaned, rootless, haunted man who in just forty years gave short story writing its modern cast, pioneered detective and science fiction, and wrote some of the most memorable lyric poems in the English language. Poe's life was driven by scandal: endless conflict with his foster-father, disgrace at university and in the army, marrying a 13 year old cousin, episodes of drunkenness and a fierce personal rivalry with fellow writers and editors. Even his death was gothic and mysterious; explanations range from murder to rabies. In this Life&Times volume, Brian Morton attempts to put the Poe legend in context, in order to reveal in true light one of the most important and influential writers of modern times.
