Who Was Edgar Allan Poe?

Who Was . . . ? Series

by Jim Gigliotti, Who H.Q., Tim Foley (Illustrator)

Filled with broken hearts and black ravens, Edgar Allan Poe’s ghastly tales have delighted readers for centuries. Born in Boston in 1809, Poe was orphaned at age two. He was soon adopted by a Virginia family who worked as tombstone merchants. In 1827 he enlisted in the Army and subsequently failed out of West Point. His first published story,  The Raven , was a huge success, but his joy was overshadowed by the death of his wife. Poe devoted his life to writing and his tragic life often inspired his work. He is considered to be the inventor of detective fiction and the father of American mystery writers. His work continues to influence popular culture through films, music, literature, and television.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Childrens, Juvenile, Middle Grade, American History

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 11, 2015

About the author

Jim Gigliotti is a freelance writer who lives in Southern California with his wife and two children. A former editor at the National Football League, he has written more than two dozen books, mostly for young readers.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done!

Lots of great information on this mysterious man and his life I had never(more) known. Lol
A lot of tragedy followed him but the book gently refers to his part in making his life a bit tougher on himself.

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Edgar Allan Poe: wrote one of the earliest stories of science-fiction in American Literature, created one of the first detective mystery characters, won some short-stories and poetry contests, is worldly known for his spooky and spine-chilling stories; and all these only in 40 years.

[Glire · Rating 3 out of 5]

¿Sabías que todas las mujeres de la vida de Poe (su madre, su abuela, su madre adoptiva y su esposa) murieron de tuberculosis?

¿Sabías que a pesar de que Julio Verne es considerado el padre de la ciencia ficción, sus primeras novelas, entre ellas Cinco Semanas en Globo, están inspiradas por una historia de Poe titulada "La incomparable aventura de un tal Hans Pfaall"?

¿Sabías que Poe fue el inventor de las historias detectivescas? Debutó este nuevo genero con "Los crímenes de la calle Morgue", la cual serviría como inspiración para escritores tales como Sir Arthur Conan Doyle y Agatha Christie.

Antes de leer este libro, yo tampoco lo sabía.

Este es el primer libro que leo de la serie de "Who Was?", la cual descubrí por casualidad en Amazon, ya que los libros están disponibles gratis para los usuarios de Kindle Unlimited, y debo decir que como libro de curiosidades me ha gustado bastante.

Si bien no se trata de una biografía profunda ni detallada, nos da una idea general de la vida de Poe y nos revela varios hechos peculiares de esos que no sirven para mucho, pero que son interesantes y nos hacen parecer mas eruditos si los mencionamos en alguna conversación 😁

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving this series so much! For the nonfiction November 2022, you can go for this series. Do check out this biography series. They are really good and comprehensive.

[Rita Araújo · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://instagram.com/p/BPQQJBqlEVl/

[sparrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

داستان هایی که ترم اول دانشگاه باید می خوندم. یادش بخیر

[Laurie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another highly readable and enjoyable entry in the Who Was series. I already knew a lot about Poe, but this bio still managed to surprise me. I knew Virginia had died of TB, but I had no idea so many of the people Poe loved had died that way. Tuberculosis really was an awful and prevalent disease that took many young lives in that time period. I also didn't realize he is credited with publishing the first science-fiction story. Very interesting! And while I had a vague sense of there being something suspicious about his death, I did't realize what a mystery still surrounds it.

There are a lot of other great details here as well, many of which I would not have known had I not recently read Book Scavenger, such as his story, "The Gold Bug," and how his reputation was smeared for many years after his death by his first biographer. Lots of good info here for young readers. I also liked how the author included the beginnings of some of Poe's poems - it made me want to go read them right then and there.

One thing I thought was a bit odd was that the author made no commentary on the fact that Poe married his cousin when she was only twelve or thirteen. He does point out that Poe and his aunt lied about Virginia's age, which indicates that even then, marriage at that age was not acceptable. But maybe that should have been stated a bit more directly. Obviously, as a book for children, it doesn't need to discuss how biographers continue to speculate on whether or not the marriage was ever consummated, but a little more clarity might have been beneficial. Then again, young readers don't always dwell on such things as adults do.

Poe's life and character were not all doom and gloom, but he certainly experienced a lot of sadness and trouble. One wonders if he could have created such masterpieces without that experience. He is certainly a fascinating historical figure who has left a lasting legacy on literature and culture.

[Kristen B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these “Who was/Who is” books. They’re quick and easy reads - meant for young readers, of course - but they’re well written and filled with fun facts about famous people. I was really surprised to learn a lot about Poe that I didn’t already know. For instance, Poe was actually a fun and funny person who was well-liked by his classmates. He wasn’t the gloomy, half-crazy person like so many of his literary characters. I think over the years, Poe has become synonymous with the characters he created, and we assume he was like them. I also didn’t realize that he wrote the earliest science fiction and detective mysteries, and actually influenced Jules Verne and Arthur Conan Doyle! I have always loved Poe, and after reading this, I love him even more. And also, the Illustrations in this little book are excellent! I wouldn’t mind having prints of several of these pages.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three things I learned >>
Poe’s parents were actors
He was an orphan at 2 years old
He attended West Point

Three things that always remind me of Poe >>
A squeaky floorboard: The Tell-Tale Heart
A brick wall: The Cask of Amontillado
A large black bird: The Raven

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series!

[Readasaurus Rex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

This guy was a train wreck. He did suffer a lot of loss, but he also married his 12 year old cousin which is creepy.

[Ashley Holbert]

Married his twelve year old cousin...when he was in his 20's. Wow what a different time.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Poe’s works, and though his life was short and tragic, I enjoyed learning more about him in this palpable biography.

[Carson Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who was Edgar Allan Poe by Jim Gigliotti was a good book. I liked how he cared for so many people in his life. I also liked how he was a master of horror stories. He also was a poet that was most famous for the poem "The Raven".

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19 in Boston. When he was 2 years old when his mother dies at the age of 24. He moves in with his new foster family called the Allans. They lived in Richmond, Virginia. The family decided to move to England but then decided to move back to Richmond, Virginia. Later in his life he is most known for writing "The Raven". Nobody knows what he does from because there are rumors of how he died.

I recommend this book for grades 7-8 because it has some hard words in it and I think it would be more interesting for older readers.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, short, and clear, I was able to sit down and read this in one sitting.
Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favorite writers, but I didn't know very much about his tragic life. This book filled in many of those gaps about his childhood, his education, his work history, his slow rise to fame, and his personal relationships. Now hoping this series has a book on Hawthorne.

Small gripe about the writing style - the author (Gigliotti) uses "whom" inconsistently. On pages 45 and 55, there is a "who" that should be "whom." "He lost someone who[m] he had loved," and "Jane Stanard, who[m] he thought of..."
I understand if modern writers discontinue usage of whom, especially in a book for younger readers, but later he correctly uses "whom." I only demand consistency.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love these books. They are kind of like biographies “for dummies”, filled with all sorts of interesting, pertinent and meaningful facts about the person mixed with helpful facts about the time period and wrapped up in a quick, easy to read whole. I read this in less than an hour to gain some insight on Poe to help my son write a paper about him. More complex and informative than an electronic biography (such as Wikipedia), yet not as time consuming as other written biographies. I feel like the “who was/what was” series are a great starting resource for middle and high school papers.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m just in love with these “Who Was…” books. This is the first book that got me hooked on the series. I happen to pick it up from the library on a whim. I’m a fan of Poe’s work, so it was a pleasure to learn more about him. From this small book, I learned more about Poe and his work than I did in my high school English classes. I know it’s geared towards children and in my opinion that’s what makes it so great. Simple and easy to get through in a lunch break or two.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gothic fiction writer in the 1800s who wrote strange poems and horror stories. His early life was not very happy as he was an orphan, loss several girlfriends and even his foster parents died early. He wanted to be a poet, but his foster father kept trying to push him into business. But he kept on writing.

Best known for: The Raven, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart. Perfect to read on Halloween.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short biography of Edgar Allen Poe is quite detailed. All the tragedy and loss in Poe's life probably contributed to his dark writings. Death and sorrow are themes in his short stories. Poe is best known for the poem, "The Raven."

[Jacob Hinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave a good summary of who Poe was in a way that children or those unfamiliar with him could understand. I enjoyed it.

I will defiantly have this in my classroom and might even read it with my future students if/when we do a unit on him.

[Robin Pelletier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I knew all there was to know about Poe since I’m such a fangirl. I did learn a little from this biography though! Like I had no idea kids would crow at him after he wrote “The Raven” and he would caw at them. I love this side of him. What a sad and tragic story.

[Levi Lionel Leland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is actually an excellent biography of Poe. I read it for fun (as it is geared toward a younger audience), but it's actually loaded with great facts and gives a fair representation of the complicated life of Edgar Allan Poe. I recommend this for Poe fans of all ages!

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the women in his life died of tuberculosis; didn't know a lot of this stuff.

[Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was great as it provided a short and simple summary of Edgar Allan Poe's life. Highly recommend if you want to learn more about him.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually learned a lot from this book. what interesting facts.

[Xenophon Westie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had very much detail on his poeting life and most of his little poems were included in this book. also, it had really good illustrations.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book talked about all the death that surrounded Poe and a couple of his more popular poems and short stories.

[Tracy Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad I read this. Learned some stuff I didn't know.

[Jenna Click · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book that i did my google sides project on. I find the who was books weirdly interesting and Edgar allen poe even more interesting.

[K Morlando · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice info book for children. The students enjoyed it!