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Who Was . . . ? Series
Who Was Edgar Allan Poe?
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.
112 pages, Paperback
First published August 11, 2015
About the author
Jim Gigliotti
157 books26 followersJim 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
April 1, 2017
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.
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.
November 15, 2020
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.
July 26, 2017
¿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 😁
¿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 😁
June 2, 2026
Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most original American writers of all time.
Edgar Poe (1809-1849) was born in Boston, Massachusetts. When he was two, his father left the family and soon after his mother developed tuberculosis and died.
Edgar and his sister, each were taken by a wealthy Virginia family and lived closed to each other. So they spent time together. Their older brother was taken by grandparents who lived in Baltimore.
Edgar was sent to school when he was five years old. He was a good student and he was liked by other students. He was good at languages and science, but at his heart was poetry.
Edgar poked fun at the business world in his poems. Maybe because his foster father, John, wanted him to go into business. John didn’t know how to be a loving father. The warmth and love Edgar received came from his foster mother Fanny.
At seventeen, he began classes at University of Virginia. He quickly became popular among students as he entertained them with reciting poetry or telling stories he made up himself. But he lasted only one year there as his foster father refused to give him more money.
Edgar didn’t like working for his foster father. So he moved to Boston where he tried to make a living by writing. It didn’t go well, so he enlisted in the army. He quickly rose in the ranks to the highest rank. With the help of his foster father, he was admitted to the West Point, NY. However, he didn’t like the rigid life and got kicked out.
Before West Point, he already lost his foster mother to tuberculosis, and the fiasco with the West Point ended his contact with his foster father.
Nevertheless, he vowed to make a name for himself. He dropped his last name Allan – of his foster parents and used Poe – the last name he was born with.
In 1831, he moved to Baltimore where he reunited with his grandmother and brother.
During his time, not too many writers were successful to make a living by writing. He still insisted on joining those few. The same year, he published his poems thanks to the fellow cadets at West Point who covered the cost.
In 1833, he entered a competition at Baltimore newspaper and won both contests for a poem and a story. He began making a name for himself.
In 1835, he became an editor for a magazine in Richmond. The same year, his short story in science-fiction was printed in a magazine.
Meanwhile, he married his cousin Virginia and they had a happy marriage.
He became successful as editor but that left little time for his writing. So he left this position and moved to Philadelphia to concentrate on his writing.
In 1838, his first and only novel was published, but it didn’t receive good reviews. He preferred writing short stories, but they were not selling.
In 1839, he published a gothic story in a magazine which became very popular and made him famous. Despite that he was still struggling to make a living. Thus, he returned to work as editor and continued to write stories. He wrote the very first detective mystery which became very popular.
He never stayed long in one place. He switched jobs frequently, either he quit or was fired.
Virginia went through tuberculosis which killed his mother, foster mother and brother; seeing his wife going through the sickness made him depressed.
The decade of 1840s was one of the most successful of his life.
In 1845, The Raven made him a celebrity.
In 1847, Virginia died and it made him very depressed and took toll on him.
On October 3, 1849, he was found outside a tavern in Baltimore nearly unconscious. No one knows how he got there and what happened to him. He died four days later.
This biography exemplifies a man who stood steadfast in his dream of becoming a writer even if during his time only a small number of them were able to make a living as writers. He was a complex man, deeply scarred by losing his parents at a very young age. It was even more deepened by loses of the people dear to him, and it was always the same claim – tuberculosis. Later in his life, it did take toll on him as he was battling depression. Nevertheless, he achieved what he set to do, and became very well known for it.
Edgar Poe (1809-1849) was born in Boston, Massachusetts. When he was two, his father left the family and soon after his mother developed tuberculosis and died.
Edgar and his sister, each were taken by a wealthy Virginia family and lived closed to each other. So they spent time together. Their older brother was taken by grandparents who lived in Baltimore.
Edgar was sent to school when he was five years old. He was a good student and he was liked by other students. He was good at languages and science, but at his heart was poetry.
Edgar poked fun at the business world in his poems. Maybe because his foster father, John, wanted him to go into business. John didn’t know how to be a loving father. The warmth and love Edgar received came from his foster mother Fanny.
At seventeen, he began classes at University of Virginia. He quickly became popular among students as he entertained them with reciting poetry or telling stories he made up himself. But he lasted only one year there as his foster father refused to give him more money.
Edgar didn’t like working for his foster father. So he moved to Boston where he tried to make a living by writing. It didn’t go well, so he enlisted in the army. He quickly rose in the ranks to the highest rank. With the help of his foster father, he was admitted to the West Point, NY. However, he didn’t like the rigid life and got kicked out.
Before West Point, he already lost his foster mother to tuberculosis, and the fiasco with the West Point ended his contact with his foster father.
Nevertheless, he vowed to make a name for himself. He dropped his last name Allan – of his foster parents and used Poe – the last name he was born with.
In 1831, he moved to Baltimore where he reunited with his grandmother and brother.
During his time, not too many writers were successful to make a living by writing. He still insisted on joining those few. The same year, he published his poems thanks to the fellow cadets at West Point who covered the cost.
In 1833, he entered a competition at Baltimore newspaper and won both contests for a poem and a story. He began making a name for himself.
In 1835, he became an editor for a magazine in Richmond. The same year, his short story in science-fiction was printed in a magazine.
Meanwhile, he married his cousin Virginia and they had a happy marriage.
He became successful as editor but that left little time for his writing. So he left this position and moved to Philadelphia to concentrate on his writing.
In 1838, his first and only novel was published, but it didn’t receive good reviews. He preferred writing short stories, but they were not selling.
In 1839, he published a gothic story in a magazine which became very popular and made him famous. Despite that he was still struggling to make a living. Thus, he returned to work as editor and continued to write stories. He wrote the very first detective mystery which became very popular.
He never stayed long in one place. He switched jobs frequently, either he quit or was fired.
Virginia went through tuberculosis which killed his mother, foster mother and brother; seeing his wife going through the sickness made him depressed.
The decade of 1840s was one of the most successful of his life.
In 1845, The Raven made him a celebrity.
In 1847, Virginia died and it made him very depressed and took toll on him.
On October 3, 1849, he was found outside a tavern in Baltimore nearly unconscious. No one knows how he got there and what happened to him. He died four days later.
This biography exemplifies a man who stood steadfast in his dream of becoming a writer even if during his time only a small number of them were able to make a living as writers. He was a complex man, deeply scarred by losing his parents at a very young age. It was even more deepened by loses of the people dear to him, and it was always the same claim – tuberculosis. Later in his life, it did take toll on him as he was battling depression. Nevertheless, he achieved what he set to do, and became very well known for it.
November 1, 2022
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.
July 8, 2025
داستان هایی که ترم اول دانشگاه باید می خوندم. یادش بخیر
April 12, 2021
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.
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.
December 29, 2020
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.
September 24, 2020
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
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
June 10, 2019
Love this series!
July 25, 2019
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.
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.
Read
August 8, 2022Married his twelve year old cousin...when he was in his 20's. Wow what a different time.
November 22, 2025
I love Poe’s works, and though his life was short and tragic, I enjoyed learning more about him in this palpable biography.
April 28, 2017
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.
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.
March 25, 2023
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.
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.
January 29, 2018
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.
September 14, 2021
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.
October 13, 2021
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.
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.
November 20, 2022
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."
November 22, 2024
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.
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.
December 25, 2024
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.
March 22, 2025
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!
April 24, 2016
All the women in his life died of tuberculosis; didn't know a lot of this stuff.
January 27, 2017
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.
June 13, 2017
I actually learned a lot from this book. what interesting facts.
December 6, 2017
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.
October 6, 2017
This book talked about all the death that surrounded Poe and a couple of his more popular poems and short stories.
October 9, 2017
Glad I read this. Learned some stuff I didn't know.
December 4, 2017
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.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews