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Midnight Dreary: The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe
With the publication of three short tales in the 1840s, Poe invented the detective story. Then his own sudden and bizarre death, still unsolved after 150 years, created a real-life mystery as tantalizing as any of his famous stories. Was it epilepsy? Lawless thugs? A diabetic coma? His heart ? Alcohol? Poe departed this life in the best mystery-novel style. While traveling alone from Richmond, Virginia, to New York City, he disappeared for nearly a week. When seen again, he was terribly drunk and nearly dead in the Baltimore. Taken to a hospital, he never said what happened to him, where he'd been all that time, or who he'd been with. A few days later, after alternating periods of silence and raving delirium, he died. The immediate cause of death given was "congestion of the brain," or "inflammation of the brain," serviceable phrases in a day that knew little of internal medicine. At first no one seriously questioned the verdict that the culprit was liquor, that Poe died as a result of complications arising from drunken debauchery. Inevitably, as the years passed and his fame grew, efforts were made to clear him of what seemed weak, wanton self-destruction. While many theories of a physical nature about precipitating causes have been suggested,-ranging from rabies to a blow on the head-no one has seriously probed the mystery of that missing week. Until now. Midnight Dreary examines the last days one of America's most admired authors, definitively untangling more than a century of speculation and finally putting to rest on its 150th anniversary what may be the greatest Poe mystery of all.
199 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
7 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
John Evangelist Walsh
40 books3 followersJohn Evangelist Walsh was an American author, biographer, editor, historian and journalist. He was best known for leading a team of 7 editors tasked with creating a condensed version of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
February 17, 2019
John Evangelist Walsh examines the last months of the life of Edgar Allan Poe and puts forth the hypothesis that he did not die of alcohol withdrawal, but something more sinister.
Poe, one of the most celebrated American authors, had a rough life. He was orphaned and adopted at an early age. He spent his life in poverty, scraping enough money from writing and editing jobs to keep himself fed, only to die mysteriously at age 40.
"We regret to learn that Edgar Allan Poe Esq. the distinguished American poet, scholar and critic died yesterday morning after an illness of four or five days. This announcement, coming so sudden and unexpected, will cause poignant regret among all who admire genius and have sympathy for the frailties so often attending it.” pg 34
Walsh packs this book with details about Poe's life and heartbreaks — that can be verified by historical documentation. After Poe's untimely death, an author, perhaps more than one, who had been vilified by in Poe's literary reviews, wrote angry and unflattering obituaries and biographies. It was an effort to black Poe's name after his death which ultimately failed.
However, this "name blackening campaign" makes it difficult to separate fact from fiction.
Walter Colton, who was one of those who was kind to Poe after his death wrote: "I knew something of Poe. Something of the unfathomed gulfs of darkness out of which the lightning of his genius sent its scorching flashes." pg 28
Perhaps that's the lesson to take from Poe's life, besides his astonishing literary achievements. Genius often seems to walk hand in hand with madness or emotional upheaval. I wonder why this is. Maybe, to touch the heights and depths required to write beautiful poetry, you have to go there? I don't know.
"As always with this type of alcoholism, the unsettling fact was its combined certainty and unpredictability. After long periods of perfect sobriety, he seemed almost bound to fall again, and those who cared about him had to live with that relentless expectation." introduction, pg xiv
Walsh's hypothesis about the manner of Poe's death was not convincing to me, but it gave me another angle to consider.
I had heard Poe may have died from "cooping" which was a practice where a man was kidnapped by a political party, kept drunk and imprisoned until election day, when he would let him free to vote as they directed. This idea holds water because he was found inebriated and ill outside a polling place and in clothing that didn't seem to belong to him. I had also heard he was a victim of alcohol withdrawal.
Dear Sir, There is a gentleman, rather the worse for wear, at Ryan's Fourth ward polls, who goes under the cognomen of Edgar A. Poe, and who appears in great distress, and he says he is acquainted with you, and I assure you, he is in need of immediately assistance." pg 46
Walsh believes some relatives of one of the women Poe was involved with may have led to his untimely end.
Whatever happened, I can't help but feel sad for the rest of us. Imagine what he could have accomplished with another 40 years on this earth.
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
Recommended for fans of Edgar Allan Poe or readers who enjoy true crime.
Poe, one of the most celebrated American authors, had a rough life. He was orphaned and adopted at an early age. He spent his life in poverty, scraping enough money from writing and editing jobs to keep himself fed, only to die mysteriously at age 40.
"We regret to learn that Edgar Allan Poe Esq. the distinguished American poet, scholar and critic died yesterday morning after an illness of four or five days. This announcement, coming so sudden and unexpected, will cause poignant regret among all who admire genius and have sympathy for the frailties so often attending it.” pg 34
Walsh packs this book with details about Poe's life and heartbreaks — that can be verified by historical documentation. After Poe's untimely death, an author, perhaps more than one, who had been vilified by in Poe's literary reviews, wrote angry and unflattering obituaries and biographies. It was an effort to black Poe's name after his death which ultimately failed.
However, this "name blackening campaign" makes it difficult to separate fact from fiction.
Walter Colton, who was one of those who was kind to Poe after his death wrote: "I knew something of Poe. Something of the unfathomed gulfs of darkness out of which the lightning of his genius sent its scorching flashes." pg 28
Perhaps that's the lesson to take from Poe's life, besides his astonishing literary achievements. Genius often seems to walk hand in hand with madness or emotional upheaval. I wonder why this is. Maybe, to touch the heights and depths required to write beautiful poetry, you have to go there? I don't know.
"As always with this type of alcoholism, the unsettling fact was its combined certainty and unpredictability. After long periods of perfect sobriety, he seemed almost bound to fall again, and those who cared about him had to live with that relentless expectation." introduction, pg xiv
Walsh's hypothesis about the manner of Poe's death was not convincing to me, but it gave me another angle to consider.
I had heard Poe may have died from "cooping" which was a practice where a man was kidnapped by a political party, kept drunk and imprisoned until election day, when he would let him free to vote as they directed. This idea holds water because he was found inebriated and ill outside a polling place and in clothing that didn't seem to belong to him. I had also heard he was a victim of alcohol withdrawal.
Dear Sir, There is a gentleman, rather the worse for wear, at Ryan's Fourth ward polls, who goes under the cognomen of Edgar A. Poe, and who appears in great distress, and he says he is acquainted with you, and I assure you, he is in need of immediately assistance." pg 46
Walsh believes some relatives of one of the women Poe was involved with may have led to his untimely end.
Whatever happened, I can't help but feel sad for the rest of us. Imagine what he could have accomplished with another 40 years on this earth.
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
Recommended for fans of Edgar Allan Poe or readers who enjoy true crime.
July 25, 2012
I often disagree with historians, but John Evangelist Walsh is one of the very, very few that makes me genuinely angry. His incomprehensibly long career has been built on promoting demonstrably fictitious and horribly libelous claims against historical figures. Poe has been one of his main victims. Walsh's previous book, "Plumes in the Dust," made the lunatic, completely unsubstantiated claim that Poe fathered an illegitimate child on a married woman. In "Midnight Dreary" he piles fantasy on fantasy by suggesting that Poe was murdered by two (possibly imaginary) brothers of a woman he may have planned to marry.
As is usual with Walsh, there is absolutely no evidence to support his thesis. His M.O. is to dream up a headline-grabbing, lurid scenario. Then, he proceeds to write a work of fiction to gull the unwary into thinking he has a case. He manipulates or simply invents "evidence" for whatever half-baked idea he is promoting, while completely ignoring the usually vast amount of documentation that would utterly destroy his story. He is an expert at dreaming up fictitious scenarios and invented conversations, and then using his own creations as support!
"Midnight Dreary" is only one of his many rather frightening distorions of history. Poe scholars have long treated Walsh as a bad joke, but it is depressing to think how many readers who don't know the facts will be lured by Walsh's air of authority and pseudo-scholarship into thinking his books have any credibility. This is not history--it is a bad hoax. I have my doubts whether Walsh himself belives any of the defamatory drivel he puts out at such an alarming rate.
P.S. For a more detailed analysis of Walsh's pernicious methods here is an Emily Dickinson scholar reviewing (with great disgust) Walsh's recent "book" about the Amherst poet:
http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.ph...
As is usual with Walsh, there is absolutely no evidence to support his thesis. His M.O. is to dream up a headline-grabbing, lurid scenario. Then, he proceeds to write a work of fiction to gull the unwary into thinking he has a case. He manipulates or simply invents "evidence" for whatever half-baked idea he is promoting, while completely ignoring the usually vast amount of documentation that would utterly destroy his story. He is an expert at dreaming up fictitious scenarios and invented conversations, and then using his own creations as support!
"Midnight Dreary" is only one of his many rather frightening distorions of history. Poe scholars have long treated Walsh as a bad joke, but it is depressing to think how many readers who don't know the facts will be lured by Walsh's air of authority and pseudo-scholarship into thinking his books have any credibility. This is not history--it is a bad hoax. I have my doubts whether Walsh himself belives any of the defamatory drivel he puts out at such an alarming rate.
P.S. For a more detailed analysis of Walsh's pernicious methods here is an Emily Dickinson scholar reviewing (with great disgust) Walsh's recent "book" about the Amherst poet:
http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.ph...
November 4, 2017
Midnight on October 7, 1849, and Edgar Allan Poe is dying. Found four days earlier in a delirious state near a Baltimore tavern, he has been taken to the city’s Washington Medical College, where his mental state has generally been one of continuing delirium. He dies five hours later, aged 40 – his last words, reputedly, “Lord help my poor soul.”
Just four days earlier, Joseph Snodgrass, a Baltimore journalist and friend of Poe’s, had received this note that no doubt shocked him:
“Baltimore City, Oct 3d 1849. Dear Sir, -- There is a gentleman, rather the worse for wear, at Ryan’s Fourth ward polls, who goes under the cognomen of Edgar A. Poe, and who appears in great distress, & he says he is acquainted with you, and I assure you, he is in need of immediate assistance. Yours in haste, Jos. W. Walker.”
Those four days – from the time when Poe was found, to the day he died – are well accounted for. But Poe had left Richmond, Virginia, five days earlier, on September 27, bound by boat for New York City; and nothing whatsoever is known of his whereabouts from the departure of that boat until his finding by Joseph Walker in Baltimore on October 3, almost a week later. John Evangelist Walsh puts the key question simply and directly: “If Poe was picked up in Baltimore on the afternoon of October 3rd, having departed Richmond early on the morning of September 27th, where had he been for those intervening five days, and with whom?” (p. 52)
It is a true-life mystery; and in his book Midnight Dreary, John Evangelist Walsh seeks to provide an answer. Walsh, who previously wrote about the “Piltdown Man” hoax and the Abraham Lincoln-Mary Rutledge relationship, clearly has an interest in mystery and romance – elements that are to be found in abundance in Poe’s life, and certainly in the story of his death. Moreover, he had focused on Poe in an earlier work, Poe the Detective, a look at the historical circumstances behind the writing of Poe’s story “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt.” Accordingly, it is more than understandable that Walsh wanted to take a shot at solving The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe (the book’s subtitle). As Walsh remarks, “The man who invented the detective story, in his own sudden and bizarre demise, provided American literature with its most enduring real-life mystery” (vii).
How successful is Walsh in solving the mystery? We’ll get to that. Indeed, I want to proceed in a gingerly manner, so as to make sure that no spoiler alert will be needed. What I can say, without giving anything away, is something that will already be well-known to students of Poe’s life: the great poet, from the time of his beloved wife Virginia’s death in 1847, had seemed frantic about finding someone new to love him and care for him.
After several prospective relationships proved unsuccessful, for a variety of reasons, it seemed in the summer of 1849 that Poe had finally found the stable love and emotional sustenance for which he longed so desperately: the sweetheart of his youth, Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton. Her youthful love for Poe thwarted by parental interference, Elmira had married in 1827 a man her parents considered a more suitable match; widowed since 1844, Elmira seemed as ready as Poe for a renewal of their youthful romance. But there was a catch: Elmira’s relatives in Richmond were strongly opposed to the prospective match, probably because of “rumors about Poe’s questionable reputation catching up with him, especially where women were concerned” (p. 27).
Here, once again, I must tread lightly in order to avoid giving away spoilers. Walsh does indeed have his own proposed solution to the mystery; as he puts it, “Told in sequence and with only needed halts for analysis, it rests squarely on established fact…and sober inference from these facts” (p. 105). Chapter 8, “Suddenly a Tapping,” sets forth Walsh’s theory in novelistic style and rich detail. It makes for fun, compelling reading; and yes, it does involve conspiracy and foul play. I will say no more about that.
But how convincing is it? Walsh is very much in the habit of expressing confidence in his findings; at one point where he is compelled to admit that there is a gap for which no positive evidence can be found, “probability – strong probability, to be sure, amounting almost to certainty, confidently fills the gap” (p. 112; emphasis in original). Really? For my part, I did not share Walsh’s confidence, nor his certainty. So zealous is Walsh in his presentation of his solution to the mystery that he engages in a good deal of selective interpretation of witness testimony. If a witness’s words regarding Poe’s last days harmonize with Walsh’s theory, then what that witness is saying is accurately stated fact; if they do not – well, then, that person must just have gotten his or her facts wrong. It is an entertaining form of special pleading, but it is special pleading nonetheless.
But I appreciated the no-holds-barred energy with which Walsh presented his attempt at solving the mystery of Poe’s death, and I liked the way the book was written in a tone of sympathy for the ill-fated poet. After all, Poe did not know he was going to die under such dreadful circumstances at the age of 40; indeed, he thought he was on the verge of a new and better phase in his life. Walsh asks us to imagine that Poe might have “reformed his old habits and settled in as a respected citizen of Richmond”; but sadly, “The picture of Poe, no longer vexed by life or by his own failings, growing contentedly into old age beside the girl he’d loved in his youth, must remain a haunting possibility” (p. 129).
It seems to me that Midnight Dreary might have worked better as a novel, a “what-if” explanation of the mystery of Poe’s death, with Walsh’s imagination more free to roam. But for Poe’s many fans, this fun short book should provide a delicious chill as they once again contemplate the mysterious and sad death of the poet that people used to refer to simply as “The Raven.”
Just four days earlier, Joseph Snodgrass, a Baltimore journalist and friend of Poe’s, had received this note that no doubt shocked him:
“Baltimore City, Oct 3d 1849. Dear Sir, -- There is a gentleman, rather the worse for wear, at Ryan’s Fourth ward polls, who goes under the cognomen of Edgar A. Poe, and who appears in great distress, & he says he is acquainted with you, and I assure you, he is in need of immediate assistance. Yours in haste, Jos. W. Walker.”
Those four days – from the time when Poe was found, to the day he died – are well accounted for. But Poe had left Richmond, Virginia, five days earlier, on September 27, bound by boat for New York City; and nothing whatsoever is known of his whereabouts from the departure of that boat until his finding by Joseph Walker in Baltimore on October 3, almost a week later. John Evangelist Walsh puts the key question simply and directly: “If Poe was picked up in Baltimore on the afternoon of October 3rd, having departed Richmond early on the morning of September 27th, where had he been for those intervening five days, and with whom?” (p. 52)
It is a true-life mystery; and in his book Midnight Dreary, John Evangelist Walsh seeks to provide an answer. Walsh, who previously wrote about the “Piltdown Man” hoax and the Abraham Lincoln-Mary Rutledge relationship, clearly has an interest in mystery and romance – elements that are to be found in abundance in Poe’s life, and certainly in the story of his death. Moreover, he had focused on Poe in an earlier work, Poe the Detective, a look at the historical circumstances behind the writing of Poe’s story “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt.” Accordingly, it is more than understandable that Walsh wanted to take a shot at solving The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe (the book’s subtitle). As Walsh remarks, “The man who invented the detective story, in his own sudden and bizarre demise, provided American literature with its most enduring real-life mystery” (vii).
How successful is Walsh in solving the mystery? We’ll get to that. Indeed, I want to proceed in a gingerly manner, so as to make sure that no spoiler alert will be needed. What I can say, without giving anything away, is something that will already be well-known to students of Poe’s life: the great poet, from the time of his beloved wife Virginia’s death in 1847, had seemed frantic about finding someone new to love him and care for him.
After several prospective relationships proved unsuccessful, for a variety of reasons, it seemed in the summer of 1849 that Poe had finally found the stable love and emotional sustenance for which he longed so desperately: the sweetheart of his youth, Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton. Her youthful love for Poe thwarted by parental interference, Elmira had married in 1827 a man her parents considered a more suitable match; widowed since 1844, Elmira seemed as ready as Poe for a renewal of their youthful romance. But there was a catch: Elmira’s relatives in Richmond were strongly opposed to the prospective match, probably because of “rumors about Poe’s questionable reputation catching up with him, especially where women were concerned” (p. 27).
Here, once again, I must tread lightly in order to avoid giving away spoilers. Walsh does indeed have his own proposed solution to the mystery; as he puts it, “Told in sequence and with only needed halts for analysis, it rests squarely on established fact…and sober inference from these facts” (p. 105). Chapter 8, “Suddenly a Tapping,” sets forth Walsh’s theory in novelistic style and rich detail. It makes for fun, compelling reading; and yes, it does involve conspiracy and foul play. I will say no more about that.
But how convincing is it? Walsh is very much in the habit of expressing confidence in his findings; at one point where he is compelled to admit that there is a gap for which no positive evidence can be found, “probability – strong probability, to be sure, amounting almost to certainty, confidently fills the gap” (p. 112; emphasis in original). Really? For my part, I did not share Walsh’s confidence, nor his certainty. So zealous is Walsh in his presentation of his solution to the mystery that he engages in a good deal of selective interpretation of witness testimony. If a witness’s words regarding Poe’s last days harmonize with Walsh’s theory, then what that witness is saying is accurately stated fact; if they do not – well, then, that person must just have gotten his or her facts wrong. It is an entertaining form of special pleading, but it is special pleading nonetheless.
But I appreciated the no-holds-barred energy with which Walsh presented his attempt at solving the mystery of Poe’s death, and I liked the way the book was written in a tone of sympathy for the ill-fated poet. After all, Poe did not know he was going to die under such dreadful circumstances at the age of 40; indeed, he thought he was on the verge of a new and better phase in his life. Walsh asks us to imagine that Poe might have “reformed his old habits and settled in as a respected citizen of Richmond”; but sadly, “The picture of Poe, no longer vexed by life or by his own failings, growing contentedly into old age beside the girl he’d loved in his youth, must remain a haunting possibility” (p. 129).
It seems to me that Midnight Dreary might have worked better as a novel, a “what-if” explanation of the mystery of Poe’s death, with Walsh’s imagination more free to roam. But for Poe’s many fans, this fun short book should provide a delicious chill as they once again contemplate the mysterious and sad death of the poet that people used to refer to simply as “The Raven.”
June 20, 2023
I really enjoyed the book I had a hard time putting it down I am a huge fan of Poe and always wanted to know if the mystery into what really happened to Poe would ever come to light. John Evangelist Walsh went through every piece of research into Poe's death to find out what happened to the beloved poet and was shocked that his wife-to-be's three brothers had a hand in Poe's death because they didn't want her to marry him because of his drinking and issue with the ladies.
August 29, 2019
Interesting theories, but nothing resolved, of course. Somewhat repetitive, slightly confusing. If you're not just really into Poe, don't bother w/ this.
October 26, 2016
There were some interesting theories of Poe's death, but it was a little repetitive and dull at times.
December 2, 2019
I just finished reading Midnight Dreary by John Evangelist Walsh. It was written in the year 2000 and has 180 pages. I purchased it at Amazon as a used book for about $1.00. What a deal! It was published by St. Martin's Press. The book is concerned with the last few days of the life of Edgar Allan Poe. Since no one knows exactly how he died, this book took a dark turn - it proposed that he was 'murdered'. I won't give spoilers, but the idea is that he was beaten or threatened and then made to drink a large amount of alcohol - which turned him into a hot mess, from which he never recovers. The author is a journalist and did his homework - he reviewed everything written by anyone who actually knew Poe during these last days. The story is worthy of a movie - it would star Joquine Phoenix as the falling-apart Poe, eager to marry a new woman, Elymira Royster. Her brothers don't want her to marry him and they decide to threaten and perhaps...if you read the book...do more than that to assure that Poe never marries their sister. I liked the depth that the writer researched, I prefer writing that gives me enough information to make a good guess myself about what's coming. He did this well. I give this book 3 stars because I didn't really believe him - his assumptions go a long way from what the Doctor who treated Poe tells us - Doctor Moran said that he saw NO SIGN of physical violence to Poe's body. The theory is good, but I prefer to not know what happened to Poe in the end. It makes him even more interesting and mysterious.
July 24, 2018
John Evangelist Walsh died only a few years back, which saddens me because of his specialty among writers of history. He loved to study writers and public figures and how small events (or large ones) could effect them. I first came across him when attending Drew University in the early 1970s, reading his interesting book about Poe and the writing of the sec0nd of his three "C. Auguste Dupin" detective stories, "The Mystery of Marie Roget". This appears to be the first time a fictional story of a murder was based on an actual murder (that of the unfortunate "Seegar girl" ("cigar" was spelled "seegar" back in 1841) Mary Cecilia Rogers of New York City). Ms Rogers body was found in the Hudson River, a number of days after she was last reported being seen, and despite intense police investigation the case was never really solved. Without getting further involved in the complications of that case (I recommend Raymond Paul's study of it, if you wish to look closely into it), Walsh did a comparative textual approach to the story - which as it stand is somewhat confusing for one of Poe's neat mystery tales - and showed that the original magazine publication of the tale was different from the one we have today ever since "Marie Roget" was published as part of Poe's collected stories. The reason was that in 1843-44 new evidence suggesting poor Mary died as the result of a botched abortion appeared, and Poe (determined to keep his ace detective Dupin) on top of all possibilities, gave him additional comments to make about alternative theories to what he already suggested. The result is confusing to most modern readers, and led that doyen of American criminal historians, Edmund Pearson, to say the story was pretty boring. But Walsh's approach wasn't, and was well worth reading.
It would be a few years before I came across any other book of Walsh's. I subsequently found he wrote on other poets, including a moving book on the last year in the life of John Keats, and a book about Robert Frost. He also wrote about a murder in Springfield, Illinois in 1855, of a neighbor of Abe and Mary Lincoln, and how Abe got involved in the legal ramifications of that case (one not as well known as Lincoln's involvement in the trial of Duff Green's sons for murder in the 1840s, that has that classic story of how Lincoln demolished a prosecution key witness using an almanack to show that there was no moon on the night of the murder - when the witness supposedly saw the killing clearly by moonlight).
But it was natural for Walsh to return repeatedly to Poe. Probably no other major American man of letters is as mysterious or odd as our Edgar. Walsh wrote a second book concerning Poe's relationship with Fanny Osgood, a poet in her own right, and how it was at the basis of Poe's rivalry with and future character assassination by Rufus Griswold, who also liked Fanny. The present book was written in 1998 (my copy is a paperback with the cover you see in the above illustration of the book, dated 2000), and deals with the final weeks of Poe's life. As such, Walsh goes as far as he can with the meager information we have (and it is pitifully small). I recommend reading this, as it is a thought provoking book, but I here give a qualification: There are so many alternative theories to the cause of Poe's demise in Baltimore in October 1849 that Walsh's ideas while intriguing are no better nor worse than any other.
Basically you have to keep in mind that in 1849 Poe was a widow, as his beloved "Lenore", his cousin wife Virginia, had died in 1846. Poe was still living exclusively by his poetry and stories and criticism (of plays, books, poetry) being published, along with his lecture tours. It was a small income, but still Poe had managed to demonstrate such talent, especially after he published "The Raven" that he was among the best known writers of the day in the U.S. As early as 1842 he was sought out by one of his few peers from abroad, Charles Dickens (then on HIS first tour of the U.S., that resulted in the controversial "American Notes", and the novel "Martin Chuzzlewit") because Poe had reviewed the early sections of the novel "Barnaby Rudge", and guessed many of the future plot twists in it, much to Dickens amazement. But in 1849 Poe was tired of his hard grind life, with his need to support his mother-in-law and himself on his earnings. He had a vision for nearly a decade - having worked for many magazines like "Graham's" that he felt did not encourage good writing as much as they should - to create one the would own and edit called "The Stylist". But this required money - and Poe couldn't raise it.
Then (according to Walsh) he reopened an old romance with a woman from Richmond, Virginia, whom had married well, and was now a widow. If they married, Poe would have the cash for the "Stylist" and finally get financial stability. Anyway that was the idea. Walsh concludes that his demise in Baltimore had to do with this scheme, and several people who did not want it to be completed by a new marriage. I leave it to the reader to go into the idea - again a worthy theory, but probably no less or more worthy than the one that he was gotten drunk by a gang needing "repeater voters" (there was an election in Baltimore at the time of his death), or a recent idea that he was bitten by a dog with rabies - again an interesting idea.
Certainly worth reading. And it opens up the issue of Poe's death so that the reader can check out other books touching upon that subject.
It would be a few years before I came across any other book of Walsh's. I subsequently found he wrote on other poets, including a moving book on the last year in the life of John Keats, and a book about Robert Frost. He also wrote about a murder in Springfield, Illinois in 1855, of a neighbor of Abe and Mary Lincoln, and how Abe got involved in the legal ramifications of that case (one not as well known as Lincoln's involvement in the trial of Duff Green's sons for murder in the 1840s, that has that classic story of how Lincoln demolished a prosecution key witness using an almanack to show that there was no moon on the night of the murder - when the witness supposedly saw the killing clearly by moonlight).
But it was natural for Walsh to return repeatedly to Poe. Probably no other major American man of letters is as mysterious or odd as our Edgar. Walsh wrote a second book concerning Poe's relationship with Fanny Osgood, a poet in her own right, and how it was at the basis of Poe's rivalry with and future character assassination by Rufus Griswold, who also liked Fanny. The present book was written in 1998 (my copy is a paperback with the cover you see in the above illustration of the book, dated 2000), and deals with the final weeks of Poe's life. As such, Walsh goes as far as he can with the meager information we have (and it is pitifully small). I recommend reading this, as it is a thought provoking book, but I here give a qualification: There are so many alternative theories to the cause of Poe's demise in Baltimore in October 1849 that Walsh's ideas while intriguing are no better nor worse than any other.
Basically you have to keep in mind that in 1849 Poe was a widow, as his beloved "Lenore", his cousin wife Virginia, had died in 1846. Poe was still living exclusively by his poetry and stories and criticism (of plays, books, poetry) being published, along with his lecture tours. It was a small income, but still Poe had managed to demonstrate such talent, especially after he published "The Raven" that he was among the best known writers of the day in the U.S. As early as 1842 he was sought out by one of his few peers from abroad, Charles Dickens (then on HIS first tour of the U.S., that resulted in the controversial "American Notes", and the novel "Martin Chuzzlewit") because Poe had reviewed the early sections of the novel "Barnaby Rudge", and guessed many of the future plot twists in it, much to Dickens amazement. But in 1849 Poe was tired of his hard grind life, with his need to support his mother-in-law and himself on his earnings. He had a vision for nearly a decade - having worked for many magazines like "Graham's" that he felt did not encourage good writing as much as they should - to create one the would own and edit called "The Stylist". But this required money - and Poe couldn't raise it.
Then (according to Walsh) he reopened an old romance with a woman from Richmond, Virginia, whom had married well, and was now a widow. If they married, Poe would have the cash for the "Stylist" and finally get financial stability. Anyway that was the idea. Walsh concludes that his demise in Baltimore had to do with this scheme, and several people who did not want it to be completed by a new marriage. I leave it to the reader to go into the idea - again a worthy theory, but probably no less or more worthy than the one that he was gotten drunk by a gang needing "repeater voters" (there was an election in Baltimore at the time of his death), or a recent idea that he was bitten by a dog with rabies - again an interesting idea.
Certainly worth reading. And it opens up the issue of Poe's death so that the reader can check out other books touching upon that subject.
November 3, 2011
I must respectfully decline to agree with Mr. Walsh that this is the last word in speculation as to Mr. Poe's last days' activities.
I really regret this as the book is a present, dedicated to his granddaughter.
I acknowledge that I am a thoroughly green amateur on the subject. This is the first book I have read on it. Yet, I feel his ideas on exactly what occurred to the famous poet are built on no firmer sand than many another's - including mine.
I can think of a few counter-scenarios to fit the facts. Granted, they are variations on the main theme, but when the author states there is no other possible solution, I must object.
One point is that the incapacitated and inebriated Poe could escape from three able bodied men. If they wanted him publicly disgraced it would be all too easy to get him dressed up in the clothes he was found in and to dump him out in public somewhere.
Of course, if they didn't care if he was alive or dead they could have turned him over to the Coopers, or he could have been picked up after the three dropped him off, thus thwarting their plans but making his disappearance more plausible.
I can easily think of a very clear way that Poe's mind might suddenly swing from self-preservation to suicidal. If he thought his drinking, whether of his own free will or forced upon him by others would ruin his chance to marry his old sweetheart he may easily have fallen into despair. This is not as huge a leap as the author would imagine.
There is also the matter of Poe calling for Reynolds in his delirium. Henry R. Reynolds was one of three presiding judges that day he was found at Ryan's Fourth Ward Polls in Gunner's Hall on that election day. The author goes off on a flight of fancy as to what his calling might mean. I could easily suggest another reason. Perhaps Poe heard in his stupor that a "Judge Reynolds" was on hand in the hall. If he had been wronged, forced to drink, assaulted and left in clothes not his own, he might seek refuge and aid from a judge, not knowing it was only an election official and not a real judge. Perhaps in his crazed mind in the hospital he still thought he needed to seek aid and called out without comprehending he was no longer in the hall?
Another annoying thing to me is his assertion that a dubious sketch of the teenaged Elmira Royster shows her with a hair bob. I do not believe that young ladies were going about with flapperish hair bobs back then. How first picture of the lady in more advanced years should have given the clue. The front sections were loosely drawn up and then incorporated into the rear sections as in a bun style.
Oh, and I do wish he'd have used standard footnote notations.
Basically, the book raises some interesting ideas, but again they are no firmer than any other speculation.
I really regret this as the book is a present, dedicated to his granddaughter.
I acknowledge that I am a thoroughly green amateur on the subject. This is the first book I have read on it. Yet, I feel his ideas on exactly what occurred to the famous poet are built on no firmer sand than many another's - including mine.
I can think of a few counter-scenarios to fit the facts. Granted, they are variations on the main theme, but when the author states there is no other possible solution, I must object.
One point is that the incapacitated and inebriated Poe could escape from three able bodied men. If they wanted him publicly disgraced it would be all too easy to get him dressed up in the clothes he was found in and to dump him out in public somewhere.
Of course, if they didn't care if he was alive or dead they could have turned him over to the Coopers, or he could have been picked up after the three dropped him off, thus thwarting their plans but making his disappearance more plausible.
I can easily think of a very clear way that Poe's mind might suddenly swing from self-preservation to suicidal. If he thought his drinking, whether of his own free will or forced upon him by others would ruin his chance to marry his old sweetheart he may easily have fallen into despair. This is not as huge a leap as the author would imagine.
There is also the matter of Poe calling for Reynolds in his delirium. Henry R. Reynolds was one of three presiding judges that day he was found at Ryan's Fourth Ward Polls in Gunner's Hall on that election day. The author goes off on a flight of fancy as to what his calling might mean. I could easily suggest another reason. Perhaps Poe heard in his stupor that a "Judge Reynolds" was on hand in the hall. If he had been wronged, forced to drink, assaulted and left in clothes not his own, he might seek refuge and aid from a judge, not knowing it was only an election official and not a real judge. Perhaps in his crazed mind in the hospital he still thought he needed to seek aid and called out without comprehending he was no longer in the hall?
Another annoying thing to me is his assertion that a dubious sketch of the teenaged Elmira Royster shows her with a hair bob. I do not believe that young ladies were going about with flapperish hair bobs back then. How first picture of the lady in more advanced years should have given the clue. The front sections were loosely drawn up and then incorporated into the rear sections as in a bun style.
Oh, and I do wish he'd have used standard footnote notations.
Basically, the book raises some interesting ideas, but again they are no firmer than any other speculation.
December 9, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There are several theories about the death of Edgar Allan Poe, but in this book the author postulates that he died as a result of a beating from the brothers (or their agents) of a childhood sweetheart Poe had recently resumed a romantic relationship with. Walsh postulates that Poe's fears of being followed and in danger in the days leading up to were not delusions brought on by illness, but based on actual occurrences--that Poe might have been paranoid, but people were out to get him. A fascinating read for any literature buff or Edgar Allan Poe fan.
January 22, 2021
Poe has always interested me and the more I find out about him the more I am intrigued. In Midnight Dreary, John Walsh focuses on a short period in Poe’s life his untimely and unceremonious death. Yet, he provides more structure and scrutiny of the life of Edgar Allan Poe, to my great delight.
The mystery of family gene pools providing good and bad traits are evident in Poe. His parents were talented actors who passed on traits that gave Poe his literary talents and intellect. They also bequeathed him emotional weakness and a proclivity to drink to excess.
A little-known fact provided by Walsh was the fact that when he applied himself, Poe excelled in academics and athletics, yet in all cases his emotional weakness won out.
In 1849, Poe was found on a street in Baltimore in a state of delirium, dressed as a vagrant battered and suspected of drunkenness, within a week he was dead. In 1849 he was on top of his game, writing, editing magazines, lecturing, and engaged to be married; so how do we explain his abrupt death?
This was Walsh’s quest, to investigate and determine why and how Poe died. The Police officials and medical people were quick to declare that he died of congestion of the brain, whatever that means, and his susceptibility to drink and drunkenness made it easy to dismiss the death, so the feeling was bury him and be done with it! Even his biographers have been quick to accept the official version of his death.
Walsh makes an exhaustive review of the facts and draws different conclusions. The police and most biographers accepted “the cooping theory” (illegal election practices). An election was going on at the time and a characteristic of Baltimore elections was people multi voted. A victim was kidnaped, beaten, and sometimes drugged and even compelled to ingest alcohol then forced to vote multiple times.
Walsh takes the reader to Richmond, where Poe once lived. Poe was there giving lectures on poetry and reading some of his own poetry. He encountered Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton, Elmira was once an adolescent sweetheart of Poe, but her father had intervened and ended the relationship. The father felt that Elmira was too young, he also knew of Poe and felt Elmira could do better. Encountering the widowed Elmira again in 1849 reignited Poe’s passions and he pursued her and got her to agree to a marriage. Again, family intervened because they did not want her to marry Poe. It is Walsh’s contention that Elmira’s three brothers followed Poe when he left Richmond on a trip to Philadelphia and beat him so severely that he died.
Walsh thoroughly researched his subject, yet his conclusion can only be conjecture that the brothers left Poe on a Baltimore street in a state that would suggest drunkenness. Walsh makes a particularly good case and maybe in a court of law his circumstantial evidence would prevail. There are some holes in his belief, yet I think his reasoning is sound and I accept this conclusion as more realistic than the accepted cooping theory.
Walsh’s presentation gave me a better sense of Poe and I liked this aspect of the story. He excelled at track and field as well as boxing while in College and this was a surprise to me. These facts gave me pause when considering that a beating by the brothers killed him. He would have given a good account of himself and surely the police and medical staff would have seen signs of quite a struggle. Another new fact, that I found interesting was while in the army he rose very rapidly to the rank of Sargent. Also, it is not easy to get into West Point, yet he did and was excelling until he got court marshalled on purpose and thrown out!
On thing that I continually looked for in this book and never found was mention of the Civil War. Richmond was almost the epicenter of this war, and Walsh takes us back to Richmond in 1849, Elmira lived there until her death 1888 so she must have experienced the war and all the carnage related to the destruction of Richmond. I know I am asking too much of Walsh to wish he had mentioned how she survived in Richmond during those trying times.
This was a short little diversion centered on an interesting and accomplished American Poet and Walsh did a nice job researching and making a strong case for his conclusions. I enjoyed this book
The mystery of family gene pools providing good and bad traits are evident in Poe. His parents were talented actors who passed on traits that gave Poe his literary talents and intellect. They also bequeathed him emotional weakness and a proclivity to drink to excess.
A little-known fact provided by Walsh was the fact that when he applied himself, Poe excelled in academics and athletics, yet in all cases his emotional weakness won out.
In 1849, Poe was found on a street in Baltimore in a state of delirium, dressed as a vagrant battered and suspected of drunkenness, within a week he was dead. In 1849 he was on top of his game, writing, editing magazines, lecturing, and engaged to be married; so how do we explain his abrupt death?
This was Walsh’s quest, to investigate and determine why and how Poe died. The Police officials and medical people were quick to declare that he died of congestion of the brain, whatever that means, and his susceptibility to drink and drunkenness made it easy to dismiss the death, so the feeling was bury him and be done with it! Even his biographers have been quick to accept the official version of his death.
Walsh makes an exhaustive review of the facts and draws different conclusions. The police and most biographers accepted “the cooping theory” (illegal election practices). An election was going on at the time and a characteristic of Baltimore elections was people multi voted. A victim was kidnaped, beaten, and sometimes drugged and even compelled to ingest alcohol then forced to vote multiple times.
Walsh takes the reader to Richmond, where Poe once lived. Poe was there giving lectures on poetry and reading some of his own poetry. He encountered Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton, Elmira was once an adolescent sweetheart of Poe, but her father had intervened and ended the relationship. The father felt that Elmira was too young, he also knew of Poe and felt Elmira could do better. Encountering the widowed Elmira again in 1849 reignited Poe’s passions and he pursued her and got her to agree to a marriage. Again, family intervened because they did not want her to marry Poe. It is Walsh’s contention that Elmira’s three brothers followed Poe when he left Richmond on a trip to Philadelphia and beat him so severely that he died.
Walsh thoroughly researched his subject, yet his conclusion can only be conjecture that the brothers left Poe on a Baltimore street in a state that would suggest drunkenness. Walsh makes a particularly good case and maybe in a court of law his circumstantial evidence would prevail. There are some holes in his belief, yet I think his reasoning is sound and I accept this conclusion as more realistic than the accepted cooping theory.
Walsh’s presentation gave me a better sense of Poe and I liked this aspect of the story. He excelled at track and field as well as boxing while in College and this was a surprise to me. These facts gave me pause when considering that a beating by the brothers killed him. He would have given a good account of himself and surely the police and medical staff would have seen signs of quite a struggle. Another new fact, that I found interesting was while in the army he rose very rapidly to the rank of Sargent. Also, it is not easy to get into West Point, yet he did and was excelling until he got court marshalled on purpose and thrown out!
On thing that I continually looked for in this book and never found was mention of the Civil War. Richmond was almost the epicenter of this war, and Walsh takes us back to Richmond in 1849, Elmira lived there until her death 1888 so she must have experienced the war and all the carnage related to the destruction of Richmond. I know I am asking too much of Walsh to wish he had mentioned how she survived in Richmond during those trying times.
This was a short little diversion centered on an interesting and accomplished American Poet and Walsh did a nice job researching and making a strong case for his conclusions. I enjoyed this book
October 20, 2025
This book joins many others on my bookshelf devoted to Edgar Allan Poe. It was incredibly well researched with footnotes and appendix galore. And it did bring some new analysis of existing information into focus. There are countless theories about exactly how Poe died, many of them based on pure conjecture. Walsh backs up his theory with far more contemporaneous fact. I do think he belabored the lead up to his theory a bit too long without coming out and saying it up front. In addition the sentence structure that he often used sounded as if it had been written in the 1800s. He may have spent too much time researching old letters and accounts! That said, this is a valuable resource and one that I will likely go back to from time to time. There's so much here beyond the details of Poe's death. His comprehensive study presents a holistic view of what Poe was going through in the months leading up to his demise. In short, this book was not an easy read, but it was worth it.
April 28, 2019
I keep thinking back on reading this and regretting spending so much time on it that could have been spent elsewhere. I wish I had read the appendices first because they're just more of him talking about the documents instead of simply showing them as one would expect from an appendix section. The novel tells an interesting story but that seems to be all, which is especially disappointing after John Walsh's early statement in the novel that he didn't give in to assumptions while finding the answers to the many questions of Edgar Allan Poe's death.
April 7, 2020
A very engaging page turner.
Some of John Evangelist Walsh’s theories about what took place the hours before Poe’s death are conjecture; but, he presents sensible connections to circumstantial dots.
Through timeline presentations, letters, and other documentation, Walsh makes it very clear why the erroneous (but now established) story was invented about Poe being murdered by election-poll ruffian’s.
Some of John Evangelist Walsh’s theories about what took place the hours before Poe’s death are conjecture; but, he presents sensible connections to circumstantial dots.
Through timeline presentations, letters, and other documentation, Walsh makes it very clear why the erroneous (but now established) story was invented about Poe being murdered by election-poll ruffian’s.
July 30, 2021
Mr. Walsh raises an interesting theory, but at this point who couldn’t? Because that’s all that anyone can do, is raise theories and speculations of what happened prior, during, and after his death. Anyone can take a letter written a long time ago (with the writers now deceased) and twist and manipulate words to fit your theory. It’s a fun book to read if for no other reason than to add to the theories during a conversation with Poe fans.
August 31, 2017
Very interesting subject matter; I did not know there was so much unknown about Poe's death. The prose in this book is a little tough to get through and a little redundant, but the author is trying to make a point, so - understood.
September 12, 2017
Very thought processing as to what really happened in his death. Loved the though process and great story line.
September 17, 2018
[spoiler alert]
Poe was to wed Elmira 'til one day in Baltimore
Her brothers who objected came knocking at the door.
Poe was to wed Elmira 'til one day in Baltimore
Her brothers who objected came knocking at the door.
July 16, 2020
A very interesting and compelling narrative. Unfortunately, without more evidence, its assertions cannot be fully proven. Nonetheless, it is a worthwhile read
December 22, 2025
I like facts and I like Edgar Allen Poe. I don’t care for his opinion, though. That’s just me to be honest
December 12, 2025
Finished this a few days ago. I went into it knowing I would like it because I read Walsh's other book, "Plumes in the Dust: The Love Affair Between Edgar Allan Poe and Fanny Osgood." 📖
I really like the research Walsh puts into his theories. He finds letters and articles that have otherwise fallen off the face of the Earth. It would have been interesting to see his process of getting copies. I imagine hours of looking at microfilm, since this particular book was published in 1999 and there wasn't always an availability of computers and/or a plethora of online archives like today. 💻
I like Walsh's Poe books almost as well as I liked Andrew Bargen's "Coffee With Poe." Walsh discusses many of the theories of the causes of Poe's death (rabies, alcoholism, drugs, cooping, possible concussion, etc.)
Walsh raises the theory that Poe was unalived in Baltimore by his fiance's three brothers in order to thwart their wedding.
It's possible because his fiance, Mrs. Shelton, would lose 3/4 of her inheritance if she remarried (she was a rich widow), and there were rumors (and some non-rumors) about Poe at the time and Mrs. Shelton's family probably wasn't thrilled. I checked Find a Grave records, and Mrs. Shelton is documented to have had three brothers. I think it is possible that Poe left Richmond, went through Baltimore, made it to Pittsburgh, and then went back to Baltimore. That would account for the five days that he supposedly wasn't seen. The evidence Mr. Walsh presents is from those who were spoken to after Poe's death. Which, may or may not be reliable, because there were alot of rumors already to muddy the truth. 🕯
I did find the statements by Mr. Sartain pretty crediible, as it was a first hand account. The only problem is no one spoke to him about it for years after the fact and I think he was remembering two different incidents in 1849 before Poe's death and not one. In one incident, Poe was suicidal; in the other, he believed he was being chased and in danger. It kind of goes hand in hand with the statements of Mrs. Oakes-Smith. 🖊
I also thought Mrs.Oakes-Smith's articles defending Poe to be credible and I think she knew more than was published. She didn't really have anything to gain by the statements she made and she got a bit of flack for it. I think that was a case of "somebody who heard something who heard something." How did she know Poe suffered a "beating?" 👀
Dr. Moran also muddied things. I believe his letter to Mrs. Clemm/Muddy is the most accurate because it was written within a month of Poe's death. His story seems to get larger and larger as time goes on.
However, the big difference between Walsh and Bargen is that Bargen presents his theory in "Coffee With Poe" but Walsh dismisses it. I do think cooping is possible, as well as Walsh's theory. Whatever it was caused a head injury I think. 🧠
I also don't think the word "Reynolds" had any significance. Sometimes dying people say things that are nonsensical. There hasn't been any proof of it.
It was a very interesting mystery to unravel- I don't think Poe, who is attributed as "the father of the short story" and the "inventor of the mystery" could have imagined a mystery that has went on now for 180 years. 📆
On a side note, I did get myself the copy of "Poe the Detective: The Mysterious Circumstances Behind the Mystery of Marie Roget." I've heard the background of it and Poe's claims, but it's one of the few short stories of his I haven't read. 📚
#edgarallanpoe #EAP #poe
I really like the research Walsh puts into his theories. He finds letters and articles that have otherwise fallen off the face of the Earth. It would have been interesting to see his process of getting copies. I imagine hours of looking at microfilm, since this particular book was published in 1999 and there wasn't always an availability of computers and/or a plethora of online archives like today. 💻
I like Walsh's Poe books almost as well as I liked Andrew Bargen's "Coffee With Poe." Walsh discusses many of the theories of the causes of Poe's death (rabies, alcoholism, drugs, cooping, possible concussion, etc.)
Walsh raises the theory that Poe was unalived in Baltimore by his fiance's three brothers in order to thwart their wedding.
It's possible because his fiance, Mrs. Shelton, would lose 3/4 of her inheritance if she remarried (she was a rich widow), and there were rumors (and some non-rumors) about Poe at the time and Mrs. Shelton's family probably wasn't thrilled. I checked Find a Grave records, and Mrs. Shelton is documented to have had three brothers. I think it is possible that Poe left Richmond, went through Baltimore, made it to Pittsburgh, and then went back to Baltimore. That would account for the five days that he supposedly wasn't seen. The evidence Mr. Walsh presents is from those who were spoken to after Poe's death. Which, may or may not be reliable, because there were alot of rumors already to muddy the truth. 🕯
I did find the statements by Mr. Sartain pretty crediible, as it was a first hand account. The only problem is no one spoke to him about it for years after the fact and I think he was remembering two different incidents in 1849 before Poe's death and not one. In one incident, Poe was suicidal; in the other, he believed he was being chased and in danger. It kind of goes hand in hand with the statements of Mrs. Oakes-Smith. 🖊
I also thought Mrs.Oakes-Smith's articles defending Poe to be credible and I think she knew more than was published. She didn't really have anything to gain by the statements she made and she got a bit of flack for it. I think that was a case of "somebody who heard something who heard something." How did she know Poe suffered a "beating?" 👀
Dr. Moran also muddied things. I believe his letter to Mrs. Clemm/Muddy is the most accurate because it was written within a month of Poe's death. His story seems to get larger and larger as time goes on.
However, the big difference between Walsh and Bargen is that Bargen presents his theory in "Coffee With Poe" but Walsh dismisses it. I do think cooping is possible, as well as Walsh's theory. Whatever it was caused a head injury I think. 🧠
I also don't think the word "Reynolds" had any significance. Sometimes dying people say things that are nonsensical. There hasn't been any proof of it.
It was a very interesting mystery to unravel- I don't think Poe, who is attributed as "the father of the short story" and the "inventor of the mystery" could have imagined a mystery that has went on now for 180 years. 📆
On a side note, I did get myself the copy of "Poe the Detective: The Mysterious Circumstances Behind the Mystery of Marie Roget." I've heard the background of it and Poe's claims, but it's one of the few short stories of his I haven't read. 📚
#edgarallanpoe #EAP #poe
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2012
In picking up this particular book, I had hoped for some information I had not seen in my study of Poe before reading it and I was grateful in that the book did deliver some facts not commonly known to those of us who study Poe as a hobby, not as an academic. If the book delivered nothing else but some new insight, I would have been satisfied enough, but instead the work goes on to detail how this data might be interpreted as new insight into Poe's cause of death.
While Mr. Walsh may not have the most eloquent proof of his claims, the book reads well for anyone interested in the topic of Edgar Allan Poe and does provide hard facts. The area most reviewers cite as being flawed is the latter sections in which Mr. Walsh constructs a narrative story of Poe's last few days and I am understanding of their concerns. Still, for those of us with an interest in Poe, Walsh's theories seem just as probable as delirium tremens, rabies, or any of the other assorted theories we have heard over the years from various experts.
If you are interested in Poe on more than a superficial level and beyond his own literary output, this seems a decent enough read for facts alone with the latter element being when theory becomes more present and there is a need to take it with, as some would say, a grain of salt.
While Mr. Walsh may not have the most eloquent proof of his claims, the book reads well for anyone interested in the topic of Edgar Allan Poe and does provide hard facts. The area most reviewers cite as being flawed is the latter sections in which Mr. Walsh constructs a narrative story of Poe's last few days and I am understanding of their concerns. Still, for those of us with an interest in Poe, Walsh's theories seem just as probable as delirium tremens, rabies, or any of the other assorted theories we have heard over the years from various experts.
If you are interested in Poe on more than a superficial level and beyond his own literary output, this seems a decent enough read for facts alone with the latter element being when theory becomes more present and there is a need to take it with, as some would say, a grain of salt.
February 25, 2011
I got caught up in this investigation into the death of Edgar Allan Poe and enjoyed reading it but I would be careful about recommending this book to someone else. I only know about two people who would be interested enough to read this. It was pretty dry reading. This author is seriously detail oriented.
Because of all that detail, I also feel that I would like to agree with the author's conclusions. The other theories that Poe's death came as a direct result of either alcohol or drugs, diabetic coma or epilepsy seemed either too easy or too unlikely. I thought that the rabies theory was interesting but the evidence for it was even less than convincing.
Walsh tracks Poe for the whole week before he died, minute by minute. And that's both the strength and the weakness of the book. Going back and forth over that week and all the possible scenarios minute by minute means that the investigation is very thorough (Gil would be proud) but, by the end, I was glad it was over.
Because of all that detail, I also feel that I would like to agree with the author's conclusions. The other theories that Poe's death came as a direct result of either alcohol or drugs, diabetic coma or epilepsy seemed either too easy or too unlikely. I thought that the rabies theory was interesting but the evidence for it was even less than convincing.
Walsh tracks Poe for the whole week before he died, minute by minute. And that's both the strength and the weakness of the book. Going back and forth over that week and all the possible scenarios minute by minute means that the investigation is very thorough (Gil would be proud) but, by the end, I was glad it was over.
May 8, 2016
Nobody knows exactly how Edgar Allan Poe died. He disappeared for a couple of days and then was found in bad shape and delirious. He died a couple of days later in the hospital. There have been many theories as to what exactly happened. Walsh plausibly argues that Poe was assaulted by his fiancee's brothers. Her family did not want him to marry her and there are reports that there were men shadowing him on a train trip.
(I’m stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book.
3 = Very good; 4 = Outstanding; 5 = All time favorites.)
(I’m stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book.
3 = Very good; 4 = Outstanding; 5 = All time favorites.)
September 2, 2010
That was a long slog. It is an academic book, and reads like one. If you're already very interested in and knowledgeable about the death of Edgar Allen Poe, I'm sure it would be great. But I came in knowing nothing more than that he died after being found in a ditch, apparently drunk, and that there was a mystery. So for me, all the lead-up to the final reveal was extremely boring.
I'm glad it's done with.
I'm glad it's done with.
March 30, 2013
I'm adopting a real affinity for biolography's. This one only makes me want to read more. Definately need to check-out more of these ~ Poe. When I found it, it was seridipity. I'd just watched the movie, "The Raven" starring John Cusack, c. 2012, which by the way is a freaking good movie. I'm now on a mission to dive into who Edgar Allen Poe really was; his writing, life, family, everything.
July 24, 2009
Interesting exploration of the events leading to Edgar Allan Poe's mysterious death. The book is a bit repetitive in the known details that come to light but, other than that, this is a good introductory book of the last days of Poe.
An enjoyable, but not too exciting, read.
An enjoyable, but not too exciting, read.
September 11, 2011
Interesting theory surrounding the circumstances of Edgar Allan Poe's Death.
December 25, 2012
A good read, whether his theory is correct, one will never know, but that is where the mystery is to explore, and come to your own conclusion.
August 11, 2014
Interesting theory with a wealth of detail I hadn't read before, but no more or less convincing conjecture than any of the other recreations of Poe's last days.
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