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The Poe Shadow
Through the eyes of a Baltimore lawyer named Quentin Clark, Pearl opens a new window on the truth behind Poe’s demise, literary history’s most persistent enigma.
“I present to you . . . the truth about this man’s death and my life.”
Baltimore, 1849. The body of Edgar Allan Poe has been buried in an unmarked grave. The public, the press, and even Poe’s own family and friends accept the conclusion that Poe was a second-rate writer who met a disgraceful end as a drunkard. Everyone, in fact, seems to believe this except a young Baltimore lawyer named Quentin Clark, an ardent admirer who puts his own career and reputation at risk in a passionate crusade to salvage Poe’s.
As Quentin explores the puzzling circumstances of Poe’s demise, he discovers that the writer’s last days are riddled with unanswered questions the police are possibly willfully ignoring. Just when Poe’s death seems destined to remain a mystery, and forever sealing his ignominy, inspiration strikes Quentin–in the form of Poe’s own stories. The young attorney realizes that he must find the one person who can solve the strange case of Poe’s death: the real-life model for Poe’s brilliant fictional detective character, C. Auguste Dupin, the hero of ingenious tales of crime and detection.
In short order, Quentin finds himself enmeshed in sinister machinations involving political agents, a female assassin, the corrupt Baltimore slave trade, and the lost secrets of Poe’s final hours. With his own future hanging in the balance, Quentin Clark must turn master investigator himself to unchain his now imperiled fate from that of Poe’s.
Following his phenomenal debut novel, The Dante Club, Matthew Pearl has once again crossed pitch-perfect literary history with innovative mystery to create a beautifully detailed, ingeniously plotted tale of suspense. Pearl’s groundbreaking research–featuring documented material never published before–opens a new window on the truth behind Poe’s demise, literary history’s most persistent enigma. The resulting novel is a publishing event that, through sublime craftsmanship, subtle wit, and devious twists, does honor to Poe himself.
“I present to you . . . the truth about this man’s death and my life.”
Baltimore, 1849. The body of Edgar Allan Poe has been buried in an unmarked grave. The public, the press, and even Poe’s own family and friends accept the conclusion that Poe was a second-rate writer who met a disgraceful end as a drunkard. Everyone, in fact, seems to believe this except a young Baltimore lawyer named Quentin Clark, an ardent admirer who puts his own career and reputation at risk in a passionate crusade to salvage Poe’s.
As Quentin explores the puzzling circumstances of Poe’s demise, he discovers that the writer’s last days are riddled with unanswered questions the police are possibly willfully ignoring. Just when Poe’s death seems destined to remain a mystery, and forever sealing his ignominy, inspiration strikes Quentin–in the form of Poe’s own stories. The young attorney realizes that he must find the one person who can solve the strange case of Poe’s death: the real-life model for Poe’s brilliant fictional detective character, C. Auguste Dupin, the hero of ingenious tales of crime and detection.
In short order, Quentin finds himself enmeshed in sinister machinations involving political agents, a female assassin, the corrupt Baltimore slave trade, and the lost secrets of Poe’s final hours. With his own future hanging in the balance, Quentin Clark must turn master investigator himself to unchain his now imperiled fate from that of Poe’s.
Following his phenomenal debut novel, The Dante Club, Matthew Pearl has once again crossed pitch-perfect literary history with innovative mystery to create a beautifully detailed, ingeniously plotted tale of suspense. Pearl’s groundbreaking research–featuring documented material never published before–opens a new window on the truth behind Poe’s demise, literary history’s most persistent enigma. The resulting novel is a publishing event that, through sublime craftsmanship, subtle wit, and devious twists, does honor to Poe himself.
367 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
340 people are currently reading
5674 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Pearl
37 books1,403 followersNote from the author:Hi everyone. My newest novel is The Dante Chamber, out May 29, 2018. It's a follow-up to my debut novel, The Dante Club, but you do not have to read one before the other, each stands on its own two feet. Hope you'll enjoy any of books you choose to pick up.
Matthew Pearl's novels have been international and New York Times bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, The Atavist Magazine, and Slate. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Matthew's books are part of "the growing genre of novel being written nowadays -- the learned, challenging kind that does not condescend." Globe and Mail declares him "a writer of rare talents," Library Journal calls Matthew "the reigning king of popular literary historical thrillers," and the New York Daily News raves "if the past is indeed a foreign country, Matthew Pearl has your passport." Matthew has been chosen Best Author for Boston Magazine's Best of Boston and received the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction.
In addition to Goodreads, you can keep in touch and learn more at my website, www.matthewpearl.com, and:
Twitter: @matthewpearl
Facebook: fb.me/matthewpearlauthor
Instagram: matthewpearlauthor
Matthew Pearl's novels have been international and New York Times bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, The Atavist Magazine, and Slate. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Matthew's books are part of "the growing genre of novel being written nowadays -- the learned, challenging kind that does not condescend." Globe and Mail declares him "a writer of rare talents," Library Journal calls Matthew "the reigning king of popular literary historical thrillers," and the New York Daily News raves "if the past is indeed a foreign country, Matthew Pearl has your passport." Matthew has been chosen Best Author for Boston Magazine's Best of Boston and received the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction.
In addition to Goodreads, you can keep in touch and learn more at my website, www.matthewpearl.com, and:
Twitter: @matthewpearl
Facebook: fb.me/matthewpearlauthor
Instagram: matthewpearlauthor
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,035 reviews
September 1, 2007
Matthew Pearl's The Poe Shadow is the first book I've read in a while that I did not like at all. The premise is interesting; a contemporary of Edgar Allen Poe attempts to discover what happened in the final days before the poet's death. Pearl had written the moderately entertaining The Dante Club prior to this, and I had expected to see the improvement that often comes with an author's sophomore effort. Instead, Pearl only manages to serve up a snooze-fest.
To begin with, Quentin Clark is the most unsympathetic and annoying protagonist I have ever encountered. He throws away his job and his fiance at the merest whisper of a conspiracy. He's obsessed with Poe beyond all rational thought. After abandoning his fiance for over a year and a half, he's stunned to discover she's been betrothed to someone else. He creates adversaries where there are none. By the time the book ended, I was more than ready to be done with him and never hear from him again.
The other characters do not fare much better. Their motives are cloudy, at best. I could never quite understand why people were behaving as they were. Everyone was dramatic and over-the-top, and I couldn't identify anyone that I even liked.
The mystery itself doesn't propel itself forward very well, and there's simply too much muddled stuff in between Poe's death and the final resolution of what happened to him. Although I appreciate the historical analysis, of which the author did much, it's not presented in an interesting way.
If you're a diehard Poe fan, you might enjoy this take on the poet's life and death. Otherwise, I can't think of a reason I'd recommend this book to anyone.
To begin with, Quentin Clark is the most unsympathetic and annoying protagonist I have ever encountered. He throws away his job and his fiance at the merest whisper of a conspiracy. He's obsessed with Poe beyond all rational thought. After abandoning his fiance for over a year and a half, he's stunned to discover she's been betrothed to someone else. He creates adversaries where there are none. By the time the book ended, I was more than ready to be done with him and never hear from him again.
The other characters do not fare much better. Their motives are cloudy, at best. I could never quite understand why people were behaving as they were. Everyone was dramatic and over-the-top, and I couldn't identify anyone that I even liked.
The mystery itself doesn't propel itself forward very well, and there's simply too much muddled stuff in between Poe's death and the final resolution of what happened to him. Although I appreciate the historical analysis, of which the author did much, it's not presented in an interesting way.
If you're a diehard Poe fan, you might enjoy this take on the poet's life and death. Otherwise, I can't think of a reason I'd recommend this book to anyone.
March 18, 2009
It seems that I am outnumbered here in the reviews. I really enjoyed this book a lot.
Many readers are commenting that The Poe Shadow is not as good as The Dante Club. Sure, a serial killer on the loose in Boston is compelling stuff. Graphic murder and mayhem trumps an intellectual mystery in Baltimore. While reading The Poe Shadow, I tried to avoid comparing the two works, as each deserves recognition on its own terms.
Popular sentiment is that Quentin Clark, the protagonist, is quite a knob. He’s obsessed, weak, and whiny. That’s true—in the beginning. He’s on a quest. However, when was the last time you read a book where a quest was less about geography and some kind of Holy Grail and more about something bigger, another kid of quest? Reading The Poe Shadow in its entirety, I think you’ll find that Quentin Clark experiences a transformation from a milquetoast Walter Mitty character to eligible stud. He’s also schooled by just about everyone he meets, young or old, black or white, rich or poor.
Some have said it is improbable for Quentin, being a lawyer and having a fiancé, to take off on flights of fancy like this. I beg to differ. It’s not unheard of for people to drop out of the rat race, for whatever reason. Quentin admits to being an underachieving paper pusher in a law office. His girlfriend is someone he has known since childhood. To me, he does not have the hots for her at all; they have no chemistry, and she’s more of comfortable and safe choice for a spouse. I was reminded of Roderick and Madeline (brother and sister in The Fall of the House of Usher), and I half expected to find out Quentin and Hattie shared the same father. Anyway, it’s actually Bonjour who he’s passionate about and who serves as a catalyst for his transformation while he’s in prison.
Some of the themes found in Poe’s works can be found here: class/society, madness, politics, supernatural (such as the dead having power of the living), and love/hate rivals. If you read beyond the surface of the story, there appears to be a lot going on.
There’s also Poe’s penchant for a bulky writing style. A lot of people don't like it. For me, had Pearl penned a Robert Ludlum rip off, I doubt I’d of liked it as much as I did. Perhaps it’s an acquired taste, and I can see why it might be off putting to many readers.
Minor trouble spots. I can’t remember where (and I could be mistaken), but the author described Baltimore in 1849 and talked about the use of steel in construction. But steel wasn’t being mass-produced until the Bessemer process in the mid 1850s, so it didn’t seem quite right. Secondly, one scene annoyed me to no end. It was when the clerk at the post office tells Quentin that he knows who had sent him the packages, and Quentin says to wait until later because he has to see Hattie. That was out of character. Finally, Chapter 35, where Duponte’s explanation drags on for 27 pages. This could’ve been shorter.
Just to clarify, I’m certainly not a big Poe fan, but I’ve probably read most of his stories at one time or another over the years. For me, having visited Baltimore 5-6 times added personal interest. And one of those visits was a Poe road trip when the mysterious “Poe Toaster” became a headline interest.
Many readers are commenting that The Poe Shadow is not as good as The Dante Club. Sure, a serial killer on the loose in Boston is compelling stuff. Graphic murder and mayhem trumps an intellectual mystery in Baltimore. While reading The Poe Shadow, I tried to avoid comparing the two works, as each deserves recognition on its own terms.
Popular sentiment is that Quentin Clark, the protagonist, is quite a knob. He’s obsessed, weak, and whiny. That’s true—in the beginning. He’s on a quest. However, when was the last time you read a book where a quest was less about geography and some kind of Holy Grail and more about something bigger, another kid of quest? Reading The Poe Shadow in its entirety, I think you’ll find that Quentin Clark experiences a transformation from a milquetoast Walter Mitty character to eligible stud. He’s also schooled by just about everyone he meets, young or old, black or white, rich or poor.
Some have said it is improbable for Quentin, being a lawyer and having a fiancé, to take off on flights of fancy like this. I beg to differ. It’s not unheard of for people to drop out of the rat race, for whatever reason. Quentin admits to being an underachieving paper pusher in a law office. His girlfriend is someone he has known since childhood. To me, he does not have the hots for her at all; they have no chemistry, and she’s more of comfortable and safe choice for a spouse. I was reminded of Roderick and Madeline (brother and sister in The Fall of the House of Usher), and I half expected to find out Quentin and Hattie shared the same father. Anyway, it’s actually Bonjour who he’s passionate about and who serves as a catalyst for his transformation while he’s in prison.
Some of the themes found in Poe’s works can be found here: class/society, madness, politics, supernatural (such as the dead having power of the living), and love/hate rivals. If you read beyond the surface of the story, there appears to be a lot going on.
There’s also Poe’s penchant for a bulky writing style. A lot of people don't like it. For me, had Pearl penned a Robert Ludlum rip off, I doubt I’d of liked it as much as I did. Perhaps it’s an acquired taste, and I can see why it might be off putting to many readers.
Minor trouble spots. I can’t remember where (and I could be mistaken), but the author described Baltimore in 1849 and talked about the use of steel in construction. But steel wasn’t being mass-produced until the Bessemer process in the mid 1850s, so it didn’t seem quite right. Secondly, one scene annoyed me to no end. It was when the clerk at the post office tells Quentin that he knows who had sent him the packages, and Quentin says to wait until later because he has to see Hattie. That was out of character. Finally, Chapter 35, where Duponte’s explanation drags on for 27 pages. This could’ve been shorter.
Just to clarify, I’m certainly not a big Poe fan, but I’ve probably read most of his stories at one time or another over the years. For me, having visited Baltimore 5-6 times added personal interest. And one of those visits was a Poe road trip when the mysterious “Poe Toaster” became a headline interest.
October 22, 2016
Like all good horror aficionados, I consider myself a Edgar Allen Poe fan as much as the next man/woman. The iconic author set so much foundation for the dark genres we love and enjoy today. So I was instantly intrigued when this book blipped on my radar. A mystery surrounding the death of the great Poe? Count me in.
Alas, The Poe Shadow was a disappointment through and through. This novel just didn't cut it, no matter which way I tried to slice it. It failed to have any of the creepiness or darkness or moodiness that I've come to associate with Poe. The story was weak, the storytelling dragged, and I found myself caring little for anything within the pages (characters, plot, prose, etc.). I wouldn't call it awful, but it was astonishingly bland.
It felt like the author tried to make a hybrid out of 'cozy mystery' and 'Edgar Allen Poe'. The results of this experiment were... well... a bit of a failure unfortunately.
Alas, The Poe Shadow was a disappointment through and through. This novel just didn't cut it, no matter which way I tried to slice it. It failed to have any of the creepiness or darkness or moodiness that I've come to associate with Poe. The story was weak, the storytelling dragged, and I found myself caring little for anything within the pages (characters, plot, prose, etc.). I wouldn't call it awful, but it was astonishingly bland.
It felt like the author tried to make a hybrid out of 'cozy mystery' and 'Edgar Allen Poe'. The results of this experiment were... well... a bit of a failure unfortunately.
June 9, 2008
While this was an interesting subject & the mystery surrounding Poe's death was written well, I HATED the lead character. He was whiney, obsessive and at times down right stupid. He's one of those guys with book smarts, but is dumb as a box of rocks when it comes to real life.
He is obsessive to the point of loosing everything he is/has, his career, fortune, home, finance, friends...the only thing that keeps him from absolutely loosing everything is due to friends coming to his aid at the end.
If I had been reading this book rather than listening to it as a part of my dull commute, I would not have been able to finish it. The only reason why this has 2 stars rather than 1 is the ending. Quintin Clark finally pulls it together & I actually feel some empathy for him and the book becomes much more enjoyable. But there are quite a few points where I couldn't care less. At times I just wanted to scream at the speakers, "hire a detective & go home to your girlfriend!"
He is obsessive to the point of loosing everything he is/has, his career, fortune, home, finance, friends...the only thing that keeps him from absolutely loosing everything is due to friends coming to his aid at the end.
If I had been reading this book rather than listening to it as a part of my dull commute, I would not have been able to finish it. The only reason why this has 2 stars rather than 1 is the ending. Quintin Clark finally pulls it together & I actually feel some empathy for him and the book becomes much more enjoyable. But there are quite a few points where I couldn't care less. At times I just wanted to scream at the speakers, "hire a detective & go home to your girlfriend!"
February 22, 2020
O carte cu un subiect foarte interesant pe care am inceput s-o citesc avand foarte multe asteptari. Romanul promite a face lumina asupra misterioasei morti a celebrului scriitor Edgar Allan Poe. Acesta a murit la varsta de 40 de ani intr-un spital din Baltimore in 1849 fiind anterior gasit intr-o situatie deplorabila, purtand hainele altcuiva si delirand. Cele 5 zile pe care le-a petrecut in Baltimore sunt invaluite in mister si chiar si inmormantarea la care au participat doar 4 persoane este nedemna de marele horror-lord.
Dupa parerea mea, solutia oferita de Matthew Pearl, care se bazeaza din abundenta pe aceste fapte reale dar si pe imaginatia sa bogata, este partial satisfacatoare si consider ca, la un moment dat, acesta nu a mai stiut ce sa faca cu subiectul. Actiunea este intortocheata si dezorienteaza cititorul pentru ca pur si simplu se intampla prea multe lucruri unul dupa altul.
Nu stiu daca este vorba doar de exemplarul meu, dar cartea este criminala la propriu, in sensul ca paginile sale provoaca mici taieturi foarte dureroase de fiecare data cand le intorci, astfel ca am terminat romanul ca un zombie: in sange si bandaje.
Dupa parerea mea, solutia oferita de Matthew Pearl, care se bazeaza din abundenta pe aceste fapte reale dar si pe imaginatia sa bogata, este partial satisfacatoare si consider ca, la un moment dat, acesta nu a mai stiut ce sa faca cu subiectul. Actiunea este intortocheata si dezorienteaza cititorul pentru ca pur si simplu se intampla prea multe lucruri unul dupa altul.
Nu stiu daca este vorba doar de exemplarul meu, dar cartea este criminala la propriu, in sensul ca paginile sale provoaca mici taieturi foarte dureroase de fiecare data cand le intorci, astfel ca am terminat romanul ca un zombie: in sange si bandaje.
Read
September 6, 2007I enjoyed Dante Club (I like historical fiction) and so was looking forward to reading The Poe Shadow--I even bought it in hardcover, which is rare for me. Well, it was terrible. Quite possibly the worst book I've ever read. It was totally unclear to me what was going on--was he crazy or was all this stuff really happening to him? I was hoping it would be brilliantly explained at the end so I kept trudging along even though it was beyond tedious. There was no payoff in the end. It was so bad that I was mad when I finished. It literally put me in a bad mood.
It's about a Baltimore lawyer who's obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe and how he died--he wants to prove to the world that Poe wasn't really a drunken lout who died on the street and so he sets out to prove a vast conspiracy while ruining his life. It's not clear whether he's crazy or misunderstood.
Has anyone else read it? Am I missing something? Is it so profound that I just didn't get it?
It's about a Baltimore lawyer who's obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe and how he died--he wants to prove to the world that Poe wasn't really a drunken lout who died on the street and so he sets out to prove a vast conspiracy while ruining his life. It's not clear whether he's crazy or misunderstood.
Has anyone else read it? Am I missing something? Is it so profound that I just didn't get it?
November 3, 2023
I had mixed feelings while reading The Poe Shadow. In the end, although seemingly rambling in parts, it is clear that this was a story meant to display some of the leading theories surrounding the mystery of Edgar Allan Poe’s death and the circumstances surrounding it. In the end, it is a brilliant story, one which most lovers of Poe’s work I’m sure would enjoy. Sadly, we never know how or why the great suspense writer died, but this novel explores the mystery thoroughly and Matthew Pearl explains this in his Author’s Note. It reads like a nonfictional treatise wrapped in a fictional story.
Filled with an intriguing cast of characters both great and small, it is an absorbing read, much like most of Pearl’s books, and filled with obvious deep research without ever becoming weighed down by info dumping. The research is integral to the plot and at one with it. Most significant, and a brilliant plot-point, is having a devoted friend and fan of Poe, fictional lawyer Quentin Clark, conceive the idea of finding the original inspiration for Poe’s great French detective, C. Auguste Dupin, investigate the baffling mystery of Poe’s death. But alas, there have been multiple possibilities for the identification of the elusive detective throughout time, as Pearl explains in his Note. So what is an author to do? Why not include two men who both claim to be Poe’s inspiration with motives all their own?! —That in itself was inspirational! And why not have both men be rivals who wish to solve the mystery before the other?! Let the sparks fly and the twisting, turning, deceiving, macabre plot line develop in typical Edgar Allan Poe fashion. It was like having the inspiration behind Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes walking among the living to find an answer to a real-life murder mystery.
This was, indeed, as I said, a rambling storyline at times—or so it seemed—until all the parts came together in the climax like a puzzle. Set in pre-Civil War Baltimore of 1849-51, it wonderfully evokes the city of that time. (Did you know that herds of pigs still roamed the streets at night in 1851 as a means of garbage disposal?!) In one scene, we even get a possible precursor to the famed Poe Toaster who paid a secretive visit to the grave to pay tribute to the writer. The real Poe Toaster didn’t start his anonymous visitations on the anniversary of Poe’s birth on January 19th until around the 1930s (and continuing until 1998 with his presumed death), but Pearl even added that into the storyline. There is no doubt whatsoever Matthew Pearl knows his Poe. Not just the man, but his famed stories and poems and life. And it shows on every page. Not everyone is fan of Pearl, but I have read several of his novels and have not been disappointed. It is amazing how he has the ability (in this story) to take on the character of the Quentin Clark and make you believe he is actually telling us the story.
So what was the answer to the mystery of Poe’s death? I’m not telling. You’ll have to read The Poe Shadow to find out. Or will you?!
Filled with an intriguing cast of characters both great and small, it is an absorbing read, much like most of Pearl’s books, and filled with obvious deep research without ever becoming weighed down by info dumping. The research is integral to the plot and at one with it. Most significant, and a brilliant plot-point, is having a devoted friend and fan of Poe, fictional lawyer Quentin Clark, conceive the idea of finding the original inspiration for Poe’s great French detective, C. Auguste Dupin, investigate the baffling mystery of Poe’s death. But alas, there have been multiple possibilities for the identification of the elusive detective throughout time, as Pearl explains in his Note. So what is an author to do? Why not include two men who both claim to be Poe’s inspiration with motives all their own?! —That in itself was inspirational! And why not have both men be rivals who wish to solve the mystery before the other?! Let the sparks fly and the twisting, turning, deceiving, macabre plot line develop in typical Edgar Allan Poe fashion. It was like having the inspiration behind Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes walking among the living to find an answer to a real-life murder mystery.
This was, indeed, as I said, a rambling storyline at times—or so it seemed—until all the parts came together in the climax like a puzzle. Set in pre-Civil War Baltimore of 1849-51, it wonderfully evokes the city of that time. (Did you know that herds of pigs still roamed the streets at night in 1851 as a means of garbage disposal?!) In one scene, we even get a possible precursor to the famed Poe Toaster who paid a secretive visit to the grave to pay tribute to the writer. The real Poe Toaster didn’t start his anonymous visitations on the anniversary of Poe’s birth on January 19th until around the 1930s (and continuing until 1998 with his presumed death), but Pearl even added that into the storyline. There is no doubt whatsoever Matthew Pearl knows his Poe. Not just the man, but his famed stories and poems and life. And it shows on every page. Not everyone is fan of Pearl, but I have read several of his novels and have not been disappointed. It is amazing how he has the ability (in this story) to take on the character of the Quentin Clark and make you believe he is actually telling us the story.
So what was the answer to the mystery of Poe’s death? I’m not telling. You’ll have to read The Poe Shadow to find out. Or will you?!
December 6, 2017
Onvan : The Poe Shadow - Nevisande : Matthew Pearl - ISBN : 1400061032 - ISBN13 : 9781400061037 - Dar 367 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2006
November 13, 2013
I think I actively disliked this book.
The more I think of it, the more I dislike. I read his book about Dante, and didn't hate, but wow I disliked this one.
First off, I know a lot about Poe. Helps that I was a docent (fancy word for tour guide) at the Richmond Poe Museum. So, yeah, I got your Poe right here.
The whole plot didn't make sense. Oh my god, I hated the main character who was pretty much a 19th century stalker. Poe should have gotten a restraining order on this guy. So when Poe dies, the main character, Clark, decides to hunt down the inspiration for Auguste Dupin, from Murders in the Rue Morgue, and find out what happened to Poe.
Hijinks ensue.
But annoying boring hijinks....lowjinks?
Either way it's just OMIGOD GET TO THE POINT and WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS and DON'T YOU HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO and WOW, SHE SHOULD TOTALLY DUMP YOU and OMIGOD ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS PLOT TWIST.
Seriously, there is no way a person poison a guy in prison because she knows the walls in the hospital are leaking and it's raining a lot and so they will fail after he's transferred to the hospital and that way he can escape.
No.
And that's what you should say to this book...No.
The more I think of it, the more I dislike. I read his book about Dante, and didn't hate, but wow I disliked this one.
First off, I know a lot about Poe. Helps that I was a docent (fancy word for tour guide) at the Richmond Poe Museum. So, yeah, I got your Poe right here.
The whole plot didn't make sense. Oh my god, I hated the main character who was pretty much a 19th century stalker. Poe should have gotten a restraining order on this guy. So when Poe dies, the main character, Clark, decides to hunt down the inspiration for Auguste Dupin, from Murders in the Rue Morgue, and find out what happened to Poe.
Hijinks ensue.
But annoying boring hijinks....lowjinks?
Either way it's just OMIGOD GET TO THE POINT and WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS and DON'T YOU HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO and WOW, SHE SHOULD TOTALLY DUMP YOU and OMIGOD ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS PLOT TWIST.
Seriously, there is no way a person poison a guy in prison because she knows the walls in the hospital are leaking and it's raining a lot and so they will fail after he's transferred to the hospital and that way he can escape.
No.
And that's what you should say to this book...No.
December 9, 2007
Although I appreciate novels as good literature and occasionally forces of social change ("Uncle Tom's Cabin" is a good example, as it strengthened the abolitionist movement), I don't normally read them, as I find truth to be more fascinating than fiction.
"The Poe Shadow" is set in antebellum America. The protagonist, a young attorney, risks life and limb to unravel the mystery of Edgar Allan Poe's death, and enlists the aid of a French detective, supposedly the prototype for Poe literary sleuth C. Auguste Dupin. It's well-written, fast-paced, and evokes the 1840s well, but what makes "The Poe Shadow" outstanding is the author's discovery of a possible clue to what really killed Poe in October 1849. This eye-opening piece of evidence, backed by modern medical opinion, appears in its own section at the end.
"The Poe Shadow" is set in antebellum America. The protagonist, a young attorney, risks life and limb to unravel the mystery of Edgar Allan Poe's death, and enlists the aid of a French detective, supposedly the prototype for Poe literary sleuth C. Auguste Dupin. It's well-written, fast-paced, and evokes the 1840s well, but what makes "The Poe Shadow" outstanding is the author's discovery of a possible clue to what really killed Poe in October 1849. This eye-opening piece of evidence, backed by modern medical opinion, appears in its own section at the end.
February 3, 2022
No sabéis el alivio que ha supuesto terminar este libro, se me ha hecho eterno. Y haber estado dos semanas sin poder leer tampoco ha ayudado.
Tenía muchas ganas de que me gustara, la sinopsis prometía, pero cuanto más avanzaba más disminuía mi interés en la trama. Raro en mí, tratándose de Poe y habiéndose documentado tan bien el autor (la mayoría de sucesos y personajes son reales), pero no he conseguido conectar con el libro a pesar de intentarlo cada vez que me ponía con él.
No sé si le daré una segunda oportunidad de aquí a un tiempo, cuando lea más a Poe, pero está claro que a día de hoy no ha sido lectura para mí.
Una de las peculiaridades de la vida es que, por lo general, las historias de quienes ya no están entre los vivos son las que encierran la verdad...
Tenía muchas ganas de que me gustara, la sinopsis prometía, pero cuanto más avanzaba más disminuía mi interés en la trama. Raro en mí, tratándose de Poe y habiéndose documentado tan bien el autor (la mayoría de sucesos y personajes son reales), pero no he conseguido conectar con el libro a pesar de intentarlo cada vez que me ponía con él.
No sé si le daré una segunda oportunidad de aquí a un tiempo, cuando lea más a Poe, pero está claro que a día de hoy no ha sido lectura para mí.
Una de las peculiaridades de la vida es que, por lo general, las historias de quienes ya no están entre los vivos son las que encierran la verdad...
June 19, 2017
On Oct. 7, 1849, a little-known poet and author of strange gothic tales died in a Baltimore hospital. He had been found, disheveled and injured, in an alleyway. After his death, a small funeral was held at a small Baltimore Presbyterian church. A total of four people attended.
The man's name was Edgar Allan Poe.
The true events leading to the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe remain a mystery to this day. No one knows what he was doing in Baltimore, as he was supposed to be in New York at the time.
There is also the question as to his condition: clearly intoxicated, which was not that odd, considering Poe had been a notorious alcoholic for much of his adult life. What was odd was that months before he had joined a temperance organization, completely sworn off all alcohol, and had, according to friends and acquaintances, been succeeding in living a new life of sobriety. No one knows what happened in the four days prior to his death, although there were many speculations.
Matthew Pearl, the author of "The Dante Club", has written a fictionalized account of the missing last four days of Poe's life in "The Poe Shadow". It is painstakingly researched, although it is, alas, merely fiction.
Pearl's protagonist is a Baltimore attorney named Quentin Clark who inextricably becomes entangled in the mystery of Poe's death. He may have been the last person to have corresponded with Poe, a man he had never met in person but with whom he shared a kindred spirit in Poe's macabre but mind-expanding poetry and fiction.
After seeing how the media was defaming Poe's name, Clark vows to find the truth about Poe's death, a quest which quickly becomes an obsession, and a quest that becomes a journey to Paris, France, where he enlists the aid of the one man who might possibly be able to solve the mystery: a private detective name Auguste Duponte, the real-life basis for Poe's classic fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin.
Fans of Poe will appreciate the many literary references that abound in Pearl's novel. Part historical account, part murder mystery, and part literary criticism, "The Poe Shadow" is a brilliantly conceived novel that is as fun to read as it is fascinating and moving in places.
Poe was a complicated man in life, but it was only after his death that people began to appreciate the complexities in his literary work, an appreciation that has made Poe one of the best-loved writers in the American canon.
The man's name was Edgar Allan Poe.
The true events leading to the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe remain a mystery to this day. No one knows what he was doing in Baltimore, as he was supposed to be in New York at the time.
There is also the question as to his condition: clearly intoxicated, which was not that odd, considering Poe had been a notorious alcoholic for much of his adult life. What was odd was that months before he had joined a temperance organization, completely sworn off all alcohol, and had, according to friends and acquaintances, been succeeding in living a new life of sobriety. No one knows what happened in the four days prior to his death, although there were many speculations.
Matthew Pearl, the author of "The Dante Club", has written a fictionalized account of the missing last four days of Poe's life in "The Poe Shadow". It is painstakingly researched, although it is, alas, merely fiction.
Pearl's protagonist is a Baltimore attorney named Quentin Clark who inextricably becomes entangled in the mystery of Poe's death. He may have been the last person to have corresponded with Poe, a man he had never met in person but with whom he shared a kindred spirit in Poe's macabre but mind-expanding poetry and fiction.
After seeing how the media was defaming Poe's name, Clark vows to find the truth about Poe's death, a quest which quickly becomes an obsession, and a quest that becomes a journey to Paris, France, where he enlists the aid of the one man who might possibly be able to solve the mystery: a private detective name Auguste Duponte, the real-life basis for Poe's classic fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin.
Fans of Poe will appreciate the many literary references that abound in Pearl's novel. Part historical account, part murder mystery, and part literary criticism, "The Poe Shadow" is a brilliantly conceived novel that is as fun to read as it is fascinating and moving in places.
Poe was a complicated man in life, but it was only after his death that people began to appreciate the complexities in his literary work, an appreciation that has made Poe one of the best-loved writers in the American canon.
June 25, 2011
My rating should actually be taken as 3.5 stars.
This is the 2nd book involving Edgar Allan Poe I've read in the past year. The other being "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" a work of non fiction & this being historical fiction. It takes place in mid 19th century Baltimore at the time of Poe's death which the press has leaped upon as an object lesson of the evils of drink. A young lawyer & admirer of Poe becomes incensed at this slander & sets out to make the record straight, but his obsession may cost him everything professionally, materially, romantically, and perhaps even his sanity, if not his life. Baltimore is vividly drawn as that bipolar city just below the Mason-Dixon line that exhibits aspects of the antebellum South & Northern urban society only a decade before the Civil War. The intrigue extends to Paris of Louis Bonaparte and is filled with characters that range as widely as those two cities do geographically & culturally.
Pearl capture the formality & understatement of 19th century prose at times even showing echoes of Poe himself. Often I felt there would be some loose thread that would remain unexplained, but by the end, like a Dickens' novel, all the threads come together in a more or less satisfactory way. The overriding question throughout is how much is historical & how much is fiction. But the Historical Notes after the novel concludes clears that up as well. As it turns out quite a bit is true, but there are enough gaps in the record to give Pearl the room to imagine quite a tale of nearly every intrigue imaginable.
This is the 2nd book involving Edgar Allan Poe I've read in the past year. The other being "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" a work of non fiction & this being historical fiction. It takes place in mid 19th century Baltimore at the time of Poe's death which the press has leaped upon as an object lesson of the evils of drink. A young lawyer & admirer of Poe becomes incensed at this slander & sets out to make the record straight, but his obsession may cost him everything professionally, materially, romantically, and perhaps even his sanity, if not his life. Baltimore is vividly drawn as that bipolar city just below the Mason-Dixon line that exhibits aspects of the antebellum South & Northern urban society only a decade before the Civil War. The intrigue extends to Paris of Louis Bonaparte and is filled with characters that range as widely as those two cities do geographically & culturally.
Pearl capture the formality & understatement of 19th century prose at times even showing echoes of Poe himself. Often I felt there would be some loose thread that would remain unexplained, but by the end, like a Dickens' novel, all the threads come together in a more or less satisfactory way. The overriding question throughout is how much is historical & how much is fiction. But the Historical Notes after the novel concludes clears that up as well. As it turns out quite a bit is true, but there are enough gaps in the record to give Pearl the room to imagine quite a tale of nearly every intrigue imaginable.
March 26, 2015
The premise of this novel was very intriguing. I liked the concept behind the story, but it could have used a lot more editing. There were quite a few descriptions and events that could have been omitted and allowed the plot to move at a better pace. The ending was one area that needed to be edited. I found myself re-reading a lot to try and follow along as Pearl was revealing Poe's last hours. I'm still not sure I understood where he was going with his story. Then, all of a sudden, everyone's lives were neatly tied up in a mini chapter. Definitely not my favorite read.
June 27, 2014
I honestly don't think I can finish this book. Which is disappointing because I really like "The Dante Club" so I had high hopes for this one.
What is the problem? Motivation. As in - what is the character's motivation for doing what he does? Seemingly there is none. I would describe it as such; Quentin is a man who only wants a blue M&M, however he lives in a world where there ARE NO blue M&M's. So he just runs around and screams erratically at strangers to make them believe there's a blue M&M to be found somewhere.
And then shit gets weird...
The back cover describes the story like this "Clark discovers that Poe's last days are riddled with vital unanswered questions." Except that, no, no they are not. That's just something the character gets into his head which I could have bought if there was a reason for him to get it into his head. But there really, really isn't. It's very poor plot pacing on Pearl's part. I can deal with an obsessive character if I at least get why they're being obsessive, if there's a hint of reason behind that madness, but "just because" doesn't cut it.
This one lands in the category "not worth my time or effort".
What is the problem? Motivation. As in - what is the character's motivation for doing what he does? Seemingly there is none. I would describe it as such; Quentin is a man who only wants a blue M&M, however he lives in a world where there ARE NO blue M&M's. So he just runs around and screams erratically at strangers to make them believe there's a blue M&M to be found somewhere.
And then shit gets weird...
The back cover describes the story like this "Clark discovers that Poe's last days are riddled with vital unanswered questions." Except that, no, no they are not. That's just something the character gets into his head which I could have bought if there was a reason for him to get it into his head. But there really, really isn't. It's very poor plot pacing on Pearl's part. I can deal with an obsessive character if I at least get why they're being obsessive, if there's a hint of reason behind that madness, but "just because" doesn't cut it.
This one lands in the category "not worth my time or effort".
May 15, 2016
A 300+ page framing device for his personal research and interest into the death of Edgar Allen Poe. Full of false promises, an unlikable and unreliable narrator that we are forced to trust due to the publisher promised "answers to Poe's death" and little closure at the end. The whole thing seemed a self indulgent excuse for why the author himself had wasted his life researching Poe- making "purpose" out of his research by publishing it as a piece of historical fiction. "See mom and dad!? You aren't wasting your money on seemingly endless years of grad school! I published a book that has a blurb by the Da Vinci Code guy! Dolla-dolla bills!!" The characters all were merely props for the disappointing "big reveal" at the end. Had I only been better at ratiocination, I could have deduced that the book was awful and saved myself the effort.
June 15, 2018
Good book.
I couldn't put it down
I couldn't put it down
July 8, 2024
This book attempts to explain the mystery surrounding the death of Edgar Allan Poe in 1849. Having not read or studied all of the theories about his cause of death, this book didn't excite me or whet my appetite to learn more. There was of lot of conjecture, but I would expect after 175, not a lot of new ground. As a result, the book lacked intensity and suspense.
September 25, 2015
So...the common saying is that "the third time's the charm"--right? Not necessarily. A couple of challenges asked us to give a book we'd never been able to finish another try. So, I decided on The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl. I tried to read it a couple of times and just couldn't finish it. This year was the chance to change that. For good measure, I also added it to my TBR Pile list for Adam's challenge. That would ensure that I read the darn thing.
Okay. So, I did. And I didn't like it any better than the other two times I tried. The first attempt came after reading Pearl's The Dante Club--which was an excellent serial killer mystery. I enjoyed it so much that I went right out and got The Poe Shadow from the library and started to read it....and came to a screeching halt about 40 pages in. Then when Patty, my friend, gifted me a copy I gave it another go. I managed to get a bit further to my standard 100 pages and gave it up as a lost cause. This time round I finished it. And all I can say is....I'm glad that's over.
Here's your basic peek at the plot: It's 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland. Edgar Allan Poe has just been buried, virtually unmourned, and his friends and family have all written him off as a drunken sot. Nobody seems to think there was anything odd about what happened to Poe. Except for Quentin Clark. Clark is a young lawyer who thinks Poe was the greatest writer ever and becomes obsessed with investigating the truth of Poe's death. He sets out to find the real August Dupin--the man Poe based his detective upon--to help him get to the bottom of a plot that seems to involve international political agents, a female assassin, and the dark, corrupt slave trade. Quentin will be marked insane and have to prove not only that his suspicions are correct but also that he has all his marbles. Otherwise, he's going to lose his friends, his career, his reputation, and the girl he loves....
This is such a disappointing book after The Dante Club. It's poorly plotted with a pace that moves about as quickly as a herd of turtles. It also makes no sense. Quentin's motivation for his intense obsession and willingness to give up his livelihood is murky at best and not really explained at all. It's very unclear whether all the plots and machinations are really happening or if he's imagining things. Pearl makes a great deal out nothing. And in the end, I just plain didn't care what happened to Poe and whether Quentin could prove it and get on with his life. Not because I don't think the death of Poe wasn't mysterious and that there couldn't be a story in it--but because as far as I can tell, Pearl didn't really make it into a story interesting enough to be worth telling.
Quentin is also an extremely unsympathetic protagonist. He's annoying and creates difficulties and adversaries where he has no need. And for a lawyer, he's not terribly bright. The Dupin proto-type is constantly pointing out the most obvious things to him. He doesn't just miss the connections that a great detective would make--he misses connections that are all but labeled "Look at THIS, this is important." One has to wonder why the girl would wait around for him to come to his senses and get his head out of the Poe problem. She can do much better for herself. Not recommended at all to anyone.
This review posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
*******************
Previous Review comments:
I really wanted to read this one--having loved The Dante Club. But I couldn't even finish it.
Postscript: I have now received this as a Christmas gift. Am going to give it another try.
Okay, so I have now tried again. Same result. I just cannot finish this one. I did, actually, make it a bit further and just when I thought that it simply had a slow beginning and was now getting better then Pearl dumped me in France with Quentin Clark harrassing the man that Dupin was supposedly based on. Totally lost me there. Not even interested in seeing how it comes out. My apologies to my gifter...I just can't do it.
My advice...Read _The Dante Club_ (It is a FAR superior book). Skip this one. I hope his Dickens book is better.
Okay. So, I did. And I didn't like it any better than the other two times I tried. The first attempt came after reading Pearl's The Dante Club--which was an excellent serial killer mystery. I enjoyed it so much that I went right out and got The Poe Shadow from the library and started to read it....and came to a screeching halt about 40 pages in. Then when Patty, my friend, gifted me a copy I gave it another go. I managed to get a bit further to my standard 100 pages and gave it up as a lost cause. This time round I finished it. And all I can say is....I'm glad that's over.
Here's your basic peek at the plot: It's 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland. Edgar Allan Poe has just been buried, virtually unmourned, and his friends and family have all written him off as a drunken sot. Nobody seems to think there was anything odd about what happened to Poe. Except for Quentin Clark. Clark is a young lawyer who thinks Poe was the greatest writer ever and becomes obsessed with investigating the truth of Poe's death. He sets out to find the real August Dupin--the man Poe based his detective upon--to help him get to the bottom of a plot that seems to involve international political agents, a female assassin, and the dark, corrupt slave trade. Quentin will be marked insane and have to prove not only that his suspicions are correct but also that he has all his marbles. Otherwise, he's going to lose his friends, his career, his reputation, and the girl he loves....
This is such a disappointing book after The Dante Club. It's poorly plotted with a pace that moves about as quickly as a herd of turtles. It also makes no sense. Quentin's motivation for his intense obsession and willingness to give up his livelihood is murky at best and not really explained at all. It's very unclear whether all the plots and machinations are really happening or if he's imagining things. Pearl makes a great deal out nothing. And in the end, I just plain didn't care what happened to Poe and whether Quentin could prove it and get on with his life. Not because I don't think the death of Poe wasn't mysterious and that there couldn't be a story in it--but because as far as I can tell, Pearl didn't really make it into a story interesting enough to be worth telling.
Quentin is also an extremely unsympathetic protagonist. He's annoying and creates difficulties and adversaries where he has no need. And for a lawyer, he's not terribly bright. The Dupin proto-type is constantly pointing out the most obvious things to him. He doesn't just miss the connections that a great detective would make--he misses connections that are all but labeled "Look at THIS, this is important." One has to wonder why the girl would wait around for him to come to his senses and get his head out of the Poe problem. She can do much better for herself. Not recommended at all to anyone.
This review posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
*******************
Previous Review comments:
I really wanted to read this one--having loved The Dante Club. But I couldn't even finish it.
Postscript: I have now received this as a Christmas gift. Am going to give it another try.
Okay, so I have now tried again. Same result. I just cannot finish this one. I did, actually, make it a bit further and just when I thought that it simply had a slow beginning and was now getting better then Pearl dumped me in France with Quentin Clark harrassing the man that Dupin was supposedly based on. Totally lost me there. Not even interested in seeing how it comes out. My apologies to my gifter...I just can't do it.
My advice...Read _The Dante Club_ (It is a FAR superior book). Skip this one. I hope his Dickens book is better.
November 1, 2014
2.5 stars.
I finished the book! I can't believe I finished it! This is a major deal for me, because I've had this book on my shelf for around 8 years now, and I've always put it off. I don't really know why, because I'm a fan of Edgar Allan Poe. Maybe it was the mystery element, something I don't really tend to read in fiction. Anyway, I finally knuckled down and finished this book, so finally I am in the position to write a complete review.
The Poe Shadow follows the endeavors of Quentin Clark, a young Baltimore lawyer in the 1800s, to discover what happened in Poe's final days. As a dedicated fan of his work, having corresponded directly with him several times, the impression that people have of Poe dying as a drunkard, enrages and troubles him. Clark sets out to clear Poe's name and relate the true events, by travelling to Paris to find the inspiration for Poe's character C. Auguste Dupin. However, a nefarious Baron may well put a spanner in the works.
This novel is first and foremost a mystery novel, but on the other hand it is almost a work of literary fiction in that it deals so much so with character motives, political intrigue, and of course literature itself. The prose is written in a somewhat Victorian style - this may be due to the fact that it is set in the Victorian era, but as it is set in America and not Britain, this is debatable. Although I felt the novel was well-written, it was a little laborious to read at times because the pace was incredibly slow. This may well be more realistic, as a mystery surely would not be wrapped up toute suite, but it doesn't exactly capture my excitement and attention as a reader.
The main issue that I had with The Poe Shadow however was that it just wasn't that interesting to me. Quentin Clark is a very unsympathetic character - he may be incredibly driven and passionate about his quest, but it is at the expense of everything and everyone else in his life. I found myself being constantly frustrated with him and his perpetual naivety. I didn't really warm to the character of Auguste Duponte either - he was eternally cryptic and closed off, and I felt like he was meant to be portrayed as a Sherlock Holmes type of character, albeit with a lot less charisma. I felt that the plot dragged on considerably, and not enough happened until Part 5 of the book (the final part, I might add). Although the villainous characters were quite charismatic and interesting, I felt they weren't even present enough to make me care enough about the plot of this novel.
If you are a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, and a fan of mystery novels, then I would recommend you maybe give this a shot. The fact that a great many of the characters and details surrounding Poe's final days in this book were factual is an interesting element to this, and something I was not aware of while reading. Although the investigation itself is fictional, it was satisfying to find out about many people involved with Poe's last days in the novel were in fact truly involved, and I felt I had learned something from it. However, I would not read it again as it was far too slow-moving for me.
I finished the book! I can't believe I finished it! This is a major deal for me, because I've had this book on my shelf for around 8 years now, and I've always put it off. I don't really know why, because I'm a fan of Edgar Allan Poe. Maybe it was the mystery element, something I don't really tend to read in fiction. Anyway, I finally knuckled down and finished this book, so finally I am in the position to write a complete review.
The Poe Shadow follows the endeavors of Quentin Clark, a young Baltimore lawyer in the 1800s, to discover what happened in Poe's final days. As a dedicated fan of his work, having corresponded directly with him several times, the impression that people have of Poe dying as a drunkard, enrages and troubles him. Clark sets out to clear Poe's name and relate the true events, by travelling to Paris to find the inspiration for Poe's character C. Auguste Dupin. However, a nefarious Baron may well put a spanner in the works.
This novel is first and foremost a mystery novel, but on the other hand it is almost a work of literary fiction in that it deals so much so with character motives, political intrigue, and of course literature itself. The prose is written in a somewhat Victorian style - this may be due to the fact that it is set in the Victorian era, but as it is set in America and not Britain, this is debatable. Although I felt the novel was well-written, it was a little laborious to read at times because the pace was incredibly slow. This may well be more realistic, as a mystery surely would not be wrapped up toute suite, but it doesn't exactly capture my excitement and attention as a reader.
The main issue that I had with The Poe Shadow however was that it just wasn't that interesting to me. Quentin Clark is a very unsympathetic character - he may be incredibly driven and passionate about his quest, but it is at the expense of everything and everyone else in his life. I found myself being constantly frustrated with him and his perpetual naivety. I didn't really warm to the character of Auguste Duponte either - he was eternally cryptic and closed off, and I felt like he was meant to be portrayed as a Sherlock Holmes type of character, albeit with a lot less charisma. I felt that the plot dragged on considerably, and not enough happened until Part 5 of the book (the final part, I might add). Although the villainous characters were quite charismatic and interesting, I felt they weren't even present enough to make me care enough about the plot of this novel.
If you are a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, and a fan of mystery novels, then I would recommend you maybe give this a shot. The fact that a great many of the characters and details surrounding Poe's final days in this book were factual is an interesting element to this, and something I was not aware of while reading. Although the investigation itself is fictional, it was satisfying to find out about many people involved with Poe's last days in the novel were in fact truly involved, and I felt I had learned something from it. However, I would not read it again as it was far too slow-moving for me.
January 31, 2014
El autor estructura la novela en cinco partes o libros como él los llama según va avanzando la investigación. Se desarrolla en dos escenarios distintos; Baltimore(la mayor parte) y París.
Comienza en Baltimore, el 8 de Octubre de 1849, fecha del entierro de Poe. El protagonista, un joven abogado llamado Quentin Clark lo presencia por casualidad. Sin saber de quién se trata, de repente, le invade una inexplicable tristeza al ver la pobre sepultura que está recibiendo. Cuando se entera por los periódicos de la identidad del fallecido, empieza a obsesionarse por esclarecer la muerte de su poeta favorito. Quien mejor para encontrar la solución al misterio que Dupin, o más bien la persona que inspiró a Poe para crear su personaje.
A partir de ahí, comienza la búsqueda en París de este peculiar detective que lo acompañará en el resto del libro y que juntos intentarán arrojar un poco de luz a este misterio. Pero no lo harán sin antes superar en el transcurso de la investigación, todo tipo de obstáculos.
Debo decir que gracias a esta novela me he interesado en el poeta, escritor y crítico literario Edgar Allan Poe. Como persona y escritor. Sobre todo, por los relatos protagonizados por C. Auguste Dupin, personaje de ficción y pieza clave también para esta novela.
Más que thriller histórico como señalan en la contraportada del libro, lo he considerado una novela histórica con dosis de suspense. No ha sido de esas novelas que te mantienen en tensión todo el rato y en la que estás totalmente inmersa. En mi caso, la he encontrado bastante interesante. Más desde el punto de vista histórico que desde el punto de vista de la trama, que aunque esté muy bien elaborada y con algunos giros que mantienen el interés del lector, en algunos capítulos la lectura se me ha hecho densa y algo repetitiva.
Cuando mejor he saboreado esta novela ha sido después de terminar de leer la “Nota Histórica” que Matthew Pearl ha escrito al final. Después de tres años de trabajo de investigación no me ha extrañado en absoluto. Creo que no es aventurado decir que si no ha dado con la clave de la misteriosa muerte del poeta, es el que más se ha acercado. Trata de los detalles sobre la muerte de Poe recogiendo los más auténticos, combinados con descubrimientos originales que previamente nunca se publicaron. Todas las teorías y análisis relacionados con la muerte de Poe que aparecen en este libro se basan en hechos históricos y pruebas sólidas.
Además, me ha encantado saber que exceptuando al protagonista Quentin Clark y los dos personajes candidatos a ser el modelo de referencia que Poe tomó para crear a Dupin(Auguste Duponte y el Barón Claude Dupin), los demás personajes existieron en la vida real.
Tampoco puedo hablar de esta novela sin mencionar la aparición en ella de la rama baltimorense de los Bonaparte, la cual desconocía y ha sido otra de las cosas que esta lectura me ha enseñado.
Un libro recomendable que sobre todo gustará al lector de Edgar A. Poe.
Comienza en Baltimore, el 8 de Octubre de 1849, fecha del entierro de Poe. El protagonista, un joven abogado llamado Quentin Clark lo presencia por casualidad. Sin saber de quién se trata, de repente, le invade una inexplicable tristeza al ver la pobre sepultura que está recibiendo. Cuando se entera por los periódicos de la identidad del fallecido, empieza a obsesionarse por esclarecer la muerte de su poeta favorito. Quien mejor para encontrar la solución al misterio que Dupin, o más bien la persona que inspiró a Poe para crear su personaje.
A partir de ahí, comienza la búsqueda en París de este peculiar detective que lo acompañará en el resto del libro y que juntos intentarán arrojar un poco de luz a este misterio. Pero no lo harán sin antes superar en el transcurso de la investigación, todo tipo de obstáculos.
Debo decir que gracias a esta novela me he interesado en el poeta, escritor y crítico literario Edgar Allan Poe. Como persona y escritor. Sobre todo, por los relatos protagonizados por C. Auguste Dupin, personaje de ficción y pieza clave también para esta novela.
Más que thriller histórico como señalan en la contraportada del libro, lo he considerado una novela histórica con dosis de suspense. No ha sido de esas novelas que te mantienen en tensión todo el rato y en la que estás totalmente inmersa. En mi caso, la he encontrado bastante interesante. Más desde el punto de vista histórico que desde el punto de vista de la trama, que aunque esté muy bien elaborada y con algunos giros que mantienen el interés del lector, en algunos capítulos la lectura se me ha hecho densa y algo repetitiva.
Cuando mejor he saboreado esta novela ha sido después de terminar de leer la “Nota Histórica” que Matthew Pearl ha escrito al final. Después de tres años de trabajo de investigación no me ha extrañado en absoluto. Creo que no es aventurado decir que si no ha dado con la clave de la misteriosa muerte del poeta, es el que más se ha acercado. Trata de los detalles sobre la muerte de Poe recogiendo los más auténticos, combinados con descubrimientos originales que previamente nunca se publicaron. Todas las teorías y análisis relacionados con la muerte de Poe que aparecen en este libro se basan en hechos históricos y pruebas sólidas.
Además, me ha encantado saber que exceptuando al protagonista Quentin Clark y los dos personajes candidatos a ser el modelo de referencia que Poe tomó para crear a Dupin(Auguste Duponte y el Barón Claude Dupin), los demás personajes existieron en la vida real.
Tampoco puedo hablar de esta novela sin mencionar la aparición en ella de la rama baltimorense de los Bonaparte, la cual desconocía y ha sido otra de las cosas que esta lectura me ha enseñado.
Un libro recomendable que sobre todo gustará al lector de Edgar A. Poe.
July 5, 2010
This book was a huge disappointment. The plot--a young 19th century attorney investigates the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe--seemed promising, but was not nearly as interesting as I'd hoped. I attribute this to two failings: failure to create likeable characters, and failure to adhere to the adage "brevity is the soul of wit."
On the first count: the protagonist, Quentin Clark, is childish and insipid. He's an irritating hero, but what's worse is that he isn't a hero who moves the plot forward. The action is either effected by someone else or happened upon by Clark accidentally. It's also difficult to take him seriously because of his blind, obsessive Poe-worship (which occasionally reads more like the author's, making it just plain awkward). As for the other characters, they all represent archetypes: reserved but brilliant detective, beautiful femme fatale, proper young woman, conniving villain, etc. etc. Now, these archetypes become archetypes because they work, certainly; but it's amazing that these characters are so glancingly treated that they aren't developed further than that in the span of nearly 400 pages.
That brings me to the second count. The book was far too long--especially the long-awaited explication of Poe's death. It was so drawn out that reading it became tedious and I no longer cared about it. I just wanted to get through it. Poe's detective stories were short stories, something Pearl would have done well to remember. As Shakespeare said, brevity is the soul of wit. Dragging out a joke ruins the punchline, and grandstanding with a dénouement is just annoying.
Because of these things (and a few other minor annoyances, like the truly sad attempt at emulating 19th century voice), I ceased to enjoy this book after about the second page. I finished it merely as a matter of principle, and do not recommend it for anyone.
On the first count: the protagonist, Quentin Clark, is childish and insipid. He's an irritating hero, but what's worse is that he isn't a hero who moves the plot forward. The action is either effected by someone else or happened upon by Clark accidentally. It's also difficult to take him seriously because of his blind, obsessive Poe-worship (which occasionally reads more like the author's, making it just plain awkward). As for the other characters, they all represent archetypes: reserved but brilliant detective, beautiful femme fatale, proper young woman, conniving villain, etc. etc. Now, these archetypes become archetypes because they work, certainly; but it's amazing that these characters are so glancingly treated that they aren't developed further than that in the span of nearly 400 pages.
That brings me to the second count. The book was far too long--especially the long-awaited explication of Poe's death. It was so drawn out that reading it became tedious and I no longer cared about it. I just wanted to get through it. Poe's detective stories were short stories, something Pearl would have done well to remember. As Shakespeare said, brevity is the soul of wit. Dragging out a joke ruins the punchline, and grandstanding with a dénouement is just annoying.
Because of these things (and a few other minor annoyances, like the truly sad attempt at emulating 19th century voice), I ceased to enjoy this book after about the second page. I finished it merely as a matter of principle, and do not recommend it for anyone.
June 14, 2023
Whie the majority of the novel is fascinating with the main character's obsession of finding out what really happened to the tragic death of Edgar Allan Poe and he risks losing his true love, job and inheritance in pursuit of that goal, the ending falls flat. The four-star rating is when our hero goes to Paris to find the real-life person that he believes Poe wrote about in his novels.
The ending is so convoluted and flat that neither the author (nor evidently the publisher) could write a scenario that made sense as evidenced by page 357 footnote " if I am to relate future revelations, touching on this point, it must be at a site far more private." Poe's death raises far more questions than answers but for pure Poe fans, is great fun.
The ending is so convoluted and flat that neither the author (nor evidently the publisher) could write a scenario that made sense as evidenced by page 357 footnote " if I am to relate future revelations, touching on this point, it must be at a site far more private." Poe's death raises far more questions than answers but for pure Poe fans, is great fun.
January 11, 2025
The story itself was interesting but the long drawn out story seemed unnecessary. It taking place in the 1800s and being first person point of view the wording the author used seems authentic to the time - which caused it to be difficult to read.
July 1, 2008
My final review for June is The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl, a book I bought last year because I liked the cover and the title. It's the same superficial reason I used for Measuring the World by Daniel Kehlmann and for the most part, my intuition paid off for both.
Edgar Allen Poe showed up unexpected and in a confused state to the Washington College Hospital in Baltimore. He died there on October 3, 1849. Before his death he called out for a person named Reynolds and a letter was sent to a Dr. Snodgrass on Poe's behalf asking for help. Poe was given a simple burial and only managed to achieve recognition as a great American writer after his death. Those are the facts and the starting point of The Poe Shadow.
Matthew Pearl creates a fictional überfan, Quentin Hobson Clark, who happens on Poe's burial and feels compelled to solve the mystery behind the writer's death. He puts his own life on hold to track down all of the leads no matter how tenuous. He even goes to France with the idea of finding the man behind Poe's fictional detective, Dupin.
For the most part I enjoyed Pearl's odd mixture of fiction and historical fact but things go awry in the last third of the book. The book starts off so focused on the facts of Poe's life and death that as the plot snowball rolls towards near pure fiction the book seems to lose direction and credibility. The book falls into many of the same traps as The Seven-per-cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer.
I went from enjoying a historical fiction mystery to wishing the darn thing would end. I stopped counting possible reasons behind Poe's death at after the third rehashing of the last days of his life because it was too late in the game for an homage to Roshomon.
My over all impression of the book is still one of enjoyment but it needed tighter editing in the last 100 pages.
Edgar Allen Poe showed up unexpected and in a confused state to the Washington College Hospital in Baltimore. He died there on October 3, 1849. Before his death he called out for a person named Reynolds and a letter was sent to a Dr. Snodgrass on Poe's behalf asking for help. Poe was given a simple burial and only managed to achieve recognition as a great American writer after his death. Those are the facts and the starting point of The Poe Shadow.
Matthew Pearl creates a fictional überfan, Quentin Hobson Clark, who happens on Poe's burial and feels compelled to solve the mystery behind the writer's death. He puts his own life on hold to track down all of the leads no matter how tenuous. He even goes to France with the idea of finding the man behind Poe's fictional detective, Dupin.
For the most part I enjoyed Pearl's odd mixture of fiction and historical fact but things go awry in the last third of the book. The book starts off so focused on the facts of Poe's life and death that as the plot snowball rolls towards near pure fiction the book seems to lose direction and credibility. The book falls into many of the same traps as The Seven-per-cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer.
I went from enjoying a historical fiction mystery to wishing the darn thing would end. I stopped counting possible reasons behind Poe's death at after the third rehashing of the last days of his life because it was too late in the game for an homage to Roshomon.
My over all impression of the book is still one of enjoyment but it needed tighter editing in the last 100 pages.
Read
September 21, 2007I have to agree with a lot of the reviews here. I read and absolutely loved the Dante Club, so when I heard there was a new book from the same author, I snatched it up. The premise was tantalizing, what really happened to Edgar Alan Poe in his final days?
I got about halfway through this book, and eventually decided to throw it in. Where Dante Club moved with all the pace and movement of a well plotted film, the Poe Shadow was boring from the start. I do agree. The main characters not likable in the least. One could say he's obsessed totally in his admiration for Poe, but still ...
What I found most off putting was that so little seemed to happen in the book, and what did happen didn't feel at all that connected to the main characters efforts. As the plot plodded along, every now and then something turned up that was pertanent to the mystery. At half way, I still had no clue, or any interest in what happened to Poe.
Having read the reviews, I'm perhaps happy I didn't stick to the end. A bad ending would have really capped off a bad read that far.
I got about halfway through this book, and eventually decided to throw it in. Where Dante Club moved with all the pace and movement of a well plotted film, the Poe Shadow was boring from the start. I do agree. The main characters not likable in the least. One could say he's obsessed totally in his admiration for Poe, but still ...
What I found most off putting was that so little seemed to happen in the book, and what did happen didn't feel at all that connected to the main characters efforts. As the plot plodded along, every now and then something turned up that was pertanent to the mystery. At half way, I still had no clue, or any interest in what happened to Poe.
Having read the reviews, I'm perhaps happy I didn't stick to the end. A bad ending would have really capped off a bad read that far.
Read
February 5, 2009Matthew Pearl's best-selling The Dante Club (2003) successfully meshed history, literature, and mystery. Though he tries to duplicate this formula and honor a great American writer, The Poe Shadow fails to garner similar interest. First, Pearl's attempt to echo 19th-century prose is fusty and verbose. Second, Clark, though he has his eccentricities, is rather "poor company" (Wall Street Journal). Third, while the subplots offer intrigue, they rarely advance the plot and never attain the macabre tone of Poe's tales. The historical context, however (though weighed down by ponderous if meticulous research), provides new insights into Poe's personal life and literary career. The verdict: for Poe (or Pearl) fans only.
This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
August 6, 2009
A good premise. A disappointing read.
The main character is not one to be liked. He's snivelly, whiny, irritating and just not likeable.....and he doesn't think things through before ploughing ahead with his ideas, regardless of how they effect others. Even for Victorian standards, he's quite the Dandy.
However, the Author does accomplish the feeling of the Victorian era, the Society and character of it. He also manages to give a good feeling of police and detective work in the days before forensics.
The main character is not one to be liked. He's snivelly, whiny, irritating and just not likeable.....and he doesn't think things through before ploughing ahead with his ideas, regardless of how they effect others. Even for Victorian standards, he's quite the Dandy.
However, the Author does accomplish the feeling of the Victorian era, the Society and character of it. He also manages to give a good feeling of police and detective work in the days before forensics.
April 14, 2015
For people who like Poe. I am a huge fan of Poe's poetry and short stories. This is a fun read for people who enjoy his works or people new to him and want to learn more about his life through a story.
December 10, 2015
This started off quite slowly but it's a good mystery read and I'm glad I stuck with it. A lot of the prose can be quite long-winded and think it could have done with a better edit.
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