Edgar Allan Poe
(1809–1849)
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston to a family of traveling actors. After his mother died, he was taken into the home of a wealthy Virginia merchant named John Allan. Although Poe took Allan as his middle name, his relations with his guardian were always strained. In 1826, he entered the University of Virginia but had to leave within a year because of his heavy gambling debts. He then enlisted in the army and served two years. John Allan helped him secure an appointment to West Point, but Poe got himself dismissed for misconduct. At this point, he turned to writing and editing in order to earn a living. In 1836, he married his young cousin Virginia, but this marriage ended tragically in 1847, when Virginia died of tuberculosis. Poe himself died in poverty at the age of forty.
Despite his personal difficulties, Poe produced a remarkable body of short stories, poems, and essays. His short story masterpieces include "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Pit and the Pendulum," and "The Fall of the House of Usher"—strange tales of terror and fantasy. Among his most beautiful and melodic poems are "Eldorado," "The Raven," and "The Bells."
