A Dream Within a Dream The Life of Edgar Allan Poe

by Barnes, Nigel

• ISBN13: 9780720613223
• ISBN10: 0720613221
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-01
• Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers

Summary

The mystery fiction of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) has always been a force to be reckoned with, and his influence still casts a long shadow on the literary imagination. Charles Baudelaire's legendary enthusiasm for Poe filled him with a desire to become his 'heir in all things', and his definitive translations brought the American writer fame and critical acclaim in France long before he was taken seriously in English-speaking countries. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was to state, 'Each of Poe's stories is a root from which a whole literature has developed ... Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?' And H.G. Wells and Jules Verne each have tipped their hats in his direction.

Author Biography

Nigel Barnes’s new biography is the first to incorporate a generous selection of the letters in such a way that they tell much of his story and help illuminate the shadowy corners of Poe’s life that have hitherto been shrouded in mystery and legend

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. 11
The Fever called `Living'	p. 13
Yours Affectionately	p. 24
I am at present a Soldier	p. 42
Descent into the Maelstrom	p. 69
The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq.	p. 85
`You Speak of Enemies'	p. 109
In Search of Eldorado	p. 124
`You must get Afloat by Yourself, Poe'	p. 133
The Valley of Unrest	p. 144
Once upon a Midnight Dreary	p. 160
`At Least the Prospects are Good'	p. 177
The Man that was Used Up	p. 203
Eureka	p. 218
`Whose Heart-Strings are a Lute'	p. 232
A dream within a Dream	p. 248
`My Dear Griswold...'	p. 266
Notes	p. 283
Bibliography	p. 295
Transcripts of Poe's Letters and Verse	p. 299
Chronological Table of Poe's Writings	p. 303
Index	p. 335
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