| Contents |
A matter of death and life -- "Pale and haggard" late June-early July 1849 -- "From childhood's hour" January 1809-March 1827 -- "I must die" July 7-13, 1849 -- "Save me from destruction" March 1827-May 1836 -- "Considerable fever" July 14-September 27, 1849 -- "Extremity of terror" May 1836-January 20, 1842 -- "Rather the worse for wear" September 27-October 3, 1849 -- "By horror haunted" March 5, 1842-January 30, 1847 -- "As if a corpse" October 3-6, 1849 -- "I shall hardly last a year" February 1847-June 1849 -- "Doubly dead" October 7, 1849 -- "Penetrate the mysteries". |
| Abstract |
"A Mystery of Mysteries is a brilliant biography of Edgar Allan Poe that examines the renowned author's life through the prism of his mysterious death and its many possible causes. It is a moment shrouded in horror and mystery. Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849, at just forty, in a painful, utterly bizarre manner that would not have been out of place in one of his own tales of terror. What was the cause of his untimely death, and what happened to him during the three missing days before he was found, delirious and "in great distress" on the streets of Baltimore, wearing ill-fitting clothes that were not his own? Mystery and horror. Poe, who remains one of the most iconic of American writers, died under haunting circumstances that reflect the two literary genres he took to new heights. Over the years, there has been a staggering amount of speculation about the cause of death, from rabies and syphilis to suicide, alcoholism, and even murder. But many of these theories are formed on the basis of the caricature we have come to associate with Poe: the gloomy-eyed grandfather of Goth, hunched over a writing desk with a raven perched on one shoulder, drunkenly scribbling his chilling masterpieces. By debunking the myths of how he lived, we come closer to understanding the real Poe-and uncovering the truth behind his mysterious death, as a new theory emerges that could prove the cause of Poe's death was haunting him all his life. In a compelling dual-timeline narrative alternating between Poe's increasingly desperate last months and his brief but impactful life, Mark Dawidziak sheds new light on the enigmatic master of macabre"-- Provided by publisher. |
