Edgar by name. Edgar Po - biography, information, personal life

Edgar Poe's biography is full of blank spots. This is due to the disdainful attitude of many of his contemporaries and the plight of the writer. In fact, the poet’s history began to be restored impartially only in the 20th century, but by that time little information remained about his life. Today Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the most mysterious personalities. There were many speculations about the circumstances of his death already in 1849, but the real reason for the poet’s death will most likely remain forever unsolved. However, this fact does not prevent millions of people today from enjoying the prose and poetry of the great writer.

Loss of parents, foster care

The story of Edgar Allan Poe begins on January 19, 1809 in Boston (USA). A future writer appeared in a family of traveling artists. Edgar did not have a chance to live with his parents for long: his mother died of consumption when he was only two years old, his father either disappeared or died even earlier. Then the boy, by and large, was lucky for the only time in his life - he was taken in by his wife Allana. Frances, the adoptive mother, fell in love with the baby and persuaded her husband, the wealthy merchant John, to adopt him. He was not happy about Edgar's appearance, but gave in to his wife, who could not give birth to her own son.

Edgar Allan Poe spent his childhood in Virginia. He did not need anything: he was dressed in the latest fashion, he had dogs, a horse and even a servant at his disposal. The future writer began his studies in a London boarding school, where he was sent at the age of 6. The boy returned to the USA with his family when he turned eleven. There he went to college in Richmond, and then, in 1826, to the University of Virginia, which had opened the year before.

The end of luck

Edgar quickly absorbed knowledge, was distinguished by physical endurance and a passionate, nervous character, which later caused him a lot of trouble. As biographers note, the latter feature predetermined his quarrel with his father. The exact reasons are unknown: either the young writer forged his stepfather’s signature on bills, or he was angry because of his adopted son’s gambling debts. One way or another, at the age of 17, Poe was left without funds and left the university, having studied only in his first year.

The young man returned to Boston, where he took up poetry. Edgar Poe decided to publish poems written during that period under the pseudonym “Bostonian”. However, his plan failed: the book was not published, and his already meager funds ran out.

Short military career

In such a situation, Edgar Allan Poe made an unexpected decision. He entered military service under an assumed name. Poe spent about a year in the army. He received the rank of sergeant major and was considered one of the best, but could not stand such a regimented life. Presumably, at the beginning of 1828, the young poet turned to his stepfather for help. After persuasion from his wife, he helped Edgar free himself from service. The writer did not have time to thank his stepmother: she died on the eve of his arrival in Richmond. So the poet lost his second truly dear woman.

Baltimore, West Point and the long-awaited publication

Having safely parted with the army, Edgar went to Baltimore for some time. There he met his paternal relatives: aunt Maria Klemm, uncle Georg Poe, his son Nelson. Finding himself in a tight financial situation, the writer settled with his aunt, and a little later returned to Richmond.

While in Baltimore, Edgar met W. Gwin, the editor of a local newspaper, and through him, J. Neal, a writer from New York. Po gave his poems to them. Having received positive reviews, Edgar decided to try to publish them again. The collection entitled “Al-Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Small Poems” was published in 1829, but did not become widely known.

The stepfather insisted on continuing his adopted son's education, and in 1830 the young man entered the Military Academy at West Point. Despite the strict daily routine, Edgar Allan Poe found time for creativity and entertained his fellow students with satirical poetic sketches of life at the academy. He was supposed to serve for five years, however, like last time, he realized at the very beginning of his training that a military career was not for him. Edgar tried to turn to his stepfather again, but another quarrel disrupted his plans. However, the poet was not at a loss: having ceased to comply with the charter, he achieved exclusion from the academy in 1831.

Attempts to gain recognition

The biography of Edgar Poe is extremely sparse in information about his life in the period from 1831 to 1833. It is known that he lived for some time in Baltimore with Maria Klemm. There he fell in love with her daughter and his cousin Virginia. The girl was only 9 years old then. Since the autumn of 1831, practically nothing has been known about the poet’s life. Some researchers of his biography believe that he could have gone on a trip to Europe. This fact is indirectly supported by numerous detailed descriptions of the Old World found on the pages of the writer’s works. However, there is no other evidence to support this theory. Many biographers note that Poe was very limited in funds and could hardly afford the expenses of the trip.

However, all researchers agree that the three years following his expulsion from West Point were productive. Edgar Poe, whose books were not yet popular, continued to work. In 1833, he submitted six stories and poems to a competition in the Baltimore weekly Saturday Visitor. Both were recognized as the best. For the story “The Manuscript Found in a Bottle,” Poe was rewarded with a cash prize of $100.

In addition to money, Edgar received some fame, and with it invitations to work in magazines. He began collaborating with the Saturday Visitor and then with the Southern Literary Messenger, published in Richmond. In the latter, the writer published the short stories “Morella” and “Berenice” in 1835 and a little later - “The Adventures of Hans Pfall”.

Magnificent Virginia

That same year, Poe, whose works were already more famous than before, received an invitation to become editor of the Southern Literary Messenger. To take up the $10-a-month position, it was necessary to move to Richmond. Poe agreed, but before leaving he wanted to marry his beloved Virginia, who was then less than 13 years old. A girl of extraordinary beauty captivated the writer for a long time. You can guess her image in the heroines of many of his works. Virginia's mother agreed, and the young people secretly got married, after which Poe left for Richmond, and his beloved lived in Baltimore for another year. In 1836, an official ceremony took place.

Less than a year later, after a quarrel with the publisher of the Southern Literary Messenger, Poe resigned as editor and moved to New York with Maria Klemm and Virginia.

New York and Philadelphia

The two years he lived in New York were controversial for the writer. Edgar Poe, whose poetry and prose were published in several magazines in the city, received very little for his work. He published works such as Ligeia and The Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pym, but made most of his money from his chronology manual, which was an abridged version of the Scottish professor's work.

In 1838 the family moved to Philadelphia. Edgar got a job as editor of Gentleman's Magazine, where he published several of his works. These included The Fall of the House of Esher and the beginning of the unfinished Notes of Julius Rodman.

Dream and reality

Working in different publications, Edgar Allan Poe was looking for something more. He dreamed of his own magazine. The closest he came to realizing the idea was in Philadelphia. Advertisements were published for a new magazine called Penn Magazine. What was missing was a little money, but this obstacle turned out to be insurmountable.

In 1841, Gentleman's Magazine merged with The Casket to create a new magazine, Graham's Magazine, with Edgar Allan Poe as editor-in-chief. He had recently combined the stories, poems and novellas he had written earlier into two volumes and published the collected works “Grotesques and Arabesques” at the end of 1840. This was a short period when everything seemed to be going well. However, already in March 1842 Edgar was again unemployed. The magazine disbanded, and Rufus Wilmot Griswold was invited to the editorial office of Gentleman's Magazine. The latter, according to one version, was the reason for Poe’s departure: to put it mildly, he did not like Griswold.

Then there was work at the Saturday Museum and the publication of several fairy tales and short stories for mere pennies. The only exception, perhaps, was the “Golden Bug”. Edgar sent him to a literary competition. “The Gold Bug” won and brought its author $100. Afterwards, the story was republished many times, which, however, did not bring income to the writer, since then it was a matter of the future.

New misfortune

Edgar Poe's biography is full of sad events. As researchers of his life note, the reason for many of them was his passionate character, tendency to depression and alcohol. However, one of the main tragedies - the death of Virginia - was not his fault. The poet's wife was sick with tuberculosis. The first sign of a serious illness, throat bleeding, appeared in 1842. The patient was on the verge of death, but after some time she recovered. However, consumption, which took Edgar’s mother, did not give up. Virginia slowly died over several years.

For the writer’s unstable nervous system, this was a heavy blow. He practically stopped writing. The family was again in dire need of money. In 1844 they returned to New York. New works written by Edgar Allan Poe were published here. "The Raven", the poet's most famous poem, was published in the Evening Mirror magazine.

The culmination of creativity

Today Edgar Poe is considered one of the best American authors. He laid the foundation for the “science fiction” genre; the writer’s books became the first examples of mystical detective fiction. Poe's main work, which brought him fame and recognition, but not wealth, was “The Raven.” The poem perfectly conveys the writer's attitude towards life. A person has only a short moment filled with suffering and hard work, and all his hopes are in vain. The lyrical hero yearns for his dead beloved and asks the talking bird if he will ever be able to see her again. This is Edgar Poe: “The Raven” is distinguished by a special internal tension and tragedy that completely captivates the reader, despite the almost complete absence of a plot.

The writer received $10 for publication. However, "The Raven" brought him more than money. The poet became famous, he began to be invited to lectures in different cities, which somewhat strengthened his financial position. During the year that his “white” period lasted, Poe published the collection “The Raven and Other Poems,” published several new short stories and was invited to the editorial office of the Broadway Journal. However, even here his irrepressible character did not allow him to prosper for long. In 1845, he fell out with other publishers and remained the only editor, but due to lack of funds he was soon forced to give up his position.

Last years

Poverty came to the house again, and with it cold and hunger. Virginia died early in 1847. Many biographers note that the suffering poet was on the verge of madness. For some time he was unable to work due to grief and alcohol and survived only thanks to the care of a few loyal friends. But sometimes I gathered strength and wrote. This period saw the creation of such works as “Yulalyum”, “Bells”, “Annabel Lee” and “Eureka”. He fell in love again and shortly before his death he was planning to marry again. In Richmond, where the writer lectured on “The Poetic Principle,” his literary work, Edgar Allan Poe met his childhood friend Sarah Elmira Royster. He swore to his bride that he was done with binge drinking and depression. Before the wedding, all that remained was to settle some affairs in Philadelphia and New York.

The Mystery of Edgar Poe

On October 3, 1849, Edgar Poe was found half-insane on a bench in Baltimore. He was taken to the hospital, where he died without regaining consciousness on October 7. There is still no consensus on the reasons for the writer’s death. Many researchers of the issue are inclined to the version of the so-called cupping. Poe was discovered on election day. At that time, groups were rampant in Baltimore, driving citizens into secret shelters. People were pumped with alcohol or drugs, and then forced to vote for the “right” candidate several times. There is information that Edgar Allan Poe was drunk at the time of discovery, and not far from the ill-fated bench there was one of these shelters. On the other hand, the writer was famous in Baltimore at the time and would hardly have been chosen as a victim.

Possible causes today include various diseases, from hypoglycemia and brain tumors to alcoholism and laudanum overdose. The reason for this confusion is the lack of medical documents and the first biography of Edgar Allan Poe, written by Griswold, an enemy of the writer. He exposed the poet as a drunkard and a madman, not worthy of trust and attention. This view of Poe’s personality prevailed until the end of the 19th century.

Creative heritage

One version says that Poe's death was planned by the writer himself, as a last spectacular gesture for the public, greedy for mysticism and horror. The poet subtly felt what the reader wants. He understood that romanticism was much inferior in popularity to mysticism, which tickled the nerves and kept one in suspense. Edgar Poe, whose stories were full of fantastic incidents, skillfully combined imagination and logic. He became a pioneer of the genre. Science fiction occupies a significant place in the writer’s works. Edgar Allan Poe's books are distinguished by their combination of imagination and logic. He laid the tragic tradition in American literature, formulated the principles of science fiction, and gave the world a mystical detective story.

Today Edgar Allan Poe, whose books are an inspiration for many people, is considered a representative of intuitionism - a philosophical movement that recognizes the primacy of intuition in the process of cognition. However, the writer knew well that creativity is also painstaking work. He created his own aesthetic paradigm and several works on the theory of poetry: “Philosophy of Creativity”, “Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Novels”, “Poetic Principle”. In “Eureka” the writer presented philosophical and epistemological ideas. Edgar Allan Poe's contribution to the development of literature, including many genres beloved by modern readers, is invaluable. Studying his biography makes you think about fate and purpose. Who knows if Edgar Poe would have created so much if life had been more favorable to him?

Edgar Allan Poe(English) Edgar Allan Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer.

Brilliant prose writer. Brilliant poet. A tragic fate from birth to death. The very concept of genius - capacious and difficult to accurately define - was precisely for Edgar Allan Poe. His influence as a writer and poet on world literature is enormous - Charles Baudelaire and French Symbolism, almost the entire Russian Silver Age.

For more than 150 years separating us from the death of the brilliant writer, many biographies of him have been written - voluminous books and small notes, serious studies and erroneous theories. Despite their significant number, the life and death of Edgar Allan Poe continues to remain a mystery. It is difficult to imagine whether it will be solved in the future. The lack of documents (there is not even a certificate of his birth), the inconsistency of memories, and the desire of some authors to either hide the facts or adjust them to their own assumptions also have an effect.

Edgar's parents, actors David Poe Jr. and Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins, married in 1806. The eldest son - William Henry - was born in 1807, Edgar - on January 19, 1809, a year later their sister Rosalie was born. Edgar's mother died in December 1811 in Richmond (the most likely cause being pneumonia). Around the same time, their father died, having left the family shortly before. The story of the death of Edgar Poe's parents in the fire of the Richmond Theater is nothing more than a legend.

The children ended up in different families. Edgar Poe was taken in by tobacco businessman John Allan and his wife Frances. Allan Edgar received his middle name at baptism in 1812. Allan did not officially adopt him. From 1814, Edgar attended various schools in the USA and England (1815-1820).
The first (documented) work dates back to 1824. This is a two-line poem, not included in any of the collections. In 1826, Poe entered the University of Virginia, from which he was expelled for large gambling debts. John Allan refused to pay them, and subsequently did not mention Edgar in his will. There was a break between them. At the same time, his engagement to Elmira Royster, who married someone else, broke down.

Poe enlisted in the army under the name Edgar Perry. In 1827 in Boston in the amount of 50 copies. His first book, “Tamerlane and Other Poems,” was published, signed “Bostonian.” For many years, the search for this book was unsuccessful (which allowed Rufus Wilmot Griswold - the “black demon” in the fate of Poe’s legacy - to declare that this book did not exist at all, and Poe himself was a deceitful person). In 1880, one of the copies of this book was found in the British Museum.

Having risen to the rank of artillery sergeant, Poe left the service and settled in Baltimore with his aunt Mary Poe Clemm (whose daughter Virginia later became his wife). Here he published his second collection of poems.

In 1830, Edgar entered the West Point Military Academy, but since he no longer liked his military career, he began to skip classes, and was expelled by decision of a military court. In 1831, Poe's poems were published in New York. His short stories are published in Philadelphia, although without indicating the author's name. In 1833, he received his first fee ($50) for the story “The Manuscript Found in a Bottle.” In 1836-37 Poe served as editor of the Richmond Southern Liyerary Magazine. In 1836 he married Virginia. They moved to New York, and a year later to Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia period of creativity was the most fruitful. Poe wrote poems and stories. He worked as editor of "Gentlemen's Magazine", then "Graham's Magazine". Attempts to organize his own Penn magazine ended in failure.

In April 1841, Graham's magazine presented Edgar Poe's story "Murder in the Rue Morgue" - the first detective story. A new literary genre is born.

In 1842, Poe left Graham. It seemed to him that he was not paying enough for his work, but in the future he would not be able to earn even the money that he received from Graham. In 1846 Poe moved to New York. Attempts to open a new magazine - "Stylus" - remained unfulfilled. Due to financial problems, the Broadway magazine closed in 1846, the owner of which had by that time become Edgar Allan Poe. Poe moved to Fordham. Here Virginia dies in January 1847 (currently there is a museum of the writer there). In 1848, Edgar proposed to poet Sarah Whitman, but she rejected him due to Poe's addiction to alcohol. Then he proposes to his ex-fiancee Elmira Royster Shelton, who was widowed by that time. She agrees, and Poe begins to attend the anti-alcohol society “Sons of Temperance.”

On September 28, 1849, Poe arrived in Baltimore. A few days later, he was discovered in serious condition and wearing someone else’s clothes by a random passer-by on a city bench. Delivered to the hospital, he died there on October 7, 1849.

The death of Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most insoluble mysteries. He was discovered by Joseph Walker, who, at his request, contacted Dr. Snodgrass and the writer's uncle, Henry Herring. The doctor's first impression was that Poe was in a state of severe alcohol intoxication.

The first (and most common) version of death is alcoholic. The writer's father and older brother were chronic alcoholics. It is common knowledge that Poe drank, but his addiction was of a binge nature. He could drink for weeks (as during his wife’s illness) or go without touching alcohol for months. This version is supported by the testimony of doctors who treated Edgar and warned him about the possibility of serious consequences from alcoholism. In addition, it is difficult to explain otherwise why Edgar ended up in Baltimore again if he had left it the day before. The only reason that came to mind to many researchers was that Edgar mixed up the trains and took the return train to Baltimore.

The second version (also medical) is based on the possibility of a mental disorder. In the last years of his life, Edgar suffered from mental disorders of the brain. The third (weakest) version insisted that the writer could have become an accidental victim of gangster violence. In those days, unscrupulous politicians often hired thugs to intimidate voters. Since local elections were taking place in Baltimore in those days, Poe could have been accidentally injured, and the stranger’s clothes on him should have made identification difficult.

The latest version talks about a banal robbery. According to one account, Poe had $1,500 on him to start a new magazine, and the money was not found on him. Poe's detractors, unable to comprehend the scope of his talent, found an explanation for his imagination in alcohol and drugs. Allegations about drug addiction were based solely on the writer’s creative manner of telling the story from the first (including in those works where opium was mentioned). Thus, there was an erroneous identification of the narrator of the works with the personality of the author himself.

Poe's detective work is small in volume - a cycle of three stories about Auguste Dupin: "Murder in the Rue Morgue" (1841), "The Mystery of Marie Roger" (1842-1843), "The Stolen Letter" (1844) ; a short story “You are the man who did this” (1844) and, considered by some researchers to be one of these works, “The Golden Bug” (1843). But the writer’s creative discoveries in these several works became invaluable for the development of a new genre. This is a logical analysis used to solve a crime, a method of highlighting the unusual mental abilities of the investigating hero against the background of the presence of a close friend, acquaintance or police officer, and much more.

Poe's misadventures did not end after his death. On the day of his funeral, a slanderous obituary was published in the New York Tribune, signed "Ludwig." Behind him was the same Rufus Griswold, who, with the consent of Poe’s aunt (and mother-in-law), for many years arrogated to himself the sole right to publish the writer’s works.

In 1860, Sarah Whitman (the same one who once rejected a marriage proposal) published the book “Edgar Allan Poe and His Critics” in defense of the writer. Griswold's monopoly was ended in 1874 (by that time he had already died), and the publication of books began to be led by John Henry Ingmar, who found Poe's first book in the British Museum and wrote a two-volume biography of the writer.

In 1910, Edgar Allan Poe was inducted into the New York Hall of Fame. In 1922, the writer's museum, Old Stones, opened in Richmond, so named because it was built from blocks from Poe's house and the building of his first magazine.

In memory of the great writer, the highest award of the Crime Writers Association of America began to bear the name of Edgar Allan Poe.

By Edgar Allan (1809-1849), American writer.

Born on January 19, 1809 in Boston into a family of traveling actors. He became an orphan very early: in 1810 Edgar’s father disappeared, and two years later his mother died. The boy was taken in by the family of a merchant from Richmond, J. Allan.

In 1815-1820 Poe lived in England, where he was brought up in a boarding school. Upon returning to America, he studied at college. In 1826, he entered the University of Virginia, which he had to leave a year later because his adoptive father flatly refused to pay his stepson’s gambling debts. Having fled from creditors, Poe enlisted in the army, and in 1830 he became a student at the military academy at West Point. However, the hardships of military service turned out to be too much for the young poet, who by that time had published his first collections of poems. Leaving everything behind, he went to Baltimore, where his aunt lived, and devoted himself entirely to literary activity.

He wrote stories, poems, critical articles, and worked as an editor. In 1835, Poe was offered to head the journal Southern Literary Messenger. The improvement of his life allowed him to start a family - in 1836 he married his 14-year-old cousin Virginia. However, the happiness lasted only 11 years. The death of his wife from consumption in 1847 was a terrible shock for Poe, from which he could no longer recover. The writer fell into depression and tried to commit suicide. To drown out the mental pain, I became interested in alcohol.

Poe stands at the origins of several genres: science fiction (The Tale of the Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pym, 1838); horror literature (two-volume “Grotesques and Arabesques”, 1840); detective (“Murder in the Rue Morgue”, 1841; “The Gold Bug”, 1843).

This writer is considered an unsurpassed master of the short story, which under his pen could be tragic, humorous, “scary,” and fantastic.

Poe's early poetry bears the features of romanticism ("Tamerlane and Other Poems", 1827). In adulthood, he tried, with the help of his imagination, to overcome the finiteness of time and the inevitability of death (“The Raven” and Other Poems, 1845). In mysticism, Poe seeks answers to questions tormenting his soul.

Edgar Allan Poe. Born January 19, 1809 in Boston, USA - died October 7, 1849 in Baltimore, USA. American writer, poet, essayist, literary critic and editor, representative of American romanticism. The creator of the form of modern detective fiction and the genre of psychological prose.

Some of Edgar Poe's works contributed to the formation and development of science fiction, and such features of his work as irrationality, mysticism, doom, and anomalousness of the depicted states anticipated the literature of decadence.

Edgar Poe was one of the first American writers to make the short story the main form of his work. He tried to make money exclusively from literary activities, as a result of which his life and career were fraught with severe financial difficulties, complicated by a problem with alcohol.

Over twenty years of creative activity, Edgar Poe wrote two stories, two poems, one play, about seventy short stories, fifty poems and ten essays, published in magazines and almanacs, and then collected in collections.

Despite the fact that during his lifetime Edgar Poe was known primarily as a literary critic, his literary works later had a significant influence on world literature, as well as cosmology and cryptography. He was one of the first American writers, whose fame in his homeland was significantly inferior to that in Europe. Symbolists paid special attention to his work, drawing ideas for their own aesthetics from his poetry.

Edgar Poe was highly praised by Arthur Conan Doyle and Howard Phillips Lovecraft, recognizing his role as a pioneer in the genres that they popularized.

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston., in the family of actors Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and David Poe Jr. Elizabeth Poe was born in Great Britain. At the beginning of 1796, she and her mother, also an actress, moved to the United States, where she began performing on stage from a very early age.

Poe's father was born in Ireland, the son of David Poe Sr., who emigrated to America with his son. Edgar Poe's grandfather had the rank of major, actively supported the revolutionary movement in the United States and was a direct participant in the War of Independence. David Poe Jr. was supposed to become a lawyer, but against the wishes of his father, he chose the profession of an actor.

Edgar was the middle child in the family, he had an older brother, William Henry Leonard, and a younger sister, Rosalie.

The life of touring actors involved constant moving, which was difficult to do with a child in hand, so little Edgar was temporarily left with his grandfather in Baltimore. There he spent the first few months of his life. A year after Edgar's birth, his father left the family. Nothing is known for certain about his further fate. On December 8, 1811, Poe's mother died of consumption.

The little boy, left without parental care, attracted the attention of the wife of John Allan, a wealthy merchant from Richmond, and soon the childless family took him in. Sister Rosalie ended up with the Mackenzie family, who were neighbors and friends of the Allans, while brother Henry lived with his father's relatives in Baltimore.

Edgar Poe's adoptive family was one of the wealthy and respected in Richmond. John Allan was a co-owner of a company that traded in tobacco, cotton and other goods. The Allans had no children, so the boy was easily and happily accepted into the family. Edgar Allan Poe grew up in an atmosphere of prosperity, they bought him clothes, toys, books, and he was taught by a certified teacher at home.

In 1815, the family (as well as Anne Valentine, the elder sister of Frances, John Allan's wife) went to Great Britain. John Allan, whose business was experiencing certain difficulties associated with the decline of the economy after the Napoleonic wars, sought to improve trade relations with Europe. Arriving in Liverpool, the family went to live with Allan's relatives in Scotland, in the cities of Erwin and Kilmarnock. A few weeks later, another move took place - to London, where Edgar Allan Poe graduated from Madame Dubois's elementary school.

In 1817, studies continued at the school of Reverend John Bransby in Stoke Newington, a suburb of the capital. Edgar Poe's memories of this period of his life are reflected in the story "William Wilson".

Edgar finished his last academic year ahead of schedule. The reason for this was a hasty return to the United States - John Allan’s business in England was not going well, serious financial difficulties arose, and his wife Frances was seriously ill. The merchant even had to borrow money for the return journey from his companion. In the summer of 1820, a transatlantic sea voyage took place, and on August 2 the family arrived in Richmond.

On February 14, 1826, Edgar Allan Poe left for Charlottesville, where he entered the newly opened University of Virginia. Education at the institution founded by Thomas Jefferson was expensive (in a letter to his stepfather, Poe calculated the total costs and indicated the amount at $350 per year), so the university students were the children of wealthy families in the state.

Upon admission, Edgar Allan Poe chose two courses to study (out of a possible three): classical philology (Latin and Greek) and modern languages ​​(French, Italian, Spanish). The seventeen-year-old poet, who left his parents' home, was left to himself for the first time for a long time.

Edgar Poe's school day ended at 9:30, the rest of the time was supposed to be devoted to reading educational literature and preparing homework, but the offspring of wealthy parents, brought up in the “true spirit” of gentlemanliness, could not resist the temptation of the “eternally fashionable” card games and wine in the high society . Edgar Poe, educated in London and raised in a respected family, undoubtedly considered himself a gentleman. The desire to confirm this status, and later the need for a livelihood, led him to the card table. At the same time Edgar Poe started drinking for the first time.

By the end of the school year, Poe's total debts amounted to $2,500 (about $2,000 of which were gambling debts). Having received letters demanding payment, John Allan immediately went to Charlottesville, where a stormy discussion took place with his stepson. As a result, Allan paid only a tenth of the total amount (fees for books and services), refusing to acknowledge Edgar's gambling debts.

Despite Poe's obvious success in his studies and successfully passing his exams, he could no longer remain at the university and after the end of the academic year, on December 21, 1826, he left Charlottesville.

Returning home to Richmond, Edgar Poe had no idea about his future prospects. Relations with John Allan were seriously damaged; he did not want to put up with his “careless” stepson. At this time, Poe was intensively engaged in creativity. It was probably in the Allan house that many of the poems that were later included in the first collection of the aspiring poet were written. Poe also tried to find a job, but his stepfather not only did not contribute to this, but also, as educational measures, in every possible way prevented his employment.

In March 1827, the “silent” conflict escalated into a serious quarrel, and Allan kicked his adopted son out of the house. Poe settled in the Court-House tavern, from where he wrote letters to Allan accusing him of injustice and making excuses, continuing the showdown in epistolary form. Later, these letters are replaced by others - with requests for money, which the adoptive father ignored. After staying in the tavern room for several days, Poe traveled to Norfolk on March 23 and then to Boston.

In his hometown, Edgar, by chance, met a young publisher and typographer Calvin Thomas, and he agreed to publish his first collection of poems.

""Tamerlane" and other poems" written under a pseudonym "Bostonian", published in June 1827. Fifty copies of 40 pages were printed and sold for 12.5 cents each.

In 2009, an unknown collector purchased one of the surviving copies of Poe’s debut collection at auction, paying for it a record amount for American literature - $662,500.

In his first collection of poetry, Edgar Poe included the poem “Tamerlane” (which he would subsequently edit and refine several times), the poems “To ***”, “Dreams”, “Spirits of Death”, “Evening Star”, “Imitation”, “ Stanzas”, “Dream”, “Happiest Day”, “Lake”. In the preface to the publication, the author apologized for the possible low quality of the poetry, justifying this by the fact that most of the poems were written in 1820-1821, when he “was not yet fourteen.” Most likely, this is an exaggeration - Poe, of course, began writing early, but he really turned to poetry while studying at the university and later.

As one might expect, the collection did not attract the attention of readers and critics. Only two publications wrote about its release, without giving it any critical assessment.

On May 26, 1827, Edgar Allan Poe, desperate for money, signed an army contract for a period of five years and became a private in the First Regiment of Artillery of the US Army. Poe's place of service was Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island, located at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, the same fort that 50 years ago proved impregnable to the British army. The nature of the island where the writer spent a year was subsequently reflected in the story "Golden Bug".

Edgar Allan Poe served at the headquarters and handled paperwork, which is not surprising for a man who was literate (a rather rare phenomenon for the army of that time) and had neat handwriting. And his “gentlemanly” origin, good upbringing and diligence ensured sympathy among the officers.

At the end of February 1829, Frances Allan's condition worsened. The disease, which made itself felt back in England, only progressed. On the night of February 28, when his wife's condition became critical, John Allan wrote a short letter in which he asked his adopted son to come immediately. Frances Allan died on the morning of the same day. Edgar Allan Poe was able to arrive in Richmond only on March 2, not even having time to attend the funeral of his adoptive mother, whom he loved very much.

Remaining at home until the end of his leave, Poe again approached Allan, and this time they reached an understanding. Having received the necessary documents from his adoptive father, Poe returned to the army, where the process of releasing him from service immediately began. The order was signed, and on April 15, 1829 he was discharged from the army.

After returning from Washington, where he went to hand over the papers and recommendations necessary for admission to West Point, Edgar Poe went to Baltimore, where his relatives lived: brother Henry Leonard, aunt Maria Klemm, her children Henry and Virginia, as well as Elizabeth Poe is the elderly widow of David Poe Sr. Not having enough money to rent his own home, the poet, with the permission of Maria Klemm, settled in their house.

The time spent waiting for a response from Washington was spent caring for his consumptive brother (who aggravated the disease with alcoholism) and preparing for the publication of a second collection of poetry. Poe edited the existing material and conducted active correspondence with magazines and publishing houses. And the efforts were not in vain - at the end of December 1829 the collection was published. 250 copies “Al-Aaraaf, Tamerlane and short poems” were published by the Baltimore publisher Hatch and Dunning.

Around Christmas, Edgar Poe returned home to Richmond, where in May 1830 he received confirmation of his enrollment at West Point. In the same month, a fatal quarrel occurred between him and his adoptive father. The reason for her was a letter that was not intended for John Allan and should not have been in his hands. In it, Edgar Poe spoke impartially about his guardian, unequivocally accusing him of drunkenness. The hot-tempered Allan could not stand this and kicked Edgar Allan Poe out of the house for the second and last time. They still corresponded after this breakup, but never saw each other again. Soon John Allan married for the second time.

At the end of June 1830, Edgar Allan Poe became a cadet at the US Army Military Academy. The training was not easy (especially the first 2 months of camp life), but the army experience helped the poet quickly get used to it. Despite the strict daily routine and almost full daily employment, Edgar Allan Poe found time for creativity.

Among the cadets, pamphlets and satirical parodies of mentor officers and life within the walls of the academy were especially popular. The third collection of poems was being prepared for publication. The studies were successful, cadet Poe was in good standing and had no complaints from the officers, but in January he wrote a letter to John Allan, in which he asked for his help to leave West Point. Probably the reason for such a drastic decision was the news of the marriage of his guardian, which deprived Edgar Poe of the slimmest chances of being officially adopted and inheriting anything.

Without waiting for an answer, Edgar Allan Poe decided to act on his own. In January 1831, he began to ignore inspections and training, did not go on guard duty and sabotaged formations. The result was an arrest and subsequent trial, at which he was accused of “gross violation of official duties” and “ignoring orders.” On February 8, 1831, Poe was discharged from the service of the United States, and on February 18 he left West Point.

Edgar Allan Poe went to New York, where in April 1831 the poet's third book was published - a collection "Poems", which, in addition to the republished “Tamerlane” and “Al-Aaraafa,” included new works: “Israfel”, “Paean”, “The Condemned City”, “To Helen”, “Sleeping”. Also on the pages of the collection, Poe turned to literary theory for the first time, writing “A Letter to...” - an essay in which the author discussed the principles of poetry and the problems of national literature. The “poems” contained a dedication to the “U.S. Army Cadet Corps.” 1,000 copies of the book were printed at the expense of West Point cadets who subscribed to the collection in anticipation of the usual parodies and satirical poems with which their classmate had once entertained them.

Having no means of subsistence, Edgar Poe moved to relatives in Baltimore, where he made futile attempts to find work. Desperate lack of money prompted the poet to turn to prose - he decided to take part in the competition for the best story by an American author with a prize of 100 dollars.

Edgar Poe approached the matter in detail: he studied magazines and various publications of that time in order to determine the principles (stylistic, plot, composition) of writing short prose that was popular with readers. The result of the research was “Metzengerstein”, “Duke de L'Omelette”, “On the Walls of Jerusalem”, “Significant Loss” and “Failed Deal” - stories that the aspiring prose writer sent to the competition. The results, disappointing for their author, were summed up on December 31, 1831 of the year - Edgar Poe didn't win. Over the next year, these stories were published without attribution (those were the conditions) in the newspaper that organized the competition.

Failure did not force Edgar Allan Poe to abandon the form of short prose in his work. On the contrary, he continued to hone his skills, write stories, from which at the end of 1832 he formed a collection that was never published "Folio Club Stories".

In June 1833, another literary competition was held, with prizes of $50 for the best story and $25 for the best poem. It was known that the jury included competent people - famous writers of the time, John Pendleton Kennedy and John Latrobe.

Edgar Allan Poe participated in both categories, submitting 6 stories and the poem “The Colosseum” to the competition. On October 12, the results were announced: Edgar Poe's "The Manuscript Found in a Bottle" was awarded as the best short story., the best poem - "Song of the Winds" Henry Wilton (under this pseudonym was the editor-in-chief of the newspaper that organized the competition).

Subsequently, John Latrobe confirmed that the author of the truly best poem was also Edgar Allan Poe. The jury spoke highly of the young writer's work, noting that it was extremely difficult for them to choose one best story out of his six. In fact, this was the first authoritative recognition of Edgar Allan Poe's talent.

Despite winning the competition, Poe's financial situation in 1833-1835 remained extremely difficult. There was no regular cash flow, the writer continued unsuccessful attempts to find work related to literature. The only source of income in the family was the pension of the paralyzed widow of David Poe Sr. - $240 a year, which was paid irregularly.

In August 1834, Richmond printer Thomas White began publishing a new monthly magazine, the Southern Literary Messenger, with the help of famous writers of the time, including John Kennedy. He, in turn, recommended Edgar Poe to White as a promising talented writer, marking the beginning of their collaboration.

Already in March 1835, the story “Berenice” appeared on the pages of the monthly, and in June the first hoax written by Poe was published - "The Extraordinary Adventure of a Certain Hans Pfaal".

On May 16, 1836, Edgar Poe married Virginia Clemm. She was his cousin, and at the time of the marriage she was only 13 years old. The couple honeymooned in Petersburg, Virginia. Around this time, Edgar Allan Poe began to write his greatest prose text - "The Tale of the Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pym". The decision to write a voluminous work was dictated by reader preferences: many publishing houses refused to publish his stories, citing the fact that the small format of prose was not popular.

In May 1837, an economic crisis broke out in the United States. It also affected the publishing sector: newspapers and magazines were closed, and there were massive layoffs of employees. Edgar Allan Poe also found himself in a difficult situation, being left without work for a long time. But the forced idleness was not in vain - he could finally concentrate on creativity.

During the New York period, the writer wrote the stories “Ligeia”, “The Devil in the Bell Tower”, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “William Wilson”, and work continued on “Arthur Gordon Pym”. The rights to the story were sold to the reputable New York publishing house Harper and Brothers, where it was published on July 30, 1838. However, Poe's first voluminous prose work was not a commercial success.

In early December 1839, Lea & Blanchard published Grotesques and Arabesques, a two-volume collection of 25 stories written by Poe up to that time.

In April 1841, Graham's Magazine published a story that later brought Poe worldwide fame as the founder of the detective genre - "Murder in the Rue Morgue". “The Descent into Maelström” was published there in May.

In January 1842, Edgar Allan Poe's young wife suffered her first severe attack of tuberculosis, accompanied by throat bleeding. Virginia found herself bedridden for a long time, and the writer again lost his peace of mind and ability to work. The depressed state was accompanied by frequent and prolonged binges.

All subsequent time, the condition of Edgar Allan Poe's wife had a huge impact on his mental health, which was extremely susceptible to the slightest deterioration of the situation. A repeated exacerbation of Virginia’s illness occurred in the summer of the same year, and again the writer’s deep experiences and mental anguish were reflected in his work - they permeated the stories “The Well and the Pendulum” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” written shortly after the incident. Poe found salvation in writing.

In November 1842, the story of Auguste Dupin's investigations was continued. The magazine Snowden's Ladies' Companion published the story "The Mystery of Marie Roger", based on a real murder that occurred in New York in 1841. Using all the materials available to the investigation, he conducted his own investigation on the pages of the story (moving the action to Paris and changing the names) and pointed to the killer. Soon after this, the case was solved, and the correctness of the writer’s conclusions was confirmed.

It is worth noting that during the difficult period of 1842, Edgar Poe was able to personally meet with, whose work he rated very highly. They discussed literary issues and exchanged opinions during the latter's short visit to Philadelphia. Dickens promised to help with the publication of Poe's works in England. Even though nothing came of it, Dickens noted that Edgar Poe was "the only writer whom he was willing to help publish".

Finding himself without a job, and therefore without a livelihood, Edgar Allan Poe, through a mutual friend, turned to the son of President Tyler with a request to help get him a job at the Philadelphia Customs House. The need was great, since the writer began to look for work other than literary work, which brought an unstable income. Poe did not receive the position because he did not show up for the meeting, explaining this by his illness, although there is a version that the reason for the absence was heavy drinking. The family, which found itself in a difficult situation, had to change their place of residence several times, as there was a catastrophic lack of money and the debts grew. A case was brought against the writer, and on January 13, 1843, the Philadelphia District Court declared Edgar Allan Poe bankrupt, but a prison sentence was avoided.

Despite the difficult financial situation and loss of spirit associated with his wife’s illness, Edgar Allan Poe’s literary fame grew steadily. His works were published in many publications throughout the country and received critical reviews, many of which noted the author’s extraordinary talent and the power of his imagination. Even literary enemies wrote laudatory reviews, making them even more valuable.

Having devoted himself entirely to prose, he did not turn to poetry for three years (the last published poem was “Silence”, published in 1840). The “poetic silence” was broken in 1843 with the release of one of the writer’s darkest poems, “The Conquering Worm,” which seemed to contain all the mental anguish and despair of recent years, the collapse of hopes and illusions.

In February 1843, the New York publication The Pioneer published the famous "Linor". Poe returned to poetry, but short prose continued to be the main form of his work.

In July 1844, the New York newspaper Dollar Newspaper organized a competition for the best story, with a prize of $100 for first place. The winner was "Golden Bug" Edgar Poe. The work, in which the author revealed his talent as a cryptographer, became the property of Dollar Newspaper and was subsequently reprinted many times.

On April 6, 1844, Edgar and Virginia Poe moved to New York. A month later, Maria Klemm joined them. It is difficult to overestimate the role of the mother-in-law in the life of Edgar Allan Poe. Her thriftiness, hard work and endless care with which she surrounded her son-in-law and daughter were noted by many contemporaries who knew the family personally. Edgar loved his “Muddy” (probably short for “mummy” (“mom”) and “daddy” (“daddy”), as he often called her in letters, because with her appearance in his life she truly became like a mother to him .

In 1849, he dedicated a poem to her, full of tenderness and gratitude, “To My Mother.”

A week after the move, Edgar Allan Poe becomes the hero of a sensation: he caused a huge stir in reading circles "The Balloon Story", which was published in a special edition by the New York Sun. Originally intended as a hoax, the story was stylized as a news article. The idea for the plot was unknowingly suggested to Poe by the then famous aeronaut John Wise, who announced in one of the Philadelphia newspapers that he was going to make a transatlantic flight. The writer managed to achieve the desired effect - the next morning after publication, people literally “stormed” the publishing house.

Poe's hoaxes, in which great attention was paid to details based on technical innovations of the time, gave impetus to the subsequent development of the science fiction genre in literature.

Some time after reuniting with Maria Klemm, the family moved to new housing: the Brennan family rented them part of their mansion located outside the city. Poe continued to collaborate with many publications, offering them his articles and critical reviews. During this period, he had no problems with publications, but his income still remained modest. At the Brennan mansion, Poe wrote the poem “Dreamland,” which reflected the beauty of the nature that surrounded him. It was there that work began on the work that became the writer’s poetic magnum opus - a poem "Crow".

It is unknown whether Poe wrote The Crow with the goal of gaining final and unconditional recognition, inspired by the success of The Gold Bug and The Balloon Story, but there is no doubt that he approached the process of creating this work scrupulously and carefully.

It was an immediate and resounding success: publications across the country reprinted the poem, it was talked about in literary circles and beyond, and numerous parodies were written about it. Poe became a national figure and a frequent guest at social events, where he was asked to recite the famous poem. According to the writer's biographer Arthur Quinn, "The Raven made an impression that perhaps no other poetic work in American literature could surpass." Despite the enormous success among readers and widespread public recognition, the poem did little to improve the writer’s financial situation.

On February 21, 1845, Poe became part owner of the Broadway Journal, the head of which believed to increase sales of the publication by attracting a new celebrity to cooperation. According to the terms of the contract, Poe received a third of the magazine's sales, and the cooperation promised to be mutually beneficial.

At the same time, Poe began lecturing, which would become an important source of income for him. The first theme of the performances in New York and Philadelphia was “The Poets and Poetry of America.”

In July 1845, Poe published a story entitled "No Contradiction". The discussions on the topic of human nature, which are contained in its preamble, allow us to well understand the nature of the contradictory nature of the author himself. Tormented by his own “demon,” he repeatedly committed rash and illogical actions throughout his life, which inevitably led him to collapse. This happened at the peak of his fame, when, it seemed, nothing foreshadowed trouble.

On the pages of the magazine, of which he became a co-owner, Edgar Allan Poe did not publish any of his new works; he only reprinted old ones (which were edited and finalized each time). The lion's share of his work at that time consisted of literary articles, reviews, and criticism. It is not known what caused this, but Poe became more ruthless than ever in his criticism: he got it not only from authors he personally disliked, with whom he conflicted, but also from those who treated him favorably. As a result, within a short period of time, subscribers began to refuse Broadway Journal and authors turned away, and the publication became unprofitable. Soon both of Poe's companions left him, leaving him as the sole owner of the struggling magazine.

Poe desperately tried to save it, sending many letters to his friends and relatives asking for financial help. Most of them were not satisfied, and the money that he did receive was not enough. On January 3, 1846, the last issue was published, and Edgar Poe closed the Broadway Journal.

In April 1846, Poe started drinking again. Realizing the destructive role that alcohol played in his life, he still took the fatal step. The time of clouded consciousness came again: lectures were disrupted, public conflicts arose, and the reputation seriously suffered. The situation became even more complicated with the publication in May 1846 of Poe's first essays from the series "New York Writers". In them, Poe gave personal and creative characteristics of famous authors - his contemporaries, which for the most part were extremely negative. The reaction followed immediately: newspapers, at the suggestion of the “victims,” began a war against Poe - they denigrated his reputation, accusing him of immorality and godlessness. The press was dominated by the image of Poe as a deranged alcoholic with no control over his actions. They also recalled his literary affair with the poetess Frances Osgood, which ended in scandal. Among those affected by Poe's criticism, Thomas English especially distinguished himself. In the past, a friend of the writer, he published “Answer to Mr. Poe” in one of the newspapers, in which he added to the image of a poor, godless alcoholic that he was accused of forgery.

The publication with which Poe collaborated advised him to go to court, which he did. On February 17, 1846, Poe won a libel case against the Mirror magazine, which published the Reply, and received $225 in damages.

In May 1846, Edgar Poe moved to a small cottage in Fordham, a suburb of New York. The family was again in poverty, there was a desperate lack of money - Poe did not write anything in the summer and autumn. In one of the letters he refers to his illness - literary “wars” and scandals did not pass without a trace. Virginia's bedridden condition only worsened.

Virginia's condition seriously deteriorated in January 1847: the fever and pain intensified, and hemoptysis became more frequent. On January 29, Edgar Allan Poe wrote a desperate letter to Mary Shew, in which he asked her to come and say goodbye to Virginia, who had become so attached to her. Mrs. Shew arrived the next day and managed to find her alive. On January 30, 1847, towards nightfall, Virginia Poe died.

After the funeral of his wife, Edgar Allan Poe himself found himself bedridden - the loss was too severe for his sensitive, sensitive nature.

The central work of the last years of Edgar Poe’s life was "Eureka". “A poem in prose” (as Poe defined it), which spoke about subjects “physical, metaphysical, mathematical,” according to the author, was supposed to change people’s understanding of the nature of the Universe.

At five o'clock in the morning on October 7, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe died. According to Dr. Moran, before he died, he uttered his last words: “Lord, help my poor soul.”

Edgar Allan Poe's modest funeral took place at 4 p.m. on October 8, 1849, at Westminster Hall and Burying Ground Cemetery, now part of the grounds of the University of Maryland College of Law. The ceremony, attended by only a few people, was presided over by the Rev. W. T. D. Clemm, Virginia Poe's uncle. It lasted only three minutes due to the cold and dank weather. Psalmist George W. Spence wrote: “It was a gloomy and cloudy day, no rain, but damp, and a thunderstorm was approaching.” Poe was buried in the far corner of the cemetery, next to the grave of his grandfather, David Poe Sr., in a cheap coffin, without handles, nameplate, blanket or pillow under his head.

On October 1, 1875, the remains of Edgar Allan Poe were reburied in a new place, not far from the facade of the church. The new monument was made and erected with funds from residents of Baltimore and fans of the writer from other US cities. The total cost of the monument was a little more than $1,500. The festive service took place on November 17, 1875. On the 76th anniversary of Poe's birth, January 19, 1885, Virginia Poe's remains were reburied next to her husband's.

The circumstances preceding the death of Edgar Allan Poe, as well as its immediate cause, remain unclear to this day. All medical records and documents, including the death certificate, if they existed at all, were lost. There are several different theories about the cause of Poe's death, with varying degrees of plausibility, ranging from hypoglycemia to murder conspiracy.

There is another theory that is highlighted by many biographers of the writer. Elections to Congress and the Maryland State Assembly were scheduled for October 3 in Baltimore. At that time, there were no voter lists, which was used by opposing candidates and parties who formed special groups of voters. People under the influence of alcohol were gathered in special places, and then forced to vote several times. It is likely that Poe, the victim of a criminal scheme similar to the "voting carousel", was rendered useless by his condition and was abandoned near the 4th District polling station, where he was found by Joseph Walker. However, this theory also has its opponents, who claim that Poe, as a very well-known person in the city, would find it difficult to participate in such a scheme.

Every year, since 1949, an unknown person visited Edgar Allan Poe’s grave, paying tribute to the writer’s talent.

Early on the morning of January 19, a man dressed in black came to Poe's grave, made a toast and left a bottle of cognac and three roses on the gravestone. Sometimes notes of various contents were found on the tombstone. One of them, left in 1999, reported that the first secret admirer had died the previous year and the responsibility for continuing the tradition was assigned to his “heir.” The tradition continued for 60 years until 2009, when the secret admirer was last seen at the grave.

On August 15, 2007, 92-year-old Sam Porpora, a historian at Westminster Church where Poe is buried, said he started the tradition of visiting Poe's grave every year on his birthday. He said that the purpose of his action was to raise funds for the needs of the church and increase interest in it. However, his story was not confirmed - some of the details he expressed were not consistent with the facts.

In 2012, Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House Museum, who had previously denied rumors that he was a fan, declared the end of the tradition. Edgar Poe - American prose writer, poet, essayist, literary critic and editor, representative of American romanticism - was born January 19, 1809

Edgar was the middle child in the family, he had an older brother, William Henry Leonard (1807-1831), and a younger sister, Rosalie (1810-1874). The life of touring actors involved constant moving, which was difficult to do with a child in hand, so little Edgar was temporarily left with his grandfather in Baltimore. There he spent the first few months of his life. A year after Edgar's birth, his father left the family. Nothing is known for certain about his further fate. December 8, 1811 Poe's mother died of consumption. The little boy, left without parental care, attracted the attention of the wife of John Allan, a wealthy merchant from Richmond, and soon the childless family took him in. Sister Rosalie ended up with the Mackenzie family, who were neighbors and friends of the Allans, while brother Henry lived with his father's relatives in Baltimore.

Edgar Poe's adoptive family was one of the wealthy and respected in Richmond. John Allan was a co-owner of a company that traded in tobacco, cotton and other goods. The Allans had no children, so the boy was easily and happily accepted into the family. Edgar Allan Poe grew up in an atmosphere of prosperity, they bought him clothes, toys, books, and he was taught by a certified teacher at home.

In 1815 The family (as well as Anne Valentine, the elder sister of Frances, John Allan's wife) went to Great Britain. John Allan, whose business was experiencing certain difficulties associated with the decline of the economy after the Napoleonic wars, sought to improve trade relations with Europe. Arriving in Liverpool, the family went to live with Allan's relatives in Scotland, in the cities of Erwin and Kilmarnock. A few weeks later, another move took place - to London, where Edgar Allan Poe graduated from Madame Dubois's elementary school. In 1817 Studies continued at the school of Reverend John Bransby in Stoke Newington, a suburb of the capital. Edgar Allan Poe's memories of this period of his life are reflected in the story “William Wilson.”

Edgar finished his last academic year ahead of schedule. The reason for this was a hasty return to the United States - John Allan’s business in England was not going well, serious financial difficulties arose, and his wife Frances was seriously ill. The merchant even had to borrow money for the return journey from his companion. Summer 1820 a transatlantic sea voyage took place, and already August 2 the family arrived in Richmond.

The first year after returning to America turned out to be difficult for the Allans. Their house was leased for a long time, so they had to settle with John Allan's partner, C. Ellis, who allowed them to live with him for free. In the same year, Edgar Allan Poe went to school, where he studied ancient literature and history, Latin, Greek and French, and mathematics. Attention was also given to English literature, represented by Ban Jonson, Alexander Pope, John Milton and other authors. During this period, Edgar Allan Poe's interest in his native literature arose, and his first steps in poetry also belong to him.

In 1824 Richmond was visited by the Marquis de Lafayette, a celebrated hero of the Revolution and ally of David Poe the Elder. In the city, for the arrival of the general, ceremonial events and a parade were organized, in which Edgar Allan Poe was a participant. He was chosen as a lieutenant of the Richmond Young Volunteers, composed of students from the best schools in the city.

Early 1825 John Allan's uncle, one of the richest men in Virginia, died due to illness. He had no direct heirs, but there were many potential heirs in the form of relatives, but they all lived in Scotland. In his last will, he bequeathed most of his fortune to his Richmond nephew. John Allan received $750,000, a huge sum at the time, and the family's life immediately changed. The company's business took off, a luxurious mansion was purchased, and Edgar was taken out of school and teachers were hired to prepare him for entering the university.

February 14, 1826 Edgar Allan Poe went to Charlottesville, where he entered the newly opened University of Virginia. Education at the institution founded by Thomas Jefferson was expensive, so the university's students were the children of wealthy families in the state. Upon admission, Edgar Allan Poe chose two courses to study (out of a possible three): classical philology (Latin and Greek) and modern languages ​​(French, Italian, Spanish). The seventeen-year-old poet, who left his parents' home, was left to himself for the first time for a long time.

Edgar Poe, educated in London and raised in a respected family, undoubtedly considered himself a gentleman. The desire to confirm this status, and later the need for a livelihood, led him to the card table. At the same time, Edgar Allan Poe began drinking for the first time.

By the end of the school year, Poe's total debts amounted to $2,500 (about $2,000 of which were gambling debts). Having received letters demanding payment, John Allan immediately went to Charlottesville, where a stormy discussion took place with his stepson. As a result, Allan paid only a tenth of the total amount (fees for books and services), refusing to acknowledge Edgar's gambling debts. Despite Poe’s obvious success in his studies and successfully passing his exams, he could no longer remain at the university even after the end of the academic year, December 21, 1826, left Charlottesville.

Returning home to Richmond, Edgar Poe had no idea about his future prospects. Relations with John Allan were seriously damaged; he did not want to put up with his “careless” stepson. At this time, Poe was intensively engaged in creativity. It was probably in the Allan house that many of the poems that were later included in the first collection of the aspiring poet were written. Poe also tried to find a job, but his stepfather not only did not contribute to this, but also, as educational measures, in every possible way prevented his employment. In March 1827 The “silent” conflict escalated into a serious quarrel, and Allan kicked his adopted son out of the house. Poe settled in the Court-House tavern, from where he wrote letters to Allan accusing him of injustice and making excuses, continuing the showdown in epistolary form. Later, these letters are replaced by others - with requests for money, which the adoptive father ignored. After staying in the tavern room for several days, Poe traveled to Norfolk on March 23 and then to Boston.

In his hometown, Edgar, by chance, met a young publisher and typographer Calvin Thomas, and he agreed to publish his first collection of poems. “Tamerlane and Other Poems,” written under the pseudonym “Bostonian,” was published in June 1827.

In his first collection of poetry, Edgar Poe included the poem “Tamerlane” (which he would subsequently edit and refine several times), the poems “To ***”, “Dreams”, “Spirits of Death”, “Evening Star”, “Imitation”, “ Stanzas”, “Dream”, “Happiest Day”, “Lake”. As one might expect, the collection did not attract the attention of readers and critics. Only two publications wrote about its release, without giving it any critical assessment.

26 May 1827 Edgar Allan Poe, in dire need of money, signed an army contract for a period of five years and became a private in the First Artillery Regiment of the US Army.

Edgar Allan Poe served at the headquarters and handled paperwork, which is not surprising for a man who was literate (a rather rare phenomenon for the army of that time) and had neat handwriting. And his “gentlemanly” origin, good upbringing and diligence ensured sympathy among the officers. January 1, 1829 Edgar A. Perry was promoted to the rank of regimental master sergeant, the highest non-officer rank.

In December 1828 The regiment was transferred to Fort Monroe, located in Hampton, near Norfolk. The soldier at headquarters had enough time free from service, and Edgar Allan Poe spent it reading and writing. He not only wrote new poems, but also refined the old ones, hatching a plan to publish the next collection of higher quality material. At the same time, the service began to weigh heavily on Poe; he realized that he was wasting time, and, having enlisted the support of a fellow officer, he decided to attempt to demobilize ahead of schedule. Edgar Poe wrote several letters to his adoptive father, in which he expressed his desire to enter West Point Academy, but John Allan did not answer any of them.

At the end of February 1829 Frances Allan's condition worsened. The disease, which made itself felt back in England, only progressed. On the night of February 28, when his wife's condition became critical, John Allan wrote a short letter in which he asked his adopted son to come immediately. Frances Allan died on the morning of the same day. Edgar Allan Poe was able to arrive in Richmond only on March 2, not even having time to attend the funeral of his adoptive mother, whom he loved very much.

Remaining at home until the end of his leave, Poe again approached Allan, and this time they reached an understanding. Having received the necessary documents from his adoptive father, Poe returned to the army, where the process of releasing him from service immediately began. The order was signed and April 15, 1829.

After returning from Washington, where he went to hand over the papers and recommendations necessary for admission to West Point, Edgar Allan Poe went to Baltimore, where his relatives lived. Here Poe was preparing for the publication of his second collection of poetry. Poe edited the existing material and conducted active correspondence with magazines and publishing houses. And the efforts were not in vain - at the end of December 1829 year the collection was released.

At Christmas time Edgar Allan Poe returned home to Richmond, where in May 1830 received confirmation of his acceptance to West Point. In the same month, a fatal quarrel occurred between him and his adoptive father. The reason for her was a letter that was not intended for John Allan and should not have been in his hands. In it, Edgar Poe spoke impartially about his guardian, unequivocally accusing him of drunkenness. The hot-tempered Allan could not stand this and kicked Edgar Allan Poe out of the house for the second and last time. They still corresponded after this breakup, but never saw each other again. Soon John Allan married for the second time.

At the end of June 1830 Edgar Poe became a cadet at the US Army Military Academy. The training was not easy (especially the first 2 months of camp life), but the army experience helped the poet quickly get used to it. Despite the strict daily routine and almost full daily employment, Edgar Allan Poe found time for creativity. The third collection of poems was being prepared for publication. The studies were successful, cadet Poe was in good standing and had no complaints from the officers, but in January he wrote a letter to John Allan, in which he asked for his help to leave West Point. Probably the reason for such a drastic decision was the news of the marriage of his guardian, which deprived Edgar Poe of the slimmest chances of being officially adopted and inheriting anything. Without waiting for an answer, Edgar Allan Poe decided to act on his own. In January 1831 years, he began to ignore inspections and training, did not go on guard duty and sabotaged formations. The result was an arrest and subsequent trial, at which he was accused of “gross violation of official duties” and “ignoring orders.” February 8, 1831 Edgar Allan Poe was dismissed from the service of the United States, and 18th of Febuary he left West Point.

Edgar Allan Poe went to New York, where in April 1831 year, the poet’s third book was published - the collection “Poems”, which, in addition to the republished “Tamerlane” and “Al-Aaraafa”, included new works: “Israfel”, “Paean”, “The Condemned City”, “To Helen”, “Sleeping " It was also on the pages of the collection that Poe turned to literary theory for the first time.

Having no means of subsistence, Edgar Poe moved to relatives in Baltimore, where he made futile attempts to find work. Desperate lack of money prompted the poet to turn to prose. Failure did not force Edgar Allan Poe to abandon the form of short prose in his work. On the contrary, he continued to hone his skills, write stories, from which at the end of 1832 formed the collection “Folio Club Stories”, which was never published.

In June 1833 year, a literary competition was held, the prizes of which were 50 dollars for the best story and 25 for the best poem. Edgar Allan Poe participated in both categories, submitting 6 stories and the poem “The Colosseum” to the competition. On October 12, the results were announced: the best story was recognized as “The Manuscript Found in a Bottle” by Edgar Allan Poe, the best poem was “The Song of the Winds” by Henry Wilton (under this pseudonym was the editor-in-chief of the newspaper that organized the competition).

Despite winning the competition, Po's financial situation in 1833-1835 remained extremely difficult for years. March 27, 1834 John Allan died without mentioning Edgar Allan Poe in his will.

After winning the competition, Poe became close to John P. Kennedy, who became his friend and literary patron. Kennedy not only helped the writer with money during difficult periods, but also tried in every possible way to attract the attention of publishers and periodicals to the new talent of American literature.

In August 1834 Richmond typographer Thomas White began publishing a new monthly magazine, Southern Literary Messenger, for collaboration with which he attracted famous writers of the time, including John Kennedy. He, in turn, recommended Edgar Poe to White as a promising talented writer, marking the beginning of their collaboration. Already in March 1835 The story “Berenice” appeared on the pages of the monthly, and in June the first hoax written by Poe, “The Extraordinary Adventure of a Certain Hans Pfaal,” was published.

In September, Poe returned to Baltimore, where he was engaged to Virginia Klemm and a marriage license was issued to authorize the marriage.

16 May 1836 Edgar Poe married Virginia Clemm. She was his cousin, and at the time of the marriage she was only 13 years old. The couple honeymooned in Petersburg, Virginia. Around this time, Edgar Allan Poe began writing his greatest prose text, The Tale of the Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pym. The decision to write a voluminous work was dictated by reader preferences: many publishing houses refused to publish his stories, citing the fact that the small format of prose was not popular.

There were no signs of trouble, however, at the end of December Poe left the Southern Literary Messenger. The reason for the rift between White and Poe remained unclear. Anyway, early 1837 Poe left Richmond and went to New York with his wife and mother-in-law.

During the New York period, the writer wrote the stories “Ligeia”, “The Devil in the Bell Tower”, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “William Wilson”, and work continued on “Arthur Gordon Pym”. The rights to the story were sold to the reputable New York publishing house Harper and Brothers, where it was published July 30, 1838. However, Poe's first voluminous prose work was not a commercial success.

Edgar Allan Poe with his family midsummer 1838. There, with the help of his longtime acquaintance, he managed to formalize a collaboration with the newly created monthly American Museum. Over the course of a year, Poe's works appeared in it: stories, poems, criticism, reviews of new books.

The American Museum did not last long, and Poe could have found himself in an already difficult situation again, but in May 1839 he managed to get a job as an editor at Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. The relationship between Poe and the magazine's owner, William Burton, was not going well, which, in addition to personal conflicts, was due to their different views on the publication's policies.

Early December 1839 The publishing house Lea & Blanchard published “Grotesques and Arabesques” - a two-volume collection of 25 stories written by Poe up to that time. Summer 1840 Due to deepening disagreements with the owner, he left Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, which was sold to publisher George Graham at the end of the year.

In June 1840 Poe began to develop the idea of ​​his own magazine, starting to search for authors, correspondents, printers and potential subscribers. Soon the first prospectus of the future publication was published, to which Edgar Allan Poe gave the name The Penn. The original release date was January 1, 1841. Later the release was postponed to March, but even then it did not happen.

In April 1841 Graham's Magazine published a story that later brought Poe world fame as the founder of the detective genre - “Murder in the Rue Morgue.” “The Descent into Maelström” was published there in May. During Poe's tenure as editor, Graham's Magazine reached the national level.

In January 1842 Edgar Poe's young wife suffered her first severe attack of tuberculosis, accompanied by throat bleeding. Virginia found herself bedridden for a long time, and the writer again lost his peace of mind and ability to work. The depressed state was accompanied by frequent and prolonged binges. In May 1842 Poe left Graham's Magazine. The last story published in the issue of Graham's magazine, in which Edgar Poe was involved, was “The Masque of the Red Death” ( May 1842).

All subsequent time, the condition of Edgar Allan Poe's wife had a huge impact on his mental health, which was extremely susceptible to the slightest deterioration of the situation. A repeated exacerbation of Virginia’s illness occurred in the summer of the same year, and again the writer’s deep experiences and mental anguish were reflected in his work - they permeated the stories “The Well and the Pendulum” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” written shortly after the incident. Poe found salvation in writing. In November 1842 The story of Auguste Dupin's investigations was continued. The Snowden's Ladies' Companion magazine published the story "The Mystery of Marie Roger", based on a real murder that occurred in New York in 1841.

It is worth noting that during a difficult period 1842 Edgar Allan Poe was able to personally meet Charles Dickens, whose work he rated very highly.

Finding himself without a job, and therefore without a livelihood, Edgar Allan Poe, through a mutual friend, turned to the son of President Tyler with a request to help get him a job at the Philadelphia Customs House. Poe did not receive the position because he did not show up for the meeting, explaining this by his illness, although there is a version that the reason for the absence was heavy drinking. The family, which found itself in a difficult situation, had to change their place of residence several times, as there was a catastrophic lack of money and the debts grew. A case was brought against the writer, and January 13, 1843 The Philadelphia District Court declared Edgar Allan Poe bankrupt, but managed to avoid a prison sentence.

In January 1843 Poe found a partner who agreed to help publish his magazine. It was the head of the weekly Saturday Museum, Thomas Clarke. The name of the future publication was changed to The Stylus. Clark took over the financial side of the project, Poe began preparing the prospectus and finding subscribers. Especially for the first issue of the magazine, Poe wrote the story “The Gold Bug,” from which he expected a huge effect on readers. Poe's reputation as an unreliable drunkard also reached Clark. However, their agreement was still in force until May 1843, when Clark announced in the pages of his journal his refusal to participate in Edgar Allan Poe’s enterprise for “economic reasons.”

Despite the difficult financial situation and loss of spirit associated with his wife’s illness, Edgar Allan Poe’s literary fame grew steadily. Having devoted himself entirely to prose, he did not turn to poetry for three years (the last published poem was “Silence”, published in 1840). The "poetic silence" was broken in 1843 with the release of one of the writer’s darkest poems, “The Victorious Worm,” in which all the mental anguish and despair of recent years, the collapse of hopes and illusions seemed to be concentrated.

In February 1843 The famous “Linor” was published in the New York edition of The Pioneer. Poe returned to poetry, but short prose continued to be the main form of his work. The last years spent in Philadelphia were marked by the release of works, many of which are among the best in the author’s creative heritage: “The Black Cat” was published ( August 1843), "Glasses" ( March 1844), "The Tale of Steep Mountains" ( April 1844), "Premature Burial" ( July 1844), "Mesmeric Revelation" ( August 1844), "Angel of the Inexplicable" ( October 1844) and other stories.

April 6, 1844 Edgar and Virginia Poe moved to New York. A week after the move, Edgar Allan Poe became the hero of a sensation: “The Balloon Story,” which was published in a special edition by the New York Sun, caused a huge stir in reading circles. Poe's hoaxes, in which great attention was paid to details based on technical innovations of the time, gave impetus to the subsequent development of the science fiction genre in literature.

Poe continued to collaborate with many publications, offering them his articles and critical reviews. During this period, he had no problems with publications, but his income still remained modest. At the Brennan mansion, Poe wrote the poem “Dreamland,” which reflected the beauty of the nature that surrounded him. There, work began on a work that became the writer’s poetic magnum opus - the poem “The Raven”.

February 21, 1845 Poe became co-owner of the Broadway Journal. At the same time, Poe began lecturing, which would become an important source of income for him. The first theme of the performances in New York and Philadelphia was “The Poets and Poetry of America.”

In July 1845 Poe published a short story called "Without Contradiction." Tormented by his own “demon,” he repeatedly committed rash and illogical actions throughout his life, which inevitably led him to collapse. This happened at the peak of his fame, when, it seemed, nothing foreshadowed trouble.

January 3, 1846 The last issue was published, and Edgar Allan Poe closed the Broadway Journal.

In April 1846 Po started drinking again. The time of clouded consciousness came again: lectures were disrupted, public conflicts arose, and the reputation seriously suffered. The situation became even more complicated with the release in May 1846 Edgar Allan Poe's first essays from the New York Men of Letters series. In them, Poe gave personal and creative characteristics of famous authors - his contemporaries, which for the most part were extremely negative.

In May 1846 Edgar Poe moved to a small cottage in Fordham, a suburb of New York. The family was again in poverty, there was a desperate lack of money - Poe did not write anything in the summer and autumn.

Bedridden Virginia's condition has seriously deteriorated in January 1847. January 30, 1847, closer to night, Virginia Poe died.

After the funeral of his wife, Edgar Allan Poe himself found himself bedridden - the loss was too severe for his sensitive, sensitive nature. This was another serious mental breakdown, which had happened to the writer many times before.

For the previous 1846 year Edgar Poe published a collection of essays “Marginalia”, the stories “The Sphinx” and “The Cask of Amontillado” (a literary response to Thomas English). After a forced break, he returned to literary activity, which was no longer as active as before. In 1847 There were only four new publications: one review, one article, the poem “To M.L.Sh.” and the ballad “Ulalyum”. The latter work was published anonymously in the American Review.

The central work of the last years of Edgar Poe’s life was “Eureka”. “A poem in prose” (as Poe defined it), which spoke about subjects “physical, metaphysical, mathematical,” according to the author, was supposed to change people’s understanding of the nature of the Universe. He began working on Eureka as soon as he recovered from Virginia's death. Early 1848 Poe began lecturing again. "Eureka" was published in June 1848. This was the last new book published during the writer's lifetime.

In April 1849 Edgar Allan Poe received a letter from a wealthy Kentucky admirer named Edward Patterson, who suggested that he start a national magazine. He took upon himself the entire financial side of the project, and completely entrusted the literary side into the hands of the writer. Poe responded to the offer with great enthusiasm.

June 29 Poe left Fordham and headed to Richmond. The intermediate point was Philadelphia, a city where Poe got drunk upon arrival. He also lost his lecture bag and all the travel money he had. After staying in Philadelphia for some time, Poe, with the help of friends, finally made it to Richmond. The writer managed to cope with the difficult situation, and he stopped drinking, resumed lectures and began to successfully present his literary work, “The Poetic Principle.”

Keywords: Edgar Allan Poe, Edgar Allan Poe, biography of Edgar Poe, download detailed biography, download for free, American literature of the 19th century, life and work of Edgar Poe, American romanticism