The Portable Edgar Allan Poe (5 page)

Chronology

1809
Born in Boston to actors David Poe and Elizabeth Arnold Poe. Father born in Baltimore, son of Irish-born emigrant David Poe, Sr., American quartermaster during the Revolutionary War. English-born mother came to United States in 1796; wedded David Poe in 1805. Older brother William Henry Leonard Poe born in 1807.

1811
Mother dies of tuberculosis in Richmond, one year after birth of daughter, Rosalie. Father had abandoned family; likely died of tuberculosis in 1811. Richmond merchant John Allan and wife Frances become foster parents of Edgar; grandparents in Baltimore care for brother Henry, while Mackenzie family of Richmond welcomes Rosalie.

1815
Accompanies John and Frances Allan to England, where Allan opens a branch of his mercantile firm, Ellis and Allan, in London. Edgar visits Allan family relatives in Scotland and the following year enters boarding school in London as “Edgar Allan.”

1816
Paternal grandfather David Poe, Sr., dies in Baltimore.

1818
Enters Reverend Bransby’s Manor House School in Stoke Newington.

1820
Economic reverses compel Allan to close his London branch and return with family to Richmond, where Poe enrolls in Richmond Academy using his family name.

1822
Composes an ode for departing teacher, Joseph H. Clarke; cousin Virginia Clemm born in Baltimore.

1823
Enters William Burke’s school; meets Jane Stith Stanard, mother of a friend.

1824
Mourns death of Mrs. Stanard; makes six-mile swim in James River.

1825
Allan inherits a fortune, purchases a Richmond mansion; Poe becomes engaged to Sarah Elmira Royster.

1826
Enters University of Virginia; excels academically but incurs gambling debts; returns to Richmond, where Mr. Royster forbids daughter’s marriage to Poe.

1827
Quarrels with Allan and leaves home; sails to Boston under an alias; enlists in U.S. Army as Edgar A. Perry. Calvin F. S. Thomas publishes
Tamerlane and Other Poems;
Poe sails to South Carolina for duty at Fort Moultrie.

1828
Seeks release from army commitment; Elmira Royster marries Alexander Shelton; Poe and his unit relocate to Fortress Monroe, Virginia.

1829
Receives promotion to sergeant major and plans to seek appointment to West Point. Foster mother, Frances Allan, dies in Richmond. Poe hires military replacement and receives honorable discharge; moves to Baltimore, lodges at hotels and with relatives, seeks publisher for new poetry volume. Hatch and Dunning publish Poe’s
Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems
.

1830
Receives appointment to U.S. Military Academy; excels in French and mathematics. John Allan remarries, leaves New York without contacting Poe, forbids further communication.

1831
Devastated by Allan’s rejection, Poe neglects military duties, faces court-martial, receives dismissal. Finds New York publisher for third volume of verse; Elam Bliss issues
Poems,
purchased by 131 cadets. Poe moves to Baltimore, takes up residence with grandmother and aunt, writes tales in response to newspaper contest. Brother William Henry Leonard Poe dies of consumption. John Allan, Jr., born in Richmond. Baltimore beset by cholera epidemic; Poe experiences long illness. Delia S. Bacon wins
Saturday Courier
contest.

1832
Philadelphia
Saturday Courier
publishes “Metzengerstein” and four more tales by Poe. John Allan, in failing health, revises his will. Second Allan son born. Poe tutors cousin Virginia, seeks employment.

1833
Baltimore
Saturday Visiter
announces literary contest; Poe submits several new tales and poems. “MS. Found in a Bottle” wins fifty-dollar prize for fiction. John Pendleton Kennedy offers Poe’s “Tales of the Folio Club” to a Philadelphia publisher. Poe does odd jobs for Kennedy and the
Visiter
.

1834
Godey’s Lady’s Book
publishes “The Visionary” (later called “The Assignation”). Poe rebuffed by Allan in last meeting in Richmond; Allan dies six weeks later, leaving Poe without an inheritance. Thomas W. White launches
Southern Literary Messenger
. Henry C. Carey declines to publish Poe’s tales.

1835
Kennedy aids destitute Poe; recommends him to White as prospective employee. Poe contributes “Berenice” and other tales to
Messenger,
writes reviews, offers advice to White. Grandmother Elizabeth Poe dies in Baltimore. Poe travels to Richmond to apply for teaching position; assists White; suffers suicidal crisis; returns to Baltimore, perhaps to marry Virginia secretly. Returns to Richmond with Virginia and Mrs. Clemm as housemates; resumes work at
Messenger,
publishes many reviews, reprints his tales and poems, and expands journal’s national reputation.

1836
Marries Virginia in public ceremony; enjoys acclaim as editor, despite White’s refusal to confer title; publishes many reviews, notes, and essays. Harper & Brothers decline to publish “Folio Club” tales; advise Poe to write novel. White threatens to fire Poe for drinking.

1837
White dismisses Poe.
Messenger
publishes two installments of Poe’s novel,
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
. With wife and mother-in-law, Poe moves to New York, completes novel, and secures contract with Harper & Brothers. Panic of 1837 postpones publication of
Pym;
Poe remains unemployed and impoverished.

1838
Relocates to Philadelphia; unsuccessfully seeks employment. Harper & Brothers publish
Pym;
novel receives mixed reviews. Poe publishes “Ligeia” in Baltimore
American Museum
. Allows Thomas Wyatt to use his name as author of textbook on seashells.

1839
Obtains position at
Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine;
meets Philadelphia literati; publishes “William Wilson” in
The Gift
and “The Fall of the House of Usher” in
Burton’s
. Lea & Blanchard publish Poe’s
Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque
in December. Poe issues challenge in
Alexander’s Weekly Messenger
to solve any cryptogram submitted by readers.

1840
Begins serialization of “The Journal of Julius Rodman” in
Burton’s;
solves cryptograms in
Alexander’s;
accuses Longfellow of plagiarism. Burton dismisses Poe for issuing
Penn Magazine
prospectus; project elicits encouragement from many quarters. Poe meets Frederick W. Thomas; contributes “The Man of the Crowd” to newly created
Graham’s Magazine;
suffers prolonged illness that delays
Penn
.

1841
Financial crisis further postpones
Penn
. Poe takes job on
Graham’s
staff; publishes “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “A Descent into the Maelström.” Meets Rufus Griswold; plans to edit new monthly magazine in collaboration with George Graham and solicits work from noted American authors, but privately seeks government appointment through Thomas.
Graham’s
publishes Poe’s features on “Secret Writing” and “Autography.”

1842
Virginia Poe suffers pulmonary hemorrhage that signals consumption; Poe drinks to relieve sorrow. Interviews Charles Dickens; resigns position at
Graham’s
. Renews efforts to obtain patronage job through Tyler administration; makes abortive visit to New York seeking editorial work. Fails to receive government appointment; publishes “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt,” based on death of Mary Rogers in New York.

1843
James Russell Lowell’s
Pioneer
publishes “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Poe enlists publisher Thomas C. Clarke as partner in projected magazine now called
The Stylus
. Drinks heavily during disastrous visit to Washington in quest of patronage appointment; offends Thomas Dunn English there; loses support of Clarke, who commissions English to write temperance novel. Wins one hundred dollars in
Dollar Newspaper
contest with “The Gold-Bug”; fails to obtain government position; delivers lecture, “American Poetry,” in several cities. English’s serialized novel,
The Doom of the Drinker,
caricatures Poe.

1844
Enters most productive year as writer; moves to New York; creates sensation with New York
Sun
hoax on transatlantic balloon flight. Explores new strategies to launch
Stylus;
writes “Doings of Gotham” dispatches for Columbia (Pennsylvania)
Spy;
publishes “The Purloined Letter” and joins editorial staff of
Evening Mirror
.

1845
Develops connections with Young America group and Evert Duyckinck; publishes “The Raven” and becomes literary celebrity; joins staff of
Broadway Journal,
acquiring part ownership, and there renews attacks on Longfellow as plagiarist.
Graham’s
publishes biographical sketch of Poe by Lowell. Attends literary salons and meets New York literati; becomes enamored of poet Frances S. Osgood; creates scandal by reading “Al Aaraaf” at Boston Lyceum. Duyckinck publishes two volumes of Poe’s work in “Library of American Books.” Acquires full ownership of
Broadway Journal
through loans; struggles to keep newspaper afloat; suspends publication at year’s end.

1846
Becomes embroiled in controversy over indiscreet letters to Mrs. Osgood; brawls with English; serializes “The Literati of New York City” in
Godey’s,
satirizing English and others. Moves to Fordham cottage as Virginia’s consumption worsens; publishes “The Cask of Amontillado”; suffers from poor health and poverty. European translations extend Poe’s reputation abroad.

1847
Virginia dies; Poe remains ill but sues English and
Evening Mirror
for libel; recovers health through care of Mrs. Shew. Wins lawsuits and receives damages; visits Washington and Philadelphia; composes “Ulalume.”

1848
Revives plans for
Stylus;
gives lectures called “The Universe” and begins
Eureka;
exchanges poems with Sarah Helen Whitman. Lectures in Massachusetts and meets Annie Richmond. George P. Putnam publishes
Eureka;
Poe visits Providence and proposes to Mrs. Whitman; visits, confides in Mrs. Richmond. Takes overdose of laudanum; lectures in Providence and resumes drinking; Mrs. Whitman accepts, then breaks off marriage plans.

1849
Corresponds with Mrs. Richmond, who inspires “For Annie”; publishes “Hop-Frog” and other tales in Boston antislavery newspaper; receives proposal from Edward Patterson to publish
Stylus
in Illinois. Begins journey to solicit subscriptions; drinks heavily in Philadelphia, suffers delirium tremens, and spends night in prison; sells “Annabel Lee” and “The Bells” to John Sartain, who rescues him. Reestablishes relationship with recently widowed Sarah Elmira Royster Shelton in Richmond; lectures on poetry; takes temperance pledge but lapses into insobriety. Proposes to Mrs. Shelton, who accepts; departs for New York; stops at Baltimore, lapses into unconsciousness after drinking binge; dies on October 7 in Washington Hospital. Buried in Baltimore, October 8.

A Note on Texts

The texts of Poe’s published works are in the public domain. In this edition, taking advantage of recent textual scholarship and generally following the principles of modern bibliography in establishing the texts to be published, I have endeavored to present the most readable and reliable versions of Poe’s works. That is, I have attempted to reproduce the last published version over which the author had editorial control. For the fiction and poetry, I have mostly relied on the Redfield edition of
The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe,
edited by Rufus W. Griswold. Whatever animus Griswold bore for Poe (and betrayed in his introductory memoir), he took the trouble to reproduce, in most cases, the latest versions of each work, sometimes inserting subsequent authorial revisions that Poe had inscribed marginally in late publications of his work. Yet the Redfield edition did not incorporate all of those revisions, and in several tales and poems I have included further emendations thanks to electronic texts provided by the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. I thank Jeffrey A. Savoye for his kind cooperation.

Griswold’s edition of 1850-56 also included a number of misprints and typographical errors, which I have silently corrected. For the sake of readability, I have also added accents omitted from foreign words and (in a very few cases) corrected spelling errors. I have also compared my versions of the poetry and tales with those established by Thomas O. Mabbott, sometimes adopting editorial revisions made by Mabbott and in a few cases correcting his texts.

My texts for the critical essays and opinions—some of which appeared in Griswold’s edition—ultimately derive from the original periodical sources. These writings were not revised by Poe and so present few editorial problems. For the letters, I have relied on the texts established by John Ward Ostrom in the two-volume 1948 Harvard edition, used with permission of the Gordian Press, which now holds the copyright.

TALES

Poe considered the domain of the short prose tale less “elevated” than that of the poem but more extensive and thus more conducive to innovation. He noted that the author of a tale “may bring to his theme a vast variety of modes or inflections of thought.” The seventy-odd narratives that he published between 1832 and 1849 represent a surprisingly diverse body of fiction marked by ongoing experimentation and compulsive revision. Throughout his career Poe continued to rewrite even his greatest stories; as late as 1848, for example, he was still recasting “Ligeia.” For the title of his first volume of stories, he used the terms “grotesque” and “arabesque” to characterize their “prevalent tenor,” the former connoting deformity or ugliness and the latter fantastic intricacy. He regarded his arabesque tales as more serious productions, “phantasy-pieces” associated unfairly by critics with “ ‘Germanism’ and gloom.” Elsewhere he identified “tales of ratiocination” (detection) and “tales of effect” (sensation) as notable varieties of prose fiction, having already produced key examples of both. Although he critically disparaged allegory, he ventured into that mode in such works as “William Wilson” and “The Masque of the Red Death.” Poe’s experiments in short narrative also included prose poems, spiritualized dialogues, and landscape sketches. He purposely blurred the line between the expository essay and the tale, between fact and fiction, in both “The Premature Burial” and “The Imp of the Perverse.” Essays such as “The Philosophy of Furniture” have sometimes been included among his tales, as have certain anecdotal reviews. Some of the articles that he composed to accompany magazine illustrations can likewise stand as independent tales.