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Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), son of itinerant actors, holds a secure place in the firmament of history as America's first master of suspense. Displaying scant interest in native scenes or materials, Edgar Allan Poe seems the most un-American of American writers during the era of literary nationalism; yet he was at the same time a pragmatic magazinist, fully engaged in popular culture and intensely concerned with the "republic of letters" in the United States. This Historical Guide contains an introduction that considers the tensions between Poe's "otherworldly" settings and his historically marked representations of violence, as well as a capsule biography situating Poe in his historical context. The subsequent essays in this book cover such topics as Poe and the American Publishing Industry, Poe's Sensationalism, his relationships to gender constructions, and Poe and American Privacy. The volume also includes a bibliographic essay, a chronology of Poe's life, a bibliography, illustrations, and an index.
E-Book Content
A HISTORICAL
GUIDE TO
Edgar Allan Poe
HISTORICAL GUIDES TO A M E R I C A N AUTHORS
The Historical Guides to American Authors is an interdisciplinary, historically sensitive series that combines close attention to the United States' most widely read and studied authors with a strong sense of time, place, and history. Placing each writer in the context of the vibrant relationship between literature and society, volumes in this series contain historical essays written on subjects of contemporary social, political, and cultural relevance. Each volume also includes a capsule biography and illustrated chronology detailing important cultural events as they coincided with the author's life and works, while photographs and illustrations dating from the period capture the flavor of the author's time and social milieu. Equally accessible to students of literature and of life, the volumes offer a complete and rounded picture of each author in his or her America. A Historical Guide to Ernest Hemingway Edited by Linda Wagner-Martin A Historical Guide to Walt Whitman Edited by David S. Reynolds A Historical Guide to Ralph Waldo Emerson Edited by Joel Myerson A Historical Guide to Henry David Thoreau Edited by William E. Cain A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe Edited by J. Gerald Kennedy A Historical Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne Edited by Larry Reynolds
A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe
E D I T E D BY J. GERALD KENNEDY
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 2OOI
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Copyright © 2001 by J. Gerald Kennedy Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A historical guide to Edgar Allan Poe / edited by J. Gerald Kennedy. p. cm. — (Historical guides to American authors) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-512I49-X; ISBN 0-19-512150-3 (pbk.) 1. Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Literature and society—United States—History—19th century. I. Kennedy, J. Gerald II. Series. PS2638 .H54 2001 818'.309—dc2l 00-020192
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid