-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A groundbreaking exploration of one of America's most iconic and misunderstood authors.
Edgar Allan Poe: A Life is the most comprehensive critical biography of Poe yet produced, exploring his fascinating life, his extraordinary work, and the vital relationship between the two. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre found in such works as "The Raven," "Annabel Lee," and "The Tell-Tale Heart," this legendary American author continues to intrigue and enthrall his devoted readers. Written by one of the world's leading Poe experts, this biography is a rich and rewarding study for the general reader as well as for the seasoned scholar. Richard Kopley combines a biographical narrative of Poe's enduring challenges—including his difficult foster father, his personal losses, his great struggles with depression and alcoholism, and the poverty that dogged his existence—with close readings of his work that focus not only on plot, character, and theme but also on language, allusion, and structure in a way that enhances our understanding of both. While incorporating past Poe scholarship, this volume also relates unknown stories of Poe culled from privately held letters unavailable to previous biographers, presenting a range of groundbreaking archival discoveries that illuminate the man and his oeuvre in ways never before possible.
"[A] magisterial critical biography...Kopley excels at elucidating how Poe's life influenced his work... . Blending rich literary analysis with new insights into Poe's character, this proves there's still plenty left to say about the master of the macabre." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Kopley brings authoritative insight to a critical biography of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) that can well be called definitive...A richly detailed, sympathetic portrait." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
This information about Edgar Allan Poe was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Richard Kopley is Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at Penn State DuBois, the author and editor of numerous books on Poe and American literature, and recipient of the 2018 Lifetime Achievement & Service Award from the Poe Studies Association.
If you liked Edgar Allan Poe, try these:
by Mark Dawidziak
Published 2024
A Mystery of Mysteries is a brilliant biography of Edgar Allan Poe that examines the renowned author's life through the prism of his mysterious death and its many possible causes.
The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards
by Kristopher Jansma
Published 2014
An inventive and witty debut about a young man's quest to become a writer and the misadventures in life and love that take him around the globe
by Mat Johnson
Published 2012
A comic journey into the ultimate land of whiteness by an unlikely band of African American adventurers
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
