A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe

As Mark Dawidziak points out, we all "know" what Edgar Allan Poe was like: gloomy, alcoholic, drug addict—also, gloomy. But as Dawidziak takes pains to explain in A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe, this view of Poe is based largely on the poorly documented last years of Poe's life and on not-necessarily-accurate posthumous stories about Poe. Dawidziak's Poe does suffer some hard downs, but that aspect of his character is balanced by a general optimism, belief in himself as a writer, willingness to take on new projects, and intense work ethic.

Mystery of Mysteries offers a combined biography of Poe and investigation of his death. The chapters alternate: one chunk of bio, one look at the final days, another show more chunk of bio, another look at the final days, and so on. The idea underlying this structure is interesting—alternately dealing out the the big picture and the—but I found it to be a mixed success. The larger-scale biography feels rushed at times. The changes in timeline occasionally confuse. And readers don't get to explore Poe's death with a full sense of the trajectory of his life because his life story isn't completed until the book's end.

In addition to pushing for a more complex, less stereotypically glum picture of Poe, Dawidziak emphasizes how much we don't know—and probably never will. Over twenty-five years, the doctor treating Poe at the time of his death wrote three different and conflicting accounts of Poe's last days. Those who felt slighted by Poe's literary criticism—and he wrote many smart, but uncompromising reviews—used his death as an opportunity for revenge. For them, Poe is an habitual drunkard. Others, who didn't face Poe's criticism—or did, but weren't as thinned skinned—emphasize his many years of sobriety. Poe knew alcohol had a hugely deleterious effect on his work and relationships and repeatedly managed to hold off from the drink in order to retain a job or to better care for those he loved.

The consistent features in accounts of Poe's demise were that he was fevered, anxious, and sometimes hallucinating. Unfortunately, these aren't diagnostically useful symptoms. Fever, anxiety, and hallucination can correlate with any number of medical conditions. None of the symptoms recorded at the time is unique enough to enable diagnosis. Dawidziak reviews a number of major theories about his cause of death, but each of these involves some guesswork and use of dubious evidence.

If I could read this book over again (and, of course, I could) I would move through it reading the large-scale biographical chapters first and reading the chapters on his death after. That reading would miss some interesting moments of juxtaposition, but would allow for a fuller grasp of all the material Dawidziak offers.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus; the opinions are my own. show less

Anyone that sinks deep into the life of Edgar Allan Poe must have a few drinks on hand to keep up with someone that was unquestionably brilliant yet lived on the edge with one foot in the afterlife. The amount of research that was done to prepare for this book was remarkable. I could just picture a room where there’s no sight of a desk -- just piles of notes from interviews, books, flyers and the works.

It's a must-read for those that enjoy history and everything there is to learn about Poe’s life to the degree where the reader may feel like they could shake hands with this man. He was said to have a great sense of humor yet was lost in life. The author keeps tabs on the death card with Poe. Death was a “constant companion show more throughout Poe’s life.”

The book reveals that his death on October 7, 1849 had a line-up of possible causes: hypoglycemia, diabetes, alcoholism, encephalitis, heart disease, drug overdose, influenza and epilepsy. However, it was said that most likely he died from tuberculosis. Poe's parents, foster mother, brother and wife all died from tuberculosis along with many others from this time. No one has discovered exactly what happened – it's still a mystery! “The problem with the mystery of Poe’s death is that the evidence is so sketchy and undependable, it can be twisted so almost any answer makes some kind of sense.” Sort of like politics.

After all these years, Poe is now a legendary character found in books, art, films, cartoons, album covers and lots of merchandise including flip flops. You may wonder why so many are drawn to this person over other authors from this time. The book may give you some clues and it’s certainly full of interesting historical facts with quotes from many of Poe’s scholars. It was said that horror writers like Poe are almost always funny people. Stephen King said, “We process our fears. We put them down on paper and give them to you. It’s your problem now.”

I was amazed how much detail has been saved from those that have reported about Poe’s life. It includes pieces regarding Poe’s marriage and women he pursued afterwards. There is much about his views with religion, politics and love. Some scholars said Poe was living ahead of his time. The book is relatively short but it takes a while to digest with so many things to think about.

My thanks to Mark Dawidziak, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advance copy with the expected release date of February 14, 2023. show less

A Mystery of Mysteries by Mark Dawidziak is a biography of Edgar Allan Poe which fills in the many gaps in what most of us know about his life.

This doesn't so much try to dispel the gothic image we might have of Poe but rather to show that that image is but one part of who the actual person was. While a lot of that is done through simply telling his story, the other part is through asking and analyzing questions we may never know the answers to, at least not definitively. Thus the mystery.

Like a lot of people, I first came to like his work when I was young. I was fortunate a short time after that to study under a wonderful professor who is mentioned in this book several times, J Gerald Kennedy. He brought a more well-rounded picture of show more Poe into view for me. That was many years ago now and Dawidziak reminded me of all of that as well as making the picture even more whole for me.

This is an excellent biography for those who simply enjoy biographies. This will be of particular interest to those with a strong interest in Poe, whether for pleasure or formal study. It is well-written and well-researched.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less

The mystery of Poe’s life and death still baffles scholars and scientists. Poe was reported to be a self-possessed gentleman and a wild, illogical drunk. He married his beloved Sissy, his thirteen-year-old cousin whose mother embraced Eddy as a son. But what the true nature of their relationship was, we don’t really know.

We do know his life was haunted by tragedy. His parents were actors, and his father abandoned his family after his birth. His mother died of tuberculosis at age twenty-four. His brother died of alcohol related disease at age twenty-four. His beloved Virginia suffered from tuberculosis, dying at age twenty-four. Poe fell in love and was spurned before his marriage and after his wife’s death. He became famous and show more infamous but lived in poverty, always looking for the next big chance to make his mark. And he disappeared for days before found out of his mind, in some one else’s clothing, feverish and ill. He was buried even before his family was notified.

Early biographies and reports of his death can’t be trusted. We know he didn’t tolerate alcohol, but what medical conditions did he have that could have led to his death? Hair analysis doesn’t present an answer.

A Mystery of Mysteries gathers together a multitude of sources, trying to cobble together the truth. It’s entertaining and wide ranging. It will change your perception of Poe. Including learning that he had brown hair and light eyes, was slender and handsome and strong as a young cadet, and his wife wrote a poem for him.

I received a free egalley from the publisher though NegtGalley. My review is fair and unbiased. show less

biography, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, history-trivia, unputdownable, cold-case*****

It's the tintinnabulation of the bells.
No getting away from the fact that Poe was a genius and that he had a genetical physical problem with alcohol. But the life and times of the man is often lost amid the myths. This author takes his whole life as a cold case and does meticulous due diligence complete with an exhaustive bibliography. It also points to the many writers, screenwriters, and actors who revere him as the Father Of their particular genre. Great read!
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you so much!

This entertaining biography is neatly structured, alternating between the story of his life and the numerous mysteries surrounding his death. I guess you could say I’m “ravin” about it!

A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe
By Mark Dawidziak

I know I am not the only one that has tried to figure out what could have happened to Poe based on the scant knowledge and rumors that is known. Being a nurse and working in a drug rehab unit I thought sure he died of DT's. That can kill a person and make them delirious enough to possibly have different clothes. But I also knew doctors probably thought of this already and they have. No, he didn't die of that.

This book not only tells the very intimate and emotional story of his life but also goes through each myth and tells the truth. So many lies we have been told and we are told by who and why! So sad he was treated like this.

We are told of his active happy show more times, and his sad times. His achievements and struggles. His works and when and why he wrote them. This itself is interesting.

Many experts in many fields had united to piece together the time, place, science from DNA, and history, diaries, and more to come up with an answer as to what happened to Edgar Allan Poe! It was nothing I would have thought of because I don't have knowledge in all those fields and it took all that knowledge to come to this conclusion! All steps are explained.

This is an amazing book! I loved it! I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this wonderfully researched book! show less