Edgar allen poe

People often refer to Edgar Allan Poe as the father of the detective story–and to "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" as the first of that genre–so it may seem appropriate that much of Poe's life story remains mired in mystery. Rufus Griswold, his literary executor, wrote a scathing obituary of Poe, depicting him as a sadistic drug addict and alcoholic. This has lead many to falsely consider Poe as the origin of his own dark characters.

Upon his birth in Boston on January 19, 1809, his parents– regular members of the troupe then performing at the Federal Street Theater–named him Edgar Poe. Shortly before his mother's death in Richmond, Virginia on December 8, 1811, his father abandoned the family. John Allan–a wealthy tobacco merchant in Richmond–brought Poe into the family (at his wife's request), and gave him the middle name Allan as a baptismal name, though he never formally adopted him. Allan's treatment of Poe remains controversial. Some view him as abusive, while other...