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91st out of 381 books
—
441 voters
The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder
Daniel Stashower, the Edgar Award-winning author of the highly acclaimed Arthur Conan Doyle biography "Teller of Tales," delivers a gripping true story of murder and media mania--including the controversial involvement of Edgar Allan Poe--in 1840s New York. Halftone photos throughout.
Hardcover, 326 pages
Published
October 5th 2006
by Dutton Adult
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In 1841, a 20-year-old boarding house worker, Mary Rogers -- a delicate beauty formerly renowed throughout New York City for doing nothing more than selling cigars at a tobacco seller's booth that catered to all classes of men enamored of her charms (including some of the city's most powerful leaders, businessmen and artists) -- disappeared from home and was found days later floating in the Hudson River, battered beyond recognition with parts of her own skirt stuck in her neck from strangulation...more
A very easy read, finished during a day of travel with multiple connecting flights. Would have given it 3.5 stars if I could have, or perhaps 3.75....it's not quite 4 star material, in my eyes, primarily because it fails to deliver on many of its promises, i.e., showing how Poe amazingly fixed his story at the last moment to account for real life events, thus saving his literary skin at the last minute. The author does explain how Poe accomplished that, but it just isn't the ingeniously creative...more
Beyond the basic storyline of a beautiful girl mysteriously murdered in the 1840s, "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" offered a fascinating insight and history not only into Edgar Allen Poe--about whom I knew much too little--but about the creation of the real mystery novel. That Poe was an inspiration to none other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose Sherlock Holmes undoubtedly introduced many a reader to the notion of deductive reasoning (termed "ratiocination" by Poe), says plenty about the ground he...more
The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder by Daniel Stashower
In late July of 1841 Mary Rogers, a beautiful and charismatic clerk in a Manhattan tobacco shop was found drowned and murdered over the river in New Jersey. The book is about how authorities attempted to solve the crime (they didn't), how the plethora of newspapers put their spin on the murder and what it might mean to the citizens, and how the career of Edgar Allan Poe was affected by this hor...more
In late July of 1841 Mary Rogers, a beautiful and charismatic clerk in a Manhattan tobacco shop was found drowned and murdered over the river in New Jersey. The book is about how authorities attempted to solve the crime (they didn't), how the plethora of newspapers put their spin on the murder and what it might mean to the citizens, and how the career of Edgar Allan Poe was affected by this hor...more
I liked this book a lot. First of all, I gained a sincere appreciation for Edgar Allan Poe as a writer. I had always been a bit put off by the subject matter of his stories, so I hadn't had a chance to appreciate his skill as a writer and his intelligence as a person. Secondly, I greatly enjoy reading about historical events as they connect to other persons or events that I may not previously have realized. Sort of like a non visual timeline :). I wasn't that impressed with the "mystery of the b...more
Shashower attempts to make a personal link between Poe and Mary Rogers, but within the first pages he admits there's nothing to back up that idea: they simply lived in NYC at the same time and people Poe knew did shop at the store where Rogers worked. Link aside, he can prove that Poe's sequal to "The Murder in the Rue Morge", "The Murder of Marie Roget", was based on a true crime, because there are documents that prove he was writing his story in an attempt to prove that his detective could sol...more
This is a quite enjoyable book about the murder of Mary Rogers and how Poe used the murder to write his short story "Marie Roget". It's an interesting book, not fascinating, but interesting.
Mary Rogers, the cigar of the title, was a woman who was murdered in New York. The story became headlines for the newspapers and the killer was never caught. Poe's short story, featuring Dupin, put forward a theory about the murder. In other words, Poe "ripped' stories from the headlines long before Law and O...more
Mary Rogers, the cigar of the title, was a woman who was murdered in New York. The story became headlines for the newspapers and the killer was never caught. Poe's short story, featuring Dupin, put forward a theory about the murder. In other words, Poe "ripped' stories from the headlines long before Law and O...more
Aug 25, 2009
Susanne
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
history of literature buffs
Shelves:
historical-true-crime
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Being a Poe enthusiast as well as a history and true crime buff, I have found this book fascinating. The author does a good job of telling two stories at the same time - first the story of Poe, his upbringing and his erratic behavior throughout his life and second the story of the beautiful and tragic Mary Rogers (the cigar girl). An interesting look at the police work of the time. Well worth reading.
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This was a pleasant piece of historical writing by a very capable historical researcher and writer. Stashower proved his ability to spin a tale as well as to bring alive a bygone era. Meticulously researched, the book brings alive the spirit of confusion set upon New York during the time of the notorious murder of Mary Rogers, the beautiful cigar girl, fueled by a press looking to out do their competitors and political enemies, even at the expense of the truth.
The depiction of Poe's life was ca...more
The depiction of Poe's life was ca...more
I found this book very helpful in my search for materials to help me write my Mary Rogers Paper. I gathered tons of information and now have several dozen pages of notes to shift through for a mere 10 page research paper. But I'd rather have more than enough than not enough. I promise that if you choose this book as a reference, you won't be disappointed. The only bone I have to pick with it is that sometimes the Author choses to write what he believes the speaker might have said at the time. He...more
This book was addictive. A very enjoyable interweaving of Edgar Allan Poe's biography and literary accomplishments with the journalistic accounts of a murder that he adapted into fiction. Stashower creates incredible momentum, as he builds the story of Poe's overweening arrogance, imaginative brilliance, and crippling alcoholism while all the time tantalizing his reader with the clues and controversies surrounding the Mary Rogers murder case that captured the imagination of Poe, the newspapers,...more
A beautiful "cigar girl" that had captured the adoration of many a man in NYC, is found floating in the Hudson, brutally murdered .. .
at the same time, a struggling writer, Edgar A. Poe, sees an opportunity to shadow the murder case with a ficticious detective story.
The last time I read a Poe biography, it was stale and boring, if it wasn't for my lingering buzz from reading "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Pit and the Pendulum" I never would have endured it. Case in point; I have no idea who...more
at the same time, a struggling writer, Edgar A. Poe, sees an opportunity to shadow the murder case with a ficticious detective story.
The last time I read a Poe biography, it was stale and boring, if it wasn't for my lingering buzz from reading "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Pit and the Pendulum" I never would have endured it. Case in point; I have no idea who...more
A very interesting premise: the relationship between Edgar Allen Poe and the murder of Mary Rogers. It begins well, but for me the story began to drag as it tried to incorporate Poe's life into the mix. I can only imagine the difficulty in braiding the two story strands together, but it seemed to me that the Poe strand was less compelling than the unknown (to me) Mary Rogers strand. Perhaps it was because it was unknown to me, but it seemed to have better descriptiveness to the writing than the...more
First of all, I understand why the title is as it is: Poe certainly didn't invent murder (we could arguably award that credit to Cain), although he did (again, arguably) invent the murder mystery. Poe would have been delighted with the overreach of the title, so credit to the author for the Poe style right off the bat. I was reading this book for details about the Mary Rogers murder, not a binge-by-binge account of Poe's life, so I eventually found the in-depth review of Poe's life distracting....more
This book was an in-depth study of a true crime case of the murder of Mary Rogers, 1841. The book is from the viewpoint of the current local newspapers (NYC and NJ) and has the unique study of the case by Edgar Allan Poe, who wrote a version of it as "The Mystery of Marie Roget."
Mr. Stashower goes into great detail profiling both the lives of Mary Rogers and of Mr. Poe. We are shown the true state of the NYPD back in the mid 19th century, which was a bit shocking to me, but, did make sense.
I fo...more
Mr. Stashower goes into great detail profiling both the lives of Mary Rogers and of Mr. Poe. We are shown the true state of the NYPD back in the mid 19th century, which was a bit shocking to me, but, did make sense.
I fo...more
In case anyone thinks the tabloidism of today is bad, wait until you read about the "journalism" in New York City in 1830-1840.
Mary Rogers, the beautiful cigar girl who was famous as a great beauty, is the focus of the beginning of the book. Many young men seek her attention. When she ends up dead, the newspapers are in a frenzy speculating upon the mysterious circumstances of her demise. Their goal: Sell more newspapers.
Edgar Allan Poe was a contemporary of this period. He became intrigued wi...more
Mary Rogers, the beautiful cigar girl who was famous as a great beauty, is the focus of the beginning of the book. Many young men seek her attention. When she ends up dead, the newspapers are in a frenzy speculating upon the mysterious circumstances of her demise. Their goal: Sell more newspapers.
Edgar Allan Poe was a contemporary of this period. He became intrigued wi...more
It seems I have been reading a number of books lately that view historical characters in light of some other historical event or development (e.g., the book on Garfield and medical science). In this book, Edgar A. Poe gets the treatment with a focus on one of his detective stories focused on a prominent murder of the time. I found it an interesting read offering a bit of historical learning about early 19th century society and Poe, along with a bit of a mystery regarding the murder. I could not...more
I find this really interesting. I find Poe one of the biggest characters in all literary history! I've read the Pale Blue Eye and the Poe Shadow book which incorporate Poe or the story centers around Poe as a character in the novel...and reading this, makes me think that Louis Bayard nailed him pretty good. This is about a real murder in NYC, probably the first murder (actually, the second, I found as I read on)to have been sensationalized by the newspapers. As it happened Poe shopped in the Cig...more
A thorough investigation of the headlines of yesteryear and the part that Edgar Allen Poe played in creating a modern detective novel based on a famous incident of his day. Tells of the growing industry of newspapers and journalism. Gives a good history of the creation of the modern police force in New York City. Very detailed biography of Poe and his life events and the reasons why he continued to pursue his writing career. Expanded upon many details that I slightly knew, such as his West Point...more
What it is with titles that make bold claims? (Harold Bloom's "Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human" comes to mind). That said, Stashower impresses me as a writer who can make a non-fiction book as suspenseful as any mystery yarn. I learned much about Poe (the book functions as a precise and concise biography on the author), and I can almost guarantee that the biggest Poe fan will pick up a few new facts. There feels like a bit of padding in its pages -- the Mary Rogers case peters out before...more
The murder of Marie Rogers stunned America. Her lifestyle was shocking - a woman working as a cashier was considered about one step away from prostitution. She gained more notoriety when she mysteriously disappeared, and returned without explanation. Years later, she was found brutally murdered, and despite hopes of a quick resolution, the mystery festered for years. Her death inspired many people. It propelled a change in journalism, as one newspaper editor discovered it gained him far more sub...more
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As much as I enjoyed the story - Poe is a very interesting character, and I'm always captivated by stories of unsolved murder - I really didn't feel as though the two elements of the story connected in the way that the book jacket seemed to promise. While Poe did based one of his Dupin mysteries on the Mary Rogers case, it certainly did not have the groundbreaking impact on the investigation that would warrant having paired the story of Mary Rogers with the story of Poe's life, nor did it seem a...more
Back in Old New York, the beautiful Mary Rogers was one of our nation's first celebrities to be known strictly for being hot. These days attractive girls seeking their 15 minutes of fame are a dime a dozen. Paris Hilton, the Kardashian sisters...those people on the Hills? What do they do, really? Basically they look good on TV or gossip programs and web sites. People get caught up in their aura and follow their less-than-interesting lives...for about a year. Then we move on to the next mannequin...more
The Beautiful Cigar Girl is a literary and historical study of Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Murder of Marie Roget." Poe's story is a retelling (and re-setting to Paris) of the murder of Marie Rogers in New York City in 1841. This famous crime was the subject of many newspaper stories covered extensively by the rabid press of the time. For a long time the resolution of the crime was unsatisfactory. Several years later Poe (chronically short of money) comes along and writes his story proposing to...more
The Beautiful Cigar Girl, written by mystery novelist and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle biographer Daniel Stashower, fulfills the need for quality true crime if you're willing to tolerate some biography with your mysterious disappearance. The biography in question follows Edgar Allen Poe during an unsuccessful and drink-sodden period of his life. He bounces from a foster home to a short stint at the University of Virginia to naval service to staff positions at literary magazines, finding security for s...more
When I purchased The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder, I was expecting something more along the line of The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl; that is historical fiction — fictional characters set against the backdrop of an historical story and setting.
The Beautiful Cigar Girl is Daniel Stashower’s (Teller of Tales) attempt to recount the story of Mary Rogers, a Manhattan tobacco store clerk whose mutilated corpse was discovered afloat in the Hudson River...more
The Beautiful Cigar Girl is Daniel Stashower’s (Teller of Tales) attempt to recount the story of Mary Rogers, a Manhattan tobacco store clerk whose mutilated corpse was discovered afloat in the Hudson River...more
It wasn't really that great and it went on a lot of differnt tangants. From the back of the book I thought it was how two different people who didn't know each other crossed paths into each others lives much like Thunderstruck or Devil in the White City, but it wasn't. Unfortunately if you compared the books they paled in my many ways.
The book lack flow and I don't know how Poe ever lived because he seemed like he was drunk all the time. He was described as a pure alcoholic with serious problems...more
The book lack flow and I don't know how Poe ever lived because he seemed like he was drunk all the time. He was described as a pure alcoholic with serious problems...more
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The last time anyone saw Mary C. Rogers of New York was Sunday July 25, 1841. To this day the crime remains unsolved. While Stashower makes no attempt to unravel this mystery in The Beautiful Cigar Girl, Edgar Allan Poe believes he is able to do so through his fictional detective C. Auguste Dupin who has already proven himself in The Murders in the Rue Morgue.
This book is, at once, a true crime about the disappearance of Mary Rogers and a biography of Edgar Allan Poe. Frankly, more Poe than Roge...more
This book is, at once, a true crime about the disappearance of Mary Rogers and a biography of Edgar Allan Poe. Frankly, more Poe than Roge...more
In NYC in 1841, a young woman was brutally murdered. NYC was practically lawless at this time, and the police botched the investigation. The public became obssessed with finding the murderer and that cause became entwined with the culture war of the day: a perceived, raging battle between The Moral and The Ruffian. Edgar Allan Poe was an impovrished alcoholic at the time, struggling to find enough money to feed his wife as she wasted away with TB. He decided to stake his dwindling reputation on...more
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Daniel Stashower is the author of The Boy Genius and The Mogul as well as the Edgar Award-winning Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle. He is also the author of five mystery novels, the most recent of which is The Houdini Specter. Stashower is a recipient of The Raymond Chandler Fulbright Fellowship in Detective and Crime Fiction Writing, and spent a year as a Visiting Fellow at Wadham...more
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“I have not only labored solely for the benefit of others (receiving for myself a miserable pittance), but have been forced to model my thoughts at the will of men whose imbecility was evident to all but themselves"
— Edgar Allan Poe”
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— Edgar Allan Poe”
“What is to prevent a daily newspaper from being made the greatest organ of social life? Books have had their day-the theaters have had their day-the temple of religion has had its day. A newspaper can be made to take the lead of all these in the great heaven , and save more from Hell, than all the churches and chapels in New York-besides making money at the same time" "Shakespeare is the great genius of the drama, Scott of the novel, Milton and Byron of the poem, and I mean to be the genius of the newspaper press." James Gordon Bennett, editor ot he New York Herald in 1841”
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