Loading...
78th out of 167 books
—
10 voters
My rating:
add to my books
Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography
Renowned as the creator of the detective story and a master of horror, the author of "The Red Mask of Death," "The Black Cat," and "The Murders of the Rue Morgue," Edgar Allan Poe seems to have derived his success from suffering and to have suffered from his success. "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" have been read as s
...morePaperback, 864 pages
Published
November 25th 1997
by Johns Hopkins University Press
(first published June 1941)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
37)
Quinn gets points for meticulous and comprehensive research. Other than that, he really, really bugs. Part of his problem is that he was trying to rescue the life and character of Poe from the misinformation and smear campaigns of the time, so he sees himself as Poe's champion. I respect that - Poe should be known for the man he was, not as the man his enemies sought to characterize him as. Having said that, there is no need to contort every single piece of information you can find to cast P...more
Want to know Mr. Poe intimately? Read this book. But don't expect to get it done this decade. Seriously, it's a BIG, LONG book. And it tends to use flowery language that only the hyper-literate can understand. (I had to go back and re-read some passages several times to figure out what the biographer was trying to say.) But it's considered to be THE authoritative book on Poe, and I can see why. The book seamlessly combines a chronological account of Poe's personal and professional life with tidb...more
Although this seventy-year-old book is inevitably somewhat dated, it is still by far the most intelligent biography of Poe that has yet to appear. Quinn is, ironically, at his weakest when discussing Poe's writings (although his chapter on "Eureka" is interesting.) However, his book provides the most clear-eyed and rational view of Poe as a person available in print. For anyone interested in learning about Poe, this is indisputably the place to start.
I felt sorry for Edgar, if this book is anything like his real life (as biographies should be). After reading this we went to Baltimore, rode by his house, and grave. Such a drug induced genius he must of been. What a sad man he also must have been. He only reached his truest fame posthumously. Good read, not sure I believe every aspect of this book, again a historical biography.
I am obsessed with EAP and love learning more and more about him, but this book has almost too much information. I find it to be a bit "bogged down" with trivial opinions and facts about each poem. Over all I do like it and have enjoyed finding out a few new facts about Poe.
Thought I had read all of Mr. Poe's writing, but did not realize he was really a poet and a critic also. He had such a sad life and then to have his reputation destroyed by lies was heartbreaking. Hope he is now resting in peace. Now must read his poetry.
Extraordinarily well researched and comprehensive, this 1940's biography of Edgar Allan Poe dismisses effectively many of the misconceptions about Poe and his life. Best read if you are familiar with the wide range of Poe's poetry and prose.
Good but dry bio of Poe.
Wil Haslup
marked it as to-read
Tricia
marked it as to-read
Paul Haspel
added it
Nada
marked it as to-read
Emily
added it
Pete
marked it as to-read
Charles
marked it as to-read
Bronwyn
marked it as to-read
Cappa
marked it as to-read
Donald
added it
Elizabeth
marked it as to-read
Stasia
marked it as dpl
Julia
added it
Ubik
marked it as non-fiction
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
