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The Poe Shadow

by Matthew Pearl (Goodreads Author)

3.07 of 5 stars 3.07 · rating details · 4,283 ratings · 658 reviews

“I present to you . . . the truth about this man’s death and my life.”

Baltimore, 1849. The body of Edgar Allan Poe has been buried in an unmarked grave. The public, the press, and even Poe’s own family and friends accept the conclusion that Poe was a second-rate writer who met a disgraceful end as a drunkard. Everyone, in fact, seems to believe this except a young Baltimor...more “I present to you . . . the truth about this man’s death and my life.”

Baltimore, 1849. The body of Edgar Allan Poe has been buried in an unmarked grave. The public, the press, and even Poe’s own family and friends accept the conclusion that Poe was a second-rate writer who met a disgraceful end as a drunkard. Everyone, in fact, seems to believe this except a young Baltimore lawyer named Quentin Clark, an ardent admirer who puts his own career and reputation at risk in a passionate crusade to salvage Poe’s.

As Quentin explores the puzzling circumstances of Poe’s demise, he discovers that the writer’s last days are riddled with unanswered questions the police are possibly willfully ignoring. Just when Poe’s death seems destined to remain a mystery, and forever sealing his ignominy, inspiration strikes Quentin–in the form of Poe’s own stories. The young attorney realizes that he must find the one person who can solve the strange case of Poe’s death: the real-life model for Poe’s brilliant fictional detective character, C. Auguste Dupin, the hero of ingenious tales of crime and detection.
In short order, Quentin finds himself enmeshed in sinister machinations involving political agents, a female assassin, the corrupt Baltimore slave trade, and the lost secrets of Poe’s final hours. With his own future hanging in the balance, Quentin Clark must turn master investigator himself to unchain his now imperiled fate from that of Poe’s.

Following his phenomenal debut novel, The Dante Club, Matthew Pearl has once again crossed pitch-perfect literary history with innovative mystery to create a beautifully detailed, ingeniously plotted tale of suspense. Pearl’s groundbreaking research–featuring documented material never published before–opens a new window on the truth behind Poe’s demise, literary history’s most persistent enigma. The resulting novel is a publishing event that, through sublime craftsmanship, subtle wit, and devious twists, does honor to Poe himself

From the Hardcover edition.(less)

Paperback, 400 pages

Published July 10th 2007 by Random House Trade Paperbacks (first published January 1st 2006)

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Sep 01, 2007 Brooke rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007, mystery

Matthew Pearl's The Poe Shadow is the first book I've read in a while that I did not like at all. The premise is interesting; a contemporary of Edgar Allen Poe attempts to discover what happened in the final days before the poet's death. Pearl had written the moderately entertaining The Dante Club prior to this, and I had expected to see the improvement that often comes with an author's sophomore effort. Instead, Pearl only manages to serve up a snooze-fest.

To begin with, Quentin Clark is the mo...more

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Sep 06, 2007 Catherine Bracy added it · review of another edition Recommends it for: no one

I enjoyed Dante Club (I like historical fiction) and so was looking forward to reading The Poe Shadow--I even bought it in hardcover, which is rare for me. Well, it was terrible. Quite possibly the worst book I've ever read. It was totally unclear to me what was going on--was he crazy or was all this stuff really happening to him? I was hoping it would be brilliantly explained at the end so I kept trudging along even though it was beyond tedious. There was no payoff in the end. It was so bad tha...more

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Jun 09, 2008 Gina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Poe obsessives

Shelves: audio-books, historical-fiction

While this was an interesting subject & the mystery surrounding Poe's death was written well, I HATED the lead character. He was whiney, obsessive and at times down right stupid. He's one of those guys with book smarts, but is dumb as a box of rocks when it comes to real life.

He is obsessive to the point of loosing everything he is/has, his career, fortune, home, finance, friends...the only thing that keeps him from absolutely loosing everything is due to friends coming to his aid at the en...more

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Sep 21, 2007 Tama Wise added it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-never-finished

I have to agree with a lot of the reviews here. I read and absolutely loved the Dante Club, so when I heard there was a new book from the same author, I snatched it up. The premise was tantalizing, what really happened to Edgar Alan Poe in his final days?

I got about halfway through this book, and eventually decided to throw it in. Where Dante Club moved with all the pace and movement of a well plotted film, the Poe Shadow was boring from the start. I do agree. The main characters not likable in...more

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Dec 09, 2007 Rose rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although I appreciate novels as good literature and occasionally forces of social change ("Uncle Tom's Cabin" is a good example, as it strengthened the abolitionist movement), I don't normally read them, as I find truth to be more fascinating than fiction.

"The Poe Shadow" is set in antebellum America. The protagonist, a young attorney, risks life and limb to unravel the mystery of Edgar Allan Poe's death, and enlists the aid of a French detective, supposedly the prototype for Poe literary sleut...more

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Sep 05, 2007 Katherine rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The real redeeming this about this book is that at the end (in the historical notes) you find out that the main character's conclusions about Poe might really be true. That made the book a million times more interesting... and yet I still think it only gets two stars. The main character is a bit too irritating, and not in any sort of loveable or identifiable way. You get sick of him, which makes it hard to keep reading the otherwise interesting story about Poe's death. If you're interest in Poe,...more

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Jul 21, 2007 Emma rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I agree with several other reviewers that the last part of the book is just a bore. I am not a mystery novel reader, so maybe it is common to constantly recap the previous events, but I found this irritating. I struggled to finish the book. The book does detail real and new facts about the death of Edgar Allen Poe and even uses quotes from newspaper articles from the time. Those who are huge Poe fans may find this fascinating. At the end of the book, however, there a historical notes section tha...more

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Feb 27, 2009 Jeff Mazurek rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Poe Shadow is a meticulously researched "historical mystery" novel that has many trees but no forest--that is to say, good details steeped in historical facts, acutely observed and well rendered, but in and of themselves not "the story."

The book features a protagonist who desperately needs to feel validated but goes about this task with belligerence and without thought of consequence, and justifies doing so because he thinks he is validating someone else (the slandered author and poet named...more The Poe Shadow is a meticulously researched "historical mystery" novel that has many trees but no forest--that is to say, good details steeped in historical facts, acutely observed and well rendered, but in and of themselves not "the story."

The book features a protagonist who desperately needs to feel validated but goes about this task with belligerence and without thought of consequence, and justifies doing so because he thinks he is validating someone else (the slandered author and poet named in the book's title). This carries him from one kerfluffle to another, each mistake giving opportunity to tell the reader about a circumstance involving Poe, his stories, mid 19th century Baltimore, or mid 19th century France.

In that sense, the title is accurate. The novel is a book cast in the shadow of a revered author, poet and literary personality, and banks on widespread fascination with Poe to sustain reader interest in the what the main character is after.

Trouble is, it is hard to read about a character who is waiting for someone to say, "He was a genius? Well ... my apologies, sir! I'm sorry I mistook you for such a jerk and/or loon!"

Much better is the short essay following the novel. In a handful of pages, Pearl details which circumstances of Poe's last days propelled the book--revealing, in other words, what parts of his novel were (justifiably) on the mark. He also offers coherent criticism on most of the research surrounded the last few days and demise of Poe, saying, essentially, that the questions that fuel such research are well intended but fundamentally misguided.

After finishing with the book and essay, I am left wondering why Pearl decided to muddle a fine, corrective, and arguably much needed essay within a greater narrative. It is a tantalizing, if not good idea to deliver the mystery of Poe's final days with the mood and trappings of the tales he wrote; but when Pearl offers a stumblebum of a protagonist, who only seems to exist to give all other characters opportunity to be mouthpieces for what Pearl later reveals in his essay ... then why not just offer up the essay?

It might be best to say that the novel is not a terrible tale of mystery and suspense, but those looking to learn of Poe's final days would do well to read the last handful of chapters and the subsequent essay.(less)

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Dec 24, 2008 Annita rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: only a very dedicated Poe enthusiast.

Recommended to Annita by: no one

I am a big fan of Edgar Allan Poe. I enjoy his "horror" stories, but I also especially like his detective stories. He is considered to be the inventor of the detective story. His character of Inspector Dupin in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and other stories is fascinating and memorable. So when I saw this book in the bookstore, I picked it up to see what it was about. It looked like one that I would love. It tells the story of a lawyer named Quentin Clark who has corresponded some with Edgar...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Ann Sloan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl

No aspect of his life has so fascinated Poe’s readers as his death. Unfortunately, what is known is confusing and baffling. Shrouded in opinion and contradiction, the essential details of Poe’s final days present more questions than answers. The facts surrounding Poe’s death must, probably, after more than 160 years, remain a mystery — but it is a puzzle that still teases and entices those who find Poe’s writings and life enigmatic and incomprehensible. The Poe Sha...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007-2010

Young Baltimore lawyer Quentin Clark happens upon the small and unceremonious funeral services for Edgar Allan Poe, a man Quentin admired as a writer and was attempting to help with the legal issues of beginning his own literary magazine. The circumstances surrounding Poe’s death are strange, including his unplanned stop in Baltimore, his delirious final words, his badly fitting clothes, and his strange instructions for his mother-in-law to write to him under a fake name. Sensing foul play, Quen...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked this book. I listened to the audio version of the book and perhaps the good narrator, who was very good with the voices and added drama where it was needed, had a lot to do with my enjoyment. Maybe, maybe not. It was a little slow at times and there were a couple of bad points in the recording, where it just went haywire.

I read a number of reviews here and I agree with them that the protagonist, Quentin Clark, was a bit hard to like. He was annoying, whiny, and excitable and I thought he...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Scott Rhee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"The Poe Shadow: A Novel","Matthew Pearl","1400061032","review","On Oct. 7, 1849, a little-known poet and author of strange gothic tales died in a Baltimore hospital. He had been found, disheveled and injured, in an alleyway. After his death, a small funeral was held at a small Baltimore Presbyterian church. A total of four people attended. The man's name was Edgar Allan Poe.

The true events leading to the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe remain a mystery to this day. No one knows what he was...more "The Poe Shadow: A Novel","Matthew Pearl","1400061032","review","On Oct. 7, 1849, a little-known poet and author of strange gothic tales died in a Baltimore hospital. He had been found, disheveled and injured, in an alleyway. After his death, a small funeral was held at a small Baltimore Presbyterian church. A total of four people attended. The man's name was Edgar Allan Poe.

The true events leading to the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe remain a mystery to this day. No one knows what he was doing in Baltimore, as he was supposed to be in New York at the time. There is also the question as to his condition: clearly intoxicated (Poe had been a notorious alcoholic for much of his adult life), which was odd in that months before he had joined a temperance organization, completely sworn off all alcohol, and had, according to friends and acquaintances, been succeeding in living a new life of sobriety. No one knows what happened in the four days prior to his death, although there were many speculations.

Matthew Pearl, the author of "The Dante Club", has written a fictionalized account of the missing last four days of Poe's life in "The Poe Shadow". It is painstakingly researched; alas, it is merely fiction.

Pearl's protagonist is a Baltimore attorney named Quentin Clark who inextricably becomes entangled in the mystery of Poe's death. He may have been the last person to have corresponded with Poe, a man he had never met in person but with whom he shared a kindred spirit in Poe's macabre but mind-expanding poetry and fiction. After seeing how the media was defaming Poe's name, Clark vows to find the truth about Poe's death, a quest which quickly becomes an obsession, and a quest that becomes a journey to Paris, France, where he enlists the aid of the one man who might possibly be able to solve the mystery: a private detective name Auguste Duponte, the real-life basis for Poe's classic fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin.

Fans of Poe will appreciate the many literary references that abound in Pearl's novel. Part historical account, part murder mystery, and part literary criticism, "The Poe Shadow" is a brilliantly conceived novel that is as fun to read as it is fascinating and moving in places. Poe was a complicated man in life, but it was only after his death that people began to appreciate the complexities in his literary work, an appreciation that has made Poe one of the best-loved writers in the American canon.
(less)

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Jun 24, 2011 Ed Mestre rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My rating should actually be taken as 3.5 stars.

This is the 2nd book involving Edgar Allan Poe I've read in the past year. The other being "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" a work of non fiction & this being historical fiction. It takes place in mid 19th century Baltimore at the time of Poe's death which the press has leaped upon as an object lesson of the evils of drink. A young lawyer & admirer of Poe becomes incensed at this slander & sets out to make the record straight, but his obsess...more

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Jan 26, 2011 Tracey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mystery, history

I loved The Dante Club (reviewed in July). It was intelligent, and pure geeky fun, and I had a lovely time picking my way among the corpses in 19th century Boston. So I jumped at the chance to take The Poe Shadow on paperbackswap.com.

I should preface this by admitting I haven't read much Poe. I have a couple of collections; I've just ... never gotten around to it. But I'm familiar with his most famous poems, I knew who C. Auguste Dupin was, and I knew a little about Poe's life and reputation - a...more I loved The Dante Club (reviewed in July). It was intelligent, and pure geeky fun, and I had a lovely time picking my way among the corpses in 19th century Boston. So I jumped at the chance to take The Poe Shadow on paperbackswap.com.

I should preface this by admitting I haven't read much Poe. I have a couple of collections; I've just ... never gotten around to it. But I'm familiar with his most famous poems, I knew who C. Auguste Dupin was, and I knew a little about Poe's life and reputation - about the fact that though he was often condemned for being a drunkard he was not, and in fact had a very low tolerance for alcohol. And about his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin, and his despair at her early death. But the only work I've read about him before this was some dreadful thing I can't recall the name of and won't look up which cast him and P.T. Barnum as detectives... This had to be light years better.

And it was. Especially in the beginning I had as much fun as I did with The Dante Club. The story is told in the first person by Quentin Clark, an attorney in Baltimore in 1849 who has long enjoyed reading Poe. "Enjoyed" is actually an understatement; Clark's interest in the poet and his work begins to sound like obsession, and that becomes full-blown as the book proceeds - but it begins with his defiance of his family's opinion that Poe is a dangerous influence. He reads every scrap that he can find, and enters into a correspondence with Poe, even offering his legal services pro bono if they are needed to defend the magazine Poe dreams of starting.

Upon Poe's death, Clark is distressed by the tone of newspaper articles and essays. Most of them paint him, obliquely or outright, as a drunk, and most take the tone that he didn't contribute much to the universe and won't much be missed. Outraged, Clark begins a campaign to try to gain retractions and corrections, to try to rehabilitate Poe's reputation, which leads by various paths to his quest to find the real man who was Poe's inspiration for Dupin, the genius of detection. Surely the real Dupin can discover the truth about Poe's death and clear his name.

The quest leads Clark to Paris, which is in an upheaval of government; it has not been so long since the French Revolution, and now the republic is beginning to give way to a new empire under the Bonapartes. It's dangerous, but the obsession is strong, and Clark soon has two possible Dupins on his hands: the attorney Baron Dupin, whom Clark had written earlier, and Duponte, who is the new lead contender. Baron Dupin is a charlatan and showman, and Clark decides he can't be the one - especially as he learns more about Duponte, an investigator who fits the descriptions in Poe's stories perfectly. He works to bring the latter back to Baltimore, and to complicate matters the former comes too, along with his wife (a beautiful assassin) and a matched set of men who appear to be hunting him for reasons unknown.

It's not a spoiler to state that Clark winds up accused of a murder; that's given on the first page of the book. And I don't think it's a spoiler to say that that's about when the book started to lose me. Halfway through the book, not the first page. Clark's need to exonerate Poe grows to a state in which he can do nothing else; he loses his practice, and, through her family, his fiancee, and shortly is in danger of losing the home he inherited from his parents as his aunt brings a case against him stating he has lost his sanity. Between simply being a little fed up with a man who would sacrifice everything without even a thought - and not even so much the fact of the sacrifice as the pain it caused his family and beloved Hattie - and behaving in a thoroughly unreasonable manner in pursuit of a noble goal; and being more than a little fed up with the prospects of an International Conspiracy (I hate International Conspiracy as Tolkien despised allegory: "I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence") - the book started to lose me, and never really got me back. I finished it - but it was a long slog. I read a review that referred to Clark as an unreliable narrator: quite right. While he doesn't necessarily intentionally lie to the reader, he makes wild assumptions, changes his mind, and becomes somewhat unhinged. That reviewer had a time of it with the mid-19th century language; I didn't find that nearly as difficult as I often do (it's usually harder to read pseudo-19th-century than the real thing, I find). That was the least of my problems with the book.

On the whole, I'm glad I read it. I learned a good deal - for one thing, I'm going to try very hard to avoid referring to Poe as "Edgar Allan Poe", as he hated it, with good reason. (Or he might not have; I'm told that's a myth. Which calls into question every single other thing put forward as fact in the novel. Which is troubling.) For another, it took the taste of that other Poe/Barnum book out of my mouth; there's a certain irony in this book rehabilitating the name of Poe for me as Clark fought to do in Baltimore. And I'm going to read Poe, soon. But I don't think this will come up for a reread very soon. It felt disjointed in places, and as though Pearl lost the reins for a while and was a passenger in a runaway carriage: as if Pearl's research into Poe and his death created in him much the same condition as he describes in Clark. Method writing? Maybe. The Poe Shadow both explained and created allure about Poe, and raised Poe in my estimation while, sadly, lowering Pearl a notch or two. But this didn't kill my respect; on the contrary. I did love Dante; I do respect the tremendous amount of work that went into making The Poe Shadow - and his third, latest book is The Last Dickens (Drood!). I look forward to it. I hope it's more like the first book than the second ... ~Stewartry (less)

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Jan 03, 2011 Slávek Rydval rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-authors

Romány mající v názvu světově známé osobnosti se velmi dobře dostávají do pozornosti potencionálních kupujících a ti z nich často dělají bestsellery. Jistě stále máte na paměti například Šifru mistra Leonarda. Podobně je na tom kniha, která chtěla popsat poslední dny Edgara Allana Poea zabalené do „mysteriózního příběhu“. Bohužel jsem udělal tu chybu, že jsem na tohle skočil a knihu zakoupil.

Hlavním hrdinou, či spíše vypravěčem, je Poeův obdivovatel Quentin Clack žijící v Baltimoru (město, ve kt...more Romány mající v názvu světově známé osobnosti se velmi dobře dostávají do pozornosti potencionálních kupujících a ti z nich často dělají bestsellery. Jistě stále máte na paměti například Šifru mistra Leonarda. Podobně je na tom kniha, která chtěla popsat poslední dny Edgara Allana Poea zabalené do „mysteriózního příběhu“. Bohužel jsem udělal tu chybu, že jsem na tohle skočil a knihu zakoupil.

Hlavním hrdinou, či spíše vypravěčem, je Poeův obdivovatel Quentin Clack žijící v Baltimoru (město, ve kterém Poe skonal a je pohřben). Ten se náhodou stane svědkem spisovatelova pohřbu a od toho se pak odvíjí celé hledání pravdy.

Logika a posloupnost příběhu jsou vcelku ucházející až na pár zbytečných „střihů“ a přitroublých situací bez vysvětlení, kterými zřejmě autor přeskočil místa, jež nedokázal vyřešit jinak. Největší slabinou je ovšem sám vypravěč příběhu, který – ač právník – je naprostý blb. V místech, kde je i laskavému čtenáři zřejmé, co se stalo/bude dít, tak Quentin tápe dál. Autor nás navíc nijak zvlášť nepouští do jeho mysli, takže nevíme, co se v hrdinovi děje, o čem přemýšlí apod. Totéž platí i o ostatních osobách, takže z románu se tak vlastně stává jen holý popis děje.

Na špatném stavu knihy se podepsalo i samo české vydání. Sazba je naprosto odstrašující – překlepy, pravopisné chyby, několikrát chybí i konec věty či možná odstavce. Často je těžko rozpoznatelné, zda se čtenář nachází v přímé řeči a kdo ji vlastně vede.

Pokud jsem vás dosud neodradil a knihu si chcete přečíst, pak vězte, že nemusíte o díle E. A: Poea znát vlastně vůbec nic. V knize je pár odkazů na jeho básně a povídky, ale jsou vysvětleny tak, že netřeba se trápit. Jinými slovy pokud nevíte, kdo to Poe byl, nevadí. Posuďte sami, zda je to špatně či dobře, v tomto ohledu spíše záleží na očekávání každého zvlášť.

Já knihu považuji za hodně špatnou a nerad bych se k ní ještě někdy vracel.(less)

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Aug 28, 2012 Meredyth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book. It's full of twists and turns, and the author does a good job of keeping the reader guessing. I appreciated that I didn't entirely like the main character - I think it's more interesting when the protagonist isn't robotically likable. I, like his loved ones, had problems with WHY he was so obsessed with the death of Poe, a man he had never met, to the detriment of everything else in his life. But that made it more interesting.

I admit, halfway through the book I began...more

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May 19, 2012 Kristen Carannante rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second book I have read by this author. The first was The Dante Club, an excellent murder mystery where, using clues from passages of Dante's Inferno, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes and James Russell Lowell solve a series of murders in the Boston area. In real life, Longfellow translated The Divine Comedy into English, and Pearl used Longfellow's expertise to great effect in the novel, so much so that I ended up reading The Inferno.

The Poe Shadow attempts to answer...more

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Dec 31, 2009 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Halfway through and so far I am thoroughly enjoying the author's literary style. He writes like he's from London, circa 1850. Every word is a gem, yet it's not contrived or self-conscious. What a breath of fresh air."

That was my review part way through, and unfortunately I did not find him to be my new favorite author after all. Although I appreciated and enjoyed his writing style, I felt the story itself was weak. Basically it is that the main character, a fan of Edgar A. Poe, tries to discove...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked up The Poe Shadow because I had read and really enjoyed The Dante Club. I don't want to do a long comparison of the two (in large part, because I read The Dante Club a few years ago and can't remember enough to give it a proper review), but there is one notable difference that I found disappointing. The horrors described in the original Dante are actually carried out in The Dante Club; this is a huge part of what makes it so much fun to read. I think I was expecting The Poe Shadow to do...more I picked up The Poe Shadow because I had read and really enjoyed The Dante Club. I don't want to do a long comparison of the two (in large part, because I read The Dante Club a few years ago and can't remember enough to give it a proper review), but there is one notable difference that I found disappointing. The horrors described in the original Dante are actually carried out in The Dante Club; this is a huge part of what makes it so much fun to read. I think I was expecting The Poe Shadow to do the same, and it did not. I realize that these are two different books, and so this may be an unfair criticism. That said, Poe is so ripe for this kind of story (see Warehouse 13) that it seems like a waste to have passed by that opportunity.

Here, Pearl appears to be mirroring the style of Poe rather than the content. And, to be fair, I think he succeeds fairly well in this endeavor. Certain passages do feel very Poe-esque, such as the scene in which Clark (the protagonist) feels as if he is going insane in his jail cell. Also, since this is a detective story and Pearl basically writes a new version of Poe's detective C. Auguste Dupin, The Poe Shadow obviously has a similar feel to the Dupin tales (particularly The Murders in the Rue Morgue).

That said, I think this is actually as much a negative as a positive. While it further links this story to the original Poe, the Dupin tales tend to be full of exposition and a bit tedious and slow. I don't mean this as a critique of those stories (which I am now rereading), but I do think it makes them a risky source of inspiration. They were original and groundbreaking at the time, but the same devices feel tired and dull compared to the pace and style of today's mysteries.

My other main criticism is that I just don't care about the main character, Clark. His obsession with Poe seems too forced and convenient for me to really buy into it, especially considering what he's willing to sacrifice in pursuit of clearing Poe's name. I also question what he is really after - Clark treats Dupin like a rival who must be stopped at all costs, but I just don't see their work as being that contradictory.

Once again, I'm not sure my review matches my rating. I do think this book warrants 3 stars - Pearl is a good writer, and I was mostly engaged throughout the story. I was just a bit disappointed at some missed opportunities, and the underdevelopment of Clark.(less)

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Dec 18, 2012 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, adult-fiction

After really enjoying "The Dante Club" I have been looking forward to this novel covering the mystery of Poe who I am more familiar with. I have to say that I agree with many of the reviews of this book stating that the protagonist was... well, where to begin... stupid, weak, obsessive, gives up everything important to him personally to clear the name of an author who he has never met personally and whose name most likely would have been venerated in time without his help, blah blah blah. Howeve...more

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Mar 29, 2009 Jack rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The narrator is, frankly, annoying, and the plot isn't as captivating as you would think, but Pearl does a good job stylistically recreating the feel of 19th century mysteries, warts and all. The conclusion plays out in a kind of soliloquy that is uncannily redolent of Poe's Dupin. With that in mind, it's probably not a book for people who don't have a fair knowledge of Poe, because it relies so heavily on the reader appreciating the references.

I would suggest that all readers start with the aut...more

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Jul 05, 2010 Caitlin Spivey rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a huge disappointment. The plot--a young 19th century attorney investigates the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe--seemed promising, but was not nearly as interesting as I'd hoped. I attribute this to two failings: failure to create likeable characters, and failure to adhere to the adage "brevity is the soul of wit."

On the first count: the protagonist, Quentin Clark, is childish and insipid. He's an irritating hero, but what's worse is that he isn't a hero who moves the plot for...more

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Sep 08, 2009 Christia rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Wouldn’t you wish to protect something you knew to be great that everyone else sought to desecrate? Wouldn’t you wish to be a part of changing something, even if it meant changing yourself?"

Quentin Clark is a disillusioned attorney living in Baltimore. Although successful in his profession and on the verge of marrying his lifelong sweetheart, after accidentally stumbling upon the very strange and hurried funeral for his literary idol, Edgar Allan Poe, he is willing to sacrifice everything and e...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Ana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library-books

I'm not really sure why I liked this book. Must be the subject! The writing didn't impress me at all, nothing was special, nothing I haven't seen before. Even so, it kept me going. The plot was a bit weird, twists and turns that I don't think were supposed to be there, but added just for the fun.. Can't say it ruined it, though.
Being a fan of mystery books and constantly trying to find something worth to read on the shelves that are in the library, I actually thought this was on the good side o...more

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Feb 19, 2010 Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was fascinated by Poe's stories as a teen and would frequently check out the sole copy of his complete works that our library owned. I picked up this book hoping that it would evoke in me that delicious creepy feeling I used to get when reading "The Tell-Tale Heart" and because I knew very little about Poe's life. Unfortunately, this book is paced so slowly that I almost flung it across the room in frustration after 50 or so pages. The narrator, Quentin Clark, is so insufferably trusting and P...more

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Mar 18, 2009 Jake rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It seems that I am outnumbered here in the reviews. I really enjoyed this book a lot.

Many readers are commenting that The Poe Shadow is not as good as The Dante Club. Sure, a serial killer on the loose in Boston is compelling stuff. Graphic murder and mayhem trumps an intellectual mystery in Baltimore. While reading The Poe Shadow, I tried to avoid comparing the two works, as each deserves recognition on its own terms.

Popular sentiment is that Quentin Clark, the protagonist, is quite a knob. H...more It seems that I am outnumbered here in the reviews. I really enjoyed this book a lot.

Many readers are commenting that The Poe Shadow is not as good as The Dante Club. Sure, a serial killer on the loose in Boston is compelling stuff. Graphic murder and mayhem trumps an intellectual mystery in Baltimore. While reading The Poe Shadow, I tried to avoid comparing the two works, as each deserves recognition on its own terms.

Popular sentiment is that Quentin Clark, the protagonist, is quite a knob. He’s obsessed, weak, and whiny. That’s true—in the beginning. He’s on a quest. However, when was the last time you read a book where a quest was less about geography and some kind of Holy Grail and more about something bigger, another kid of quest? Reading The Poe Shadow in its entirety, I think you’ll find that Quentin Clark experiences a transformation from a milquetoast Walter Mitty character to eligible stud. He’s also schooled by just about everyone he meets, young or old, black or white, rich or poor.

Some have said it is improbable for Quentin, being a lawyer and having a fiancé, to take off on flights of fancy like this. I beg to differ. It’s not unheard of for people to drop out of the rat race, for whatever reason. Quentin admits to being an underachieving paper pusher in a law office. His girlfriend is someone he has known since childhood. To me, he does not have the hots for her at all; they have no chemistry, and she’s more of comfortable and safe choice for a spouse. I was reminded of Roderick and Madeline (brother and sister in The Fall of the House of Usher), and I half expected to find out Quentin and Hattie shared the same father. Anyway, it’s actually Bonjour who he’s passionate about and who serves as a catalyst for his transformation while he’s in prison.

Some of the themes found in Poe’s works can be found here: class/society, madness, politics, supernatural (such as the dead having power of the living), and love/hate rivals. If you read beyond the surface of the story, there appears to be a lot going on.

There’s also Poe’s penchant for a bulky writing style. A lot of people don't like it. For me, had Pearl penned a Robert Ludlum rip off, I doubt I’d of liked it as much as I did. Perhaps it’s an acquired taste, and I can see why it might be off putting to many readers.

Minor trouble spots. I can’t remember where (and I could be mistaken), but the author described Baltimore in 1849 and talked about the use of steel in construction. But steel wasn’t being mass-produced until the Bessemer process in the mid 1850s, so it didn’t seem quite right. Secondly, one scene annoyed me to no end. It was when the clerk at the post office tells Quentin that he knows who had sent him the packages, and Quentin says to wait until later because he has to see Hattie. That was out of character. Finally, Chapter 35, where Duponte’s explanation drags on for 27 pages. This could’ve been shorter.

Just to clarify, I’m certainly not a big Poe fan, but I’ve probably read most of his stories at one time or another over the years. For me, having visited Baltimore 5-6 times added personal interest. And one of those visits was a Poe road trip when the mysterious “Poe Toaster” became a headline interest.
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Aug 27, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gilded-age, mystery

Another find in an abandoned box of books by the side of my street.

I have read Pearl's earlier outing, The Dante Club, which I enjoyed, but seemed heavy handed. I am a Poe fan (though mostly of his poetry), and I am familiar with his work, as well as his role in establishing early detective fiction (a great read on this is Who Murdered Mary Rogers?, a book I read in college). So I had high hopes for this one.

Sadly, the story took an extraordinarily long time to draw me in, and if it hadn't been...more

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Aug 25, 2011 Virginia rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011books

I picked this to read after hearing about how the Poe house is running out of money and will be shut down. (Unless someone steps up with some cash. Anyone?)

I liked the author’s first book, The Dante Club, but I remember it having a really slow start. This must be part of the author’s style, since this has a similarly slow start. (Even though one of the first scenes is the narrator witnessing Poe’s funeral!)

One of the reasons I liked The Dante Club is that I did not know a lot about Dante prior...more

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Jun 22, 2012 Sabina rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

“Baltimore, 1849. Edgar Allan Poe has just been buried in an unmarked grave, his final days a mystery. Ardent admirer Quentin Clark, a young Baltimore barrister, bored with his practice, society and life in general, sets out to salvage Poe's somewhat tattered reputation and investigates the circumstances of his death. In order to do so, he has to call on the assistence of the inspiration for Poe's brilliant fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin.

The premise of this book is wonderful, the excecut...more

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About Matthew Pearl

Matthew Pearl is the author of the novels The Dante Club, The Poe Shadow and his newest work, The Last Dickens. His books have been New York Times bestsellers and international bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, and Slate.com. He has been heard on shows including NPR's "All Things...more

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