For the third volume, which appeared in late 1850, Griswold prepared a biographical sketch, entitled “A Memoir of the Author,” which painted Poe as a depraved, cynical, and drug-addicted lunatic. Griswold forged letters, passed along half-truths, and twisted the facts to suit his personal view of Poe. The Works sold, and Griswold’s distortion of Poe’s life became part of the author’s mystique.
