An Edgar Allan Poe Chronology: J. R. Hammond

An Edgar Allan Poe
Chronology
J. R. Hammond
AN EDGAR ALLAN POE CHRONOLOGY
AUTHOR CHRONOLOGIES
General Editor: Norman Page, Emeritus Professor of Modern

English Literature, University of Nottingham
Published titles include
J. L. Bradley
A RUSKIN CHRONOLOGY
Gordon Campbell
A MILTON CHRONOLOGY
J. R. Hamnlond
A ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON CHRONOLOGY
AN EDGAR ALLAN POE CHRONOLOGY
John McDermott
A HOPKINS CHRONOLOGY
Norman Page
AN EVELYN WAUGH CHRONOLOGY
Peter Preston
A D. H. LAWRENCE CHRONOLOGY
An
Edgar Allan Poe
Chronology
J. R. Hammond
Research Fellow
Nottingha111 Trent University
First published in Great Britain 1998 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
HoundmilJs, Basingstoke, Hampshire R021 6XS and London
COll1panies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available froIll the British Library.
ISBN 0-333-69449-X
First published in the United States of America 1998 by

ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 0-312-21 ]62-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hamnlond, J. R. (John R.), 1933-
An Edgar Allan Poe chronology / J.R. Harnnlond.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-312-2] 162-7 (cloth)
1. Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809- I 849-Chronology. 2. Fantastic
literature-Authorship-Chronology. 3. Authors, Anlerican-19th
century-Biography-Chronology. I. Title.
PS263] .H29 ]997
8] 8'.309-dc21
[B] 97-35597
CIP
© J. R. Hammond 1998
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Contents
General Editor's Preface ix
Introduction xi
Acknowledgements xv
List of Abbreviations xvii
The Poe Family xx
Map of Atlantic Seaboard, United States xxiii
AN EDGAR ALLAN POE CHRONOLOGY 1
The Poe Circle 73
Chronology of Poe's Works 95
Sources 99
Index 101
v
This page intentionally left blank
Of all American writers' lives, his is the most fascinating.
He was the great romantic, the man who burned himself
out in a blaze of tragic glory. He paid dearly for immor-
tality, gave his whole life to attain it. But in his terms it
was probably worth the cost.
Philip Van Doren Stern
vii
General Editor's Preface
Most biographies are ill adapted to serve as works of
reference - not surprisingly so, since the biographer is
likely to regard his function as the devising of a continu-
ous and readable narrative, with excursions into inter-
pretation and speculation, rather than a bald recital of
facts. There are times, however, when anyone reading
for business or pleasure needs to check a point quickly
or to obtain a rapid overview of part of an author's life
or career; and at such moments turning over the pages
of a biography can be a time-consuming and frustrating
occupation. The present series of volumes aims at pro-
viding a means whereby the chronological facts of an
author's life and career, rather than needing to be prised
out of the narrative in which they are (if they appear at
all) securely embedded, can be seen at a glance. Moreover,
whereas biographies are often, and quite un.derstandably,
vague over matters of fact (since it makes for tedious-
ness to be forever enumerating details of dates and places),
a chronology can be precise whenever it is possible to be
precise.
Thanks to the survival, sometimes in very large quan-
tities, of letters, diaries, notebooks and other documents,
as well as to thoroughly researched biographies and biblio-
graphies, this material now exists in abundance for many
major authors. In the case of, for example, Dickens, we
can often ascertain what he was doing in each month
and week, and almost on each day, of his prodigiously
active working life; and the student of, say, David Copperfield
is likely to find it fascinating as well as useful to know
just when Dickens was at work on each part of that novel,
what other literary enterprises he was engaged in at the
same time, whom he was meeting, what places he was
visiting, and what were the relevant circumstances of his
ix
x General Editor's Preface
personal and professional life. Such a chronology is not,

of course, a substitute for a biography; but its arrange-
ment, in combination with its index, makes it a much
more convenient tool for this kind of purpose; and it may
be acceptable as a form of alternative' biography, with
I
its own distinctive advantages as well as its obvious

limitations.
Since information relating to an author's early years is
usually scanty and chronologically imprecise, the open-
ing section of some volumes in this series groups together
the years of childhood and adolescence. Thereafter each
year, and usually each month, is dealt with separately.
Information not readily assignable to a specific month or
day is given as a general note under the relevant year or
month. The first entry for each month carries an indica-
tion of the day of the week, so that when necessary this
can be readily calculated for other dates. Each volume
also contains a bibliography of the principal sources of
information. In the chronology itself, the sources of many
of the more specific items, including quotations, are ident-
ified, in order that the reader who wishes to do ·so may
consult the original contexts.
NORMAN PAGE
Introduction
In his biography of Edgar Allan Poe published in 1977,
David Sinclair described Poe's life as 'one of the great
tragedies of literature'. There is indeed an essentially tragic
quality about Poe's life and career. It was his misfortune
to be left an orphan and to be adopted by a man of to-
tally dissimilar temperament; to fall in love with and marry
a woman who died in traumatic circumstances; to seek
to establish himself as a writer in a highly unfavourable
literary climate; and to appoint as his literary executor a
man who despised him and did his utmost to blacken
Poe's reputation. Summing up Poe's life and career, Philip
Van Doren Stern pithily observed: 'He gave us much and
received pathetically little in return, for he was all his
life a starveling poet and a miserably paid writer for
ephemeral magazines.'
Though he died at the age of 40 and suffered from
wretched health for many years, Edgar Allan Poe wrote
an astonishing amount and left behind him a solid liter-
ary achievement. His complete works fill a volume of some
800 pages, including more than 60 short stories, 50 poems
and a full-length novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon
Pym. This does not include his prolific journalism, including
book reviews, essays, literary criticism and belles-lettres,
which he contributed to a wide range of publications
during the last 15 years of his life, nor does it include
the Marginalia. Bearing in mind his poor health and pov-
erty, and the dispiriting circumstances in which much of
his writing was carried out, it is surprising that he achieved
so much.
His life is of exceptional interest in that not only was
he one of the first professional men of letters in the United
States (a distinction he shares with Washington Irving),
but his career impinged on many of the leading literary
xi
xii Introduction
figures of his time, including Charles Dickens, Henry

Longfellow, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, James Russell
Lowell and Mayne Reid. As an edito~ poet and litterateur
Poe corresponded with many of the leading writers, edi-
tors and critics of his day; for this reason a chronology
of his life is unusually interesting as a case-study in liter-
ary influence. One has only to peruse the 'Poe Circle'
included in this chronology to see the extent of his friend-
ships.
Poe can only be fully understood in his context as an
American writer: Though he was born of an English mother
and spent the most impressionable years of his childhood
in England, he lived in an age of slavery and violent unrest,
and his struggle to win recognition as an imaginative writer
was conducted against a background of a new nation
striving to achieve cultural and economic independence
of Britain. He was a contemporary of Hawthorne, Emerson,
Irving and Longfellow, and whilst he was shaped by
American culture he sought all his life to attain a style
and manner of his own. Throughout the last decade of
his life he was dominated by two overriding aims ~ an
ambition to make a permanent mark as a man of letters,
and to become editor and proprietor of a literary journal
that would set the highest possible critical standards. If
the reader of this Chronology is struck by Poe's appar-
ent restlessness - his constant journeyings between Rich-
mond, Boston, New York, Baltimore and Philadelphia -
and his inability to settle in one place for any length of
time, it is important to understand these drives, and that
all his life he was dogged by poverty and ill-health.
On the whole Poe's life has been well documented,
partly because he was a prolific correspondent and many
of his letters have survived, and partly because it has
been thoroughly researched by modern biographers. The
monumental biographies by Hervey Allen and Arthur
Hobson Quinn subjected his life and times to compre-
hensive scrutiny, though there are some regrettable gaps
in the record. For example, some of the details of his school
Introduction xiii
years remain obscure, and we still know little about his

activities during the period 1832-4 when he was living
in great poverty in Baltimore. The circumstances surround-
ing his death have been extensively researched, yet his
movements during the final days of his life and the pre-
cise cause of his death remain in doubt.
Quinn commented that around Poe's name 'has accu-
mulated a mass of rumour, conjecture, psycho-analysis
and interpretation based upon imagination rather than
fact'. Indeed, the chronologist has to free his mind from
the accretions of legend which have for many years sur-
rounded him and concentrate on the essential facts of
his life and achievement, resisting the temptation to place
these within a framework of interpretation. In common
with Stevenson, his literary reputation has suffered from
the fact that critical reactions to his work have polarised
into extreme positions: on the one hand, those who ar-
gue that all his work, even the most ephemeral, is wor-
thy of literary immortality and, on the other hand, those
who see him as a pathological liar and alcoholic whose
reputation has been greatly inflated. One of the merits
of a chronology such as this is that, by presenting the
central facts of an author's life, it enables the reader to
form his or her own conclusions without any attempt to
impose a ready-made interpretation upon those facts,
whether psychoanalytical or otherwise. Of course, no
chronology, however well intentioned, can be wholly
objective: it is arguable that the selection of which facts
and dates to include can in itself be subjective. But I have
sought to present as dispassionate an account as possible.
J. R. Hammond
Acknowledgements
A note on the principal sources I have consulted will be
found at the end of the Chronology. I wish to acknowl-
edge my indebtedness to the following libraries for their
assistance: London Borough of Hackney, Stoke Newington
(Edgar Allan Poe Archive); University of Nottingham;
Nottingham Trent University.
The Poe family tree is reproduced from Arthur Hobson
Quinn, Edgar Allan Poe, A Critical Biography (New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1941); and the map of the At-
lantic seaboard is reproduced from Marie Bonaparte, The
Life and Works of Edgar Allan Poe (New York: Humanities
Press, 1971). Grateful acknowledgements are made for
permission· to reproduce this material.
Finally, I wish to thank my wife for her forbearance
during the many silent hours I spent writing.
xv
List of Abbreviations
The abbreviation EAP refers throughout to Edgar Allan
Poe. The following abbreviations are used for his family
and friends:
AR Annie (Nancy) Richmond
DP David Poe
EP Elizabeth Poe
FKA Frances Keeling Allan
FSO Frances Sargent Osgood
FWT Frederick William Thomas
JA John Allan
JES Joseph Evans Snodgrass
JRL James Russell Lowell
MC Maria Clemm
MLS Marie Louise Shew
RWG Rufus Wilmot Griswold
SER Sarah Elmira Royster
SHW Sarah Helen Whitman
VC Virginia Clemm
The following abbreviations are used for Poe's works:

M Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems
NAGP Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
TFC Tales of the Folio Club
TGA Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque
TOP Tamerlane and Other Poems
Journals and newspapers are abbreviated as follows:

American American Whig Review
Arthur Arthur's Lady's Magazine
Broadway Broadway Journal
Burton Burton's Gentleman's Magazine
Chronicle Philadelphia Saturday Chronicle
xvii
xviii List of Abbreviations
Columbian Columbian Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine

Companion Ladies Companion
Courier Philadelphia Saturday Courier
Democratic United States Magazine and Democratic
Review
Dollar The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper
Examiner Pittsburgh Literary Examiner
Flag Flag of Our Union
Gift The Gift
Godey Godey's Lady's Book
Graham Graham's Magazine
Journal Home Journal
Mirror New York Evening Mirror
Monthly American Monthly Magazine
Museum Baltimore American Museum
Opal The Opal
Pioneer The Boston Pioneer
Sartain Sartain's Union Magazine
Saturday United States Saturday Post
SLM Southern Literary Messenger
Snowden Snowden's Ladies' Companion
Spy Columbia Spy
Sun New York Sun
Tribune New York Tribune
Union Union Magazine
Visiter Baltimore Saturday Visiter
Yankee Yankee and Boston Literary Gazette
xx
Poe's Family Tree
David Poe, m. Sarah-

of Dring, Cavan Co., Ireland. d. 1742.
John Poe, m. Jane McBride Alexander, m. Margaret Anne, m.
Came to Penna., b.1706[?]

1749-50. d. circa. m. Sept. 1741
1756, Baltimore. d. July 17, 1802.
David Poe, m. Elizabeth Cairnes George, m. Catharine Dawson

b. Ireland, 1743[?] b. 1756, Lancaster Co., Pa. b. July 31,1744. b. Cecil Co., Md.,
d. Oct. 17, 1816, d. July 7, 1835, Baltimore m. cir. 1775. May 13,1742.
Baltimore. d. Aug. 27. 1823, d.Aug. 14, 1806
Frederick Co., Havre-de-Grace.
Maryland.
John Hancock William George Washington David, jr. m. Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins
b. Aug. 25, b. March 2, b. Aug. 21, 1782. b. July 18, 1784. b. England, 1787[?]
1776. 1780. m. March 14- d. Dec. 8, 1811.
April 9, 1806.
d.[?]
.William Henry [Leonard?] Edgar Allan, m. Virginia Eliza Clem_m----'~-_R~o-'-s-a-'i-e---

b. Jan. 30, 1807, Boston. b. Jan. 19, 1809, Boston. b. Dec. 20, 181 Or?]
d. Aug. 1, 1831. m. May 16, 1836. d. July 21, 1874.
d. Oct. 7,1849, Baltimore.
xxi
Archbald Scott Mary [?]
Other Children* William m. Frances Winslow

b. 1755, Lancaster, Pa. d. July 22, 1802
Moved to Georgia,
1789-90
d. Sept. 13,1804
Samuel Maria m. William Clemm, Jr. Elisabeth m. Henry Herring

b.Dec.21, 1787 b. March 17, 1790. b. May 1, 1779. b. Sept. 26,1792.
m. July 12,1817. d. Feb. 8,1826 m. Nov. 17,1814
d. Feb. 16, 1871 d. Dec. 8,1822.
Henry Clemm Virginia Maria Virginia Eliza

b. Sept. 10, 1818 b. Aug. 22, 1820. b. Aug. 15, 1822.
buried Nov. 5,1822 baptized Nov. 5,1822.
d. Jan. 30,1847
* Mrs. Clemm mentions also Robert, Samuel, Jane, Hester, John, Mary, and James-letter to William Poe, Jr.
7 October 1835.
OHIO
NORTH AMERICA
ATLANTIC SEABOARD, UNITED STATES

An Edgar Allan Poe
Chronology
Early Years: 1809-25
1809
19 January (Thurs) Edgar Poe is born in Boston, Massa-

chusetts, the son of David and Elizabeth Arnold Poe, an
actor and actress, who had married in Richmond in April
1806. At this time the family is living at 33 Hollis Street.
An older brother, William Henry Leonard Poe, had been
born in 1807.
8 February (Wed) EP resumes work at the theatre.
March? EAP is taken to Baltimore where he remains

with his paternal grandparents until September.
16 May (Tues) The last appearance of EP in Boston.
September The Poe family moves to New York.
1810
4 July (Wed) Final appearance of EAP's parents on the

New York stage.
During July DP leaves home, abandoning his family. EP

leaves New York and travels to Richmond, accompanied
by EAE
19 October (Fri) Supposed date of DP's death in Nor-

folk, Virginia.
1
2 An Edgar Allan Poe Chronology
20 December (Thurs) Birth of EAP's sister Rosalie in

Norfolk.
1811
During the early months of 1811 EP plays at theatres in

Charleston.
29 April (Mon) Benefit perfomance for EE
July Returns to Norfolk where she is reported to be in

failing health and destitute.
August Returns to Richmond, where she makes the ac-

quaintance of Mrs Frances Keeling Allan, the wife of John
Allan, a Scottish tobacco merchant, then living on the
north-east corner of Main and Thirteenth Streets.
11 October (Fri) Last appearance of EP on the stage (as

Countess Wintersen in The Stranger).
25 November (Mon) Richmond Enquirer publishes an

appeal for EP addressed 'to the kind hearted of the city'.
8 December (Sun) Death of EE
9 December Rosalie is adopted by Mrs William Mackenzie,

the wife of one of JN s friends, and EAP is adopted by FKA.
10 December EP is buried at St John's Episcopal Church,

Richmond.
11 December EAP is baptised.
1815
Early in the year EAP attends the boys' school of William

Ewing in Richmond.
Early Years: 1809-25 3
17 June (Sat) EAP sails for England in the Lothair with

FKA and JA.
28 July (Fri) Arrives at Liverpool, where JA has busi-

ness to transact, and thence to Greenock, Scotland.
During the summer EAP attends Kirkgate school at Irvine,

a few miles from Greenock. While at Irvine lodges with
JA's sister Mary at Bridgegate House. James Galt, a fel-
low pupil, describes him as 'very mature for his age, full
of old-fashioned talk, filled with self reliance, and abso-
lutely devoid of fear'.
Early in October the family travel to England, stopping

at Newcastle and Sheffield en route.
7 October (Sat) Arrives in London, staying at Blake's

Hotel.
15 October Moves to 47 Southampton Row, Russell

Square.
December? EAP returns to Scotland and resumes his

attendance at school at Irvine.
1816
Early in the year EAP returns to London where he at-

tends the Misses Dubourg's boarding school at 146 Sloane
Street, Chelsea. Known as 'Master Allan', he studies
writing, spelling, geography, the Church catechism and
English history.
17 October (Thurs) Death of 'General' David Poe, grand-

father of EAB at Baltimore.
1817
12 July (Sat) Marriage of Maria Poe (EAP's aunt and

future mother-in-law) to William Clemm.
Summer JA moves to 39 (now 83) Southampton Row.
Autumn EAP is entered at the Manor House School, Stoke

Newington, an academy for young gentlemen (the school
stood on the north-east corner of Church Street and
Edwards Lane, and is described in the short story 'Will-
iam Wilson'). The school is run by the Revd John Bransby,
who describes EAP as 'intelligent, wayward and wilful'.
The year 1817 is a poor year for JA's trade, with fluctuat-
ing prices, heavy taxation and widespread unemployment.
1818
21 March (Sat) JA writes to a friend, 'Edgar is a fine

boy and I have no reason to complain of his progress.'
Throughout his stay at Stoke Newington EAP does well
at his lessons, excelling in history and literature.
28 September (Mon) JA writes to his uncle, 'Edgar is

growing wonderfully and enjoys a good reputation as
both able and willing to receive instruction.'
1819
Throughout the year EAP remains at school at Stoke

Newington, returning to Southampton Row for holidays.
1820
March JA seriously ill with dropsy. At this time his busi-

ness affairs are failing owing to a recession in the tobacco
market.
Early Years: 1809-25 5
3 April (Man) JA returns to work to wind up his affairs

in England.
20 May (Sat) JA decides to leave England and return to

the United States by the June packet.
26 May EAP leaves Manor House School.
8 June (Thurs) The family arrive in Liverpool.
14 June Sails for New York in the ship Martha.
21 July (Fri) Arrives in New York, after a stay of five

years in England and Scotland.
2 August (Wed) Arrives in Richmond, where the Allan

family and EAP stay at the home of Charles Ellis (JA's
partner) on the corner of Franklin and Second Streets.
In the autumn the family move to a new house on Clay

Street. Here EAP learns to swim in Shockoe Creek and
reads Robinson 'Crusoe for the first time.
September EAP is enrolled at the preparatory school of

Joseph W Clarke (of Trinity College, Dublin) where he
studies Latin, French, mathematics and classical literature.
He remains a pupil here until March 1825, studying u·nder
Clarke and his successor, William Burke.
1822
15 August (Thurs) Birth of Virginia Eliza Clemm, later

to become EAP's wife.
During this year (aged 13) writes a poem entitled 'Rise

Infernal Spirits', discovered many years later in the files
of Ellis & Allan.
1823
During this year meets Jane Stith Stanard, the mother of

his best friend, Robert Stanard, and becomes a frequent
visitor to her home in Capitol Square, Richmond. EAP's
first serious attempts to write poetry date from this time.
1824
28 April (Wed) Death of Jane Stith Stanard, aged 31. He

later dedicates his poem 'To Helen' to her.
October EAP becomes a lieutenant in a military com-

pany, the Richmond Junior Volunteers, and takes part in
a parade to welcome the visit of General La Fayette, a
national hero.
From 1824 onwards invariably signs his letters 'Edgar A.

Poe' (previously signing them Edgar Poe).
1825
7 March (Mon) The new University of Virginia is founded

by Thomas Jefferson.
26 March Death of JXs uncle, William Galt, who leaves

JA a great fortune. JA becomes one of the richest men in
Virginia.
EAP is removed from school and put under the care of

private tutors to prepare for entrance to the University
of Virginia.
28 June (Tues) JA purchases a large house, 'Moldavia',

on the corner of Main and Fifth Streets, Richmond.
During the spring and summer of 1825 EAP reads Don

Quixote, Gil BIas and the poetry of Milton and Burns, in
1826 7
addition to studying the classics. He becomes a close friend

of Sarah Elmira Royster, the daughter of a neighbour.
1826
February
1 (Wed) EAP commences his studies at the University
of Virginia, Charlottesville, studying ancient and mod-
ern languages (Latin, Greek, French, Spanish and
Italian).
His room, number 13 West Range, is now a Poe
memorial.
14 EAP matriculates.
During his stay at the university, EAP begins work
on Tamerlane and Other Poems.
May
25 (Thurs) Thanks JA for sending an overcoat and other
clothes.
July
4 (Tues) Death of Jefferson.
During 1826 reads Robertson's History of America,
Marshall's Washington and the works of Charles Rollin.
September
21 (Thurs) EAP writes to JA expressing consternation at
the forthcoming examinations.
December
4 (Mon) Purchases a new hat and suit (on credit) from
a Charlottesville merchant. Throughout his stay at the
university EAP suffers from financial embarrassment
as JAhas supplied him with inadequate funds.
15 EAP excels in the Latin and French examinations.
21 Leaves the university en route for Richmond.

24 Arrives in Richmond.
1827
January
JA refuses to permit EAP to return to the university.
March
18 (Sun) The tension between JA and EAP comes to a
head in a quarrel: a turning point in EAP's life.
19 Leaves JA's house and moves to the Court House
Tavern, Richmond. Writes to JA announcing his deci-
sion to leave and asking for his trunk containing
clothes and books.
20 Writes again to JA requesting his trunk and clothes,
adding, 'I have not one cent in the world to provide
any food'.
For the next few days EAP is in hiding at Richardson's
Tavern, where FKA supplies him with small sums of money.
24 Sails for Boston on the ship Carrier.
April
7 (Sat) Arrives in Boston (under the assumed name Henri
Le Rennet) where he remains until the end of May.
Here he makes the acquaintance of a printer, Calvin
Thomas, who agrees to publish TO~
May
7 (Man) Publication of TOB in an edition of 40 or 50
copies.
26 Enlists as a private in the United States Army under
the name Edgar A. Perry.
1828 9
June
1 (Fri) Assigned to Battery 'H' of the First Regiment of
Artillery, stationed in Boston Harbour at Fort Inde-
pendence. Here he remains until the end of October,
serving as company clerk and an assistant in the
Subsistence Department.
October
20 (Sat) 'Dreams' in Baltimore North American.
31 EAP's Battery is ordered to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's
Island (in the mouth of Charleston Harbour in South
Carolina).
November
8 (Thurs) Sails from Boston in the brig Waltham.
18 Arrives at Charleston.
19 Commences garrison duty at Fort Moultrie on
Sullivan's Island, serving as a company clerk. (The
island is the setting for the short story 'The Gold-
Bug'.)
1828
May
1 (Thurs) Promoted to 'artificer' (the first rung on the
promotional ladder).
December
1 (Mon) Writes to JA expressing concern at news of JX s
illness and stressing his determination to leave the
Army.
11 Leaves Fort Moultrie on the ship Harriet bound for
Norfolk, Virginia.
15 Arrives at Norfolk and moves into his new quarters
at Fortress Monroe, Old Point Comfort, Virginia.
22 Writes to JA expressing regret at having received no

reply to his letter of 1 December and reaffirming his
determination to leave the Army and pursue a liter-
ary career.
1829
January
1 (Thurs) Appointed regimental sergeant major (the
highest possible rank for non-commissioned officers)
at Fortress Monroe, Virginia.
During this month is ill with a fever and enters the mili-
tary hospital at Fortress Monroe. He confides his alias to
the surgeon, Dr Robert Archer, who informs FKA.
February
4 (Wed) Writes to JA asking him to use his influence to
obtain an appointment as a cadet at West Point.
27? In view of the deteriorating health of his wife, JA
sends a message to EAP urging him to come to Rich-
mond at once.
28 Death of FKA, aged 45.
March
1 (Sun) Unaware of FKA's death, EAP sets out on his
journey to Richmond in response to JA's message.
2 Funeral of FKA.
3 Arrives in Richmond, but is too late to attend the
funeral. A suit of mourning is provided for EAP at
JA's expense.
4? Visits the grave of FKA in Shockoe Cemetery where
Jane Stanard is also buried.
During his stay in Richmond informs JA of his intention
to seek admission to the United States Military Academy
at West Point.
1829 11
9 Leaves Richmond to return to his garrison.

10 Arrives at Fortress Monroe. He immediately writes
to JA expressing the hope of a reconciliation and con-
firming his wish to enter West Point.
30 The Colonel of the Regiment writes to his superior
officer, General E. :e Gaines, requesting permission
to discharge EAP from the service on the understand-
ing that EAP will provide a substitute.
April
4 (Sat) General Gaines agrees to the request.
15 EAP (still known as Edgar A. Perry) is discharged from
the United States Army. He remains at Fortress Monroe
for a further five days, awaiting letters to assist him
to enter West Point.
20 Leaves Fortress Monroe bound for Richmond. The
letter from his Captain testifies that EAP has been
'prompt and faithful in the discharge of his duties'.
For the remainder of April EAP is occupied in obtaining
testimonials to assist him to enter West Point. JA assists
him in this.
May
6 (Wed) JA writes to the Secretary for War on EAP's
behalf.
7 Leaves Richmond bound for Washington (where he
presents JA's letter) and thence to Baltimore.
10? Arrives in Baltimore, staying in Heiskill's Indian Queen
Hotel, 15 South Fourth St.
11 Calls on the author William Wirt and leaves with him
the manuscript of M.
12 Travels by steamboat to Philadelphia, where he leaves
a copy of M with the publishers Carey, Lea & Carey,
then returns to Baltimore.
18 JA writes to him urging him to 'be prudent and careful'
and enclosing $100.
Extracts from M published in the Baltimore Gazette.
20 Writes to JA that he has found his aged grandmother
Mrs David Poe and other relations in Baltimore. Thanks

him for sending the draft for $100.
29 Hears from Carey, Lea & Carey that they will pub-
lish AA on condition that they are guaranteed against
all loss. Writes to JA asking him to act as guarantor.
June
8 (Mon) JA replies, refusing his request.
10 Writes again to JA repeating his request to act as
guarantor.
25 Writes to JA stressing that he still awaits a reply. He
adds that he believes he is a grandson of General
Benedict Arnold (the belief is erroneous). Tells JA, 'The
poem [AA] is now in the hands of Carey, Lea & Carey
and I am only waiting for your answer to withdraw
it or not.'
July
15 (Wed) Writes again to JA asking for financial assist-
ance, adding, 'I think I have already had my share
of trouble for one so young.'
19 JA 'sends him a small sum of money with the mes-
sage that'a man of genius ought not have to apply
for aid.' EAP receives this on the 22nd.
23 Sets out on foot for Washington, where he has a
personal interview with John Eaton, the Secretary for
War, who advises him that there is no immediate
vacancy at West Point. Following the interview he
walks back to Baltimore.
26 Writes letter of thanks to JA, denying his accusations
of irresponsibility.
28 Writes to Carey, Lea & Carey requesting the return
of his manuscript.
August
4 (Tues) Writes to JA saying he is anxious to return home.
10 JA sends him a remittance but protests at EAP's ex-
penditure on obtaining a substitute to enable him to
1829 13
leave the Army. EAP replies that he can live on $10 a

month and asking for his trunk (containing books and
papers) to be sent to Baltimore.
19 JA sends him $50.
During August EAP goes to live with his aunt, Mrs Maria
Clemm, in Mechanics Row, Wilk Street (now Eastern
Avenue). In the same household are her daughter Virginia,
her son Henry, old Mrs David Poe (EAP's grandmother)
and EAP's brother, Henry.
September
'Fairy-Land' in Monthly.
During the autumn writes to numerous writers and critics
seeking support for his proposed volume M, which he
is still determined to publish.
October
During this month writes to John Neal, editor of the Yankee
and Boston Literary Gazette, offering to dedicate M to him.
30 (Fri) Writes to JA reaffirming his desire to enter West Point.
November
12 (Thurs) Tells JA he is almost destitute. In reply JA
sends him $80 and gives him permission to return
home.
18 Tells JA his poems have been accepted by Hatch &
Dunning, publishers of Baltimore. Thanks him for the
$80: 'this will be quite sufficient for all the expendi-
tures you mention.'
December
Extracts from the forthcoming volume M are published
in the Yankee and Boston Literary Gazette.
23 (Tues) Publication of M by Hatch & Dunning.
29 Sends a copy of M to John Neal, editor of the Bos-
ton Yankee.
At the end of December leaves the Clemm household and
returns home to Richmond.
1830
January
Spends several weeks seeing his old friends and distrib-
uting copies of M to friends and bookstores. JA, in poor
health, leaves him to his own devices.
19 (Tues) EAP's 21st birthday~
March
31 (Wed) JA writes to the Secretary for War signifying
his assent to EAP signing articles to serve the United
States for five years. He writes 'as the guardian of
Edgar Allan Poe'.
May
3 (Mon) Quarrels violently with JA, who accuses him
of idleness.
Writes to Sergeant Samuel Graves (EAP's army sub-
stitute), expressing regret that money is still owed to
him.
12 JA provides EAP with a pair of blankets for his out-
fit, as he prepares to depart for Baltimore, en route
for West Point.
15? Arrives in Baltimore and lives temporarily with MC.
21 JA sends him $20.
June
At some stage during June travels to Philadelphia, where
he calls on a number of publishers and literary friends.
He then travels to New York and on to West Point, arriv-
ing in time to take the examinations for admission at the
end of the month.
25 (Fri) Arrives at the United States Military Academy
at West Point.
28 Completes entrance examinations.
Writes to JA acknowledging receipt of $20, which he
had received on the 25th.
1830 15
July
1 (Thurs) Takes the oath 'to preserve the Constitution
of the United States and serve them against all their
enemies whomsoever'.
During this month JA becomes engaged to Miss Louisa
Gabriella Patterson of New York.
September
At the end of the summer EAP and the other cadets move
into their winter quarters. His room, which he shares with
two others, is number 28 in the South Barracks. In addi-
tion to his military duties he works on the verses pub-
lished in the following year as Poems. These include 'Israfel',
'To Helen', 'The Sleeper', 'Fairy-Land' and 'The Valley of
Unrest'.
11 (Sat) 'Sonnet - To Science' in Saturday (under the title
'Sonnet').
October
'Sonnet - To Science' in the Philadelphia Casket.
5 (Tues) Marriage of JA to Louisa Patterson in New York.
The couple then return to live in Richmond.
November
6 (Sat) Writes to JA regretting that his guardian had
not visited him whilst in New York. He tells JA that
he finds life at West Point not unpleasant.
December
Towards the end of the year writes to the New York
publisher Elam Bliss arranging for the publication of Poems.
JA writes to him informing him that he is disowned and
that no further communications from him are desired.
1831
January
3 (Mon) Replies to JA's letter reproaching his guardian
for lack of affection and asserting that only FKA had
cared for him. He declares his intention to resign from
West Point.
7 From this date neglects his military duties in an ef-
fort to be dismissed. He absents himself from all
parades and deliberately disobeys orders.
15 From this date neglects his academic duties.
28 EAP is court martialled and found guilty of two
charges: gross neglect of duty and disobedience of
orders. He is 'dismissed from the service of the United
States' with effect from 6 March 1831.
February
8 (Tues) The findings of the court martial are endorsed
by the Secretary of War.
18 Formally released from duty.
19 Leaves West Point Dock on the steamer Henry Eckford
bound for New York.
20 Arrives in New York and takes up lodgings near Madi-
son Square.
21 Writes to JA begging for financial assistance, plead-
ing that he is ill and destitute.
Whilst in New York calls at the office of Elam Bliss at 111
Broadway and reads the proofs of Poems.
March
6 (Sun) Official date of dismissal from West Point.
10 Writes to Colonel Thayer at West Point announcing
his intention to proceed to France 'having no longer
any ties which can bind me to my native country'.
27 Publication of Poems.
31? Leaves New York bound for Baltimore, where he re-
sumes living with the Clemm household at Mech-
anics Row, Wilk Street.
1831 17
April
From April 1831 to August 1835 EAP lives quietly with
the Clemm household working steadily at short stories.
May
6 (Fri) Writes to William Gwynn, editor of the Balti-
more Federal Gazette, asking for paid work: 'I am very
anxious to remain and settle myself in Baltimore as
Mr Allan has married again and I no longer look upon
Richmond as my place of residence.'
June
4 (Sat) The Philadelphia Saturday Courier announces a
contest offering $100 for the best short story, to be
submitted by 1 December.
July
During the summer submits a number of short stories to
the Courier.
August
1 (Mon) Death of EAP's brother, Henry, aged 24.
2 Funeral of Henry.
13 'A Dream' in Post, his first published short story.
October
16 (Sun) Writes an affectionate letter to JA asking his
'father' to write to him.
November
7 (Mon) EAP arrested for debt.
18 Writes to JA explaining his predicament and begging
for assistance: 'I am in the greatest distress and have
no other friend on earth to apply to except yourself.'
December
1 (Thurs) Closing date for the short story competition.
EAP submits 'Metzengerstein', 'The Duke de
L 'Omelette', 'A Tale of Jerualem', 'A Decided Loss' and

'The Bargain Lost'.
5 MC writes to JA in support of EAP's appeal for as-
sistance.
7 JA agrees to settle the debt, but neglects to post the
letter till the 12th.
15 Writes to JA again in desperation.
29 Writes again with a final appeal.
1832
There are no surviving letters by EAP for 1832.
January
12 (Thurs) JA procures EAP's liberation and also sends
him $20 (this is the last financial assistance received
from JA).
14 Publication of 'Metzengerstein' in Courier.
Released from debt, EAP concentrates on writing the short
stories, later collected together as Tales of the Folio Club.
March
3 (Sat) 'The Duke de LOmelette' in Courier.
April
17 (Tues) JA makes a will making no provision for EAE
June
During this month travels to Richmond in the hope of a
reconciliation with JA and his second wife. Disappointed
at his reception he returns to Baltimore.
9 (Sat) 'A Tale of Jerusalem' in Courier.
August
4 (Sat) An editorial in the Baltimore Saturday Visiter an-
nounces that the paper will be publishing one or two
1833 19
tales written by EAP: 'we have read these tales every

syllable, with the greatest pleasure, and for original-
ity, richness of imagery and purity of the style, few
American authors in our opinion have produced any-
thing superior.'
October
About this time the Clemm household, including EAB
moves to 3 (now 203) North Amity Street.
November
10 (Sat) 'Loss of Breath' in Courier (originally 'A Decided
Loss').
December
1 (Sat) 'The Bargain Lost' in Courier.
31 JA adds codicil to his will making provision for two
illegitimate sons, but again making no reference to
EAE
1833
April
12 (Fri) Writes his last letter to JA, concluding: 'For God's
sake pity me, and save me from destruction.'
20 'Serenade' in the Visiter.
May
4 (Sat) Sends the manuscript of a short story, 'Epimanes'
(later 'Four Beasts in One'), to the New England
Magazine.
June
15 (Sat) The Baltimore Saturday Visiter announce a prize
of $50 for the best short story and $25 for the best
poem. The closing date is 1 October.
October
At this time is working on a novella, 'A Voyage to the
Moon' (later published under the title 'The Unparalleled
Adventure of one Hans Pfaall').
1 (Tues) Closing date for the competition announced
by the Visiter. EAP submits his poem 'The Coliseum'
and the stories 'Epimanes', 'MS Found in a Bottle',
'Lionizing', 'The Visionary' and 'Siope'.
12 Announcement of judges' decision. 'MS Found in a
Bottle' wins the prize for the best short story, the other
tales submitted by EAP bring commended for their
'singular force and beauty'.
19 Publication of 'MS Found in a Bottle' in Visiter. EAP
wins a prize of $50 for the best short story.
21 Calls on the members of the judging committee to
thank them.
26 'The Coliseum' in Visiter.
November
13 (Wed) A rain of meteors is visible in Baltimore (poss-
ibly providing EAP with the idea of the comet in 'Eiros
and Charmion').
December
16 (Man) JA, sensing that his health is declining, writes
to his former partner Charles Ellis urging a final settle-
ment of the affairs of the business.
1834
January
'The Visionary' in Godey (later retitled 'The Assignation').
'To One in Paradise' in Godey.
1835 21
March
During this month EAP attempts to see his foster fathe~
but JA declines to see him.
27 (Thurs) Death of JA, aged 54.
November
19? (Wed) Writes to John E Kennedy, a leading literary
figure in Baltimore, asking him to use his influence
with the publishers Carey and Lea to alleviate his
pressing financial problems. Kennedy writes at once
to the publishers urging them to pay EAP an advance.
December
19 (Fri) Writes again to Kennedy, as he has not received
a reply.
22 Kennedy writes to confirm the action he has taken
regarding Carey and Lea.
1835
February
Reviews Robert Montgomery Bird's Calavar in SLM.
March
'Berenice' in SLM.
12 (Thurs) An advertisement is published in the Balti-
more Patriot inviting applications for the post of teacher
at a public school.
15 Writes to Kennedy asking for his assistance to enable
him to obtain the post. On the same day, Kennedy
invites hiIlJ. to dinner and provides him with an in-
troduction to Thomas White, editor of the Southern
Literary Messenger.
April
'Morella' in SLM.
30 (Thurs) Tells White that his opinion of 'Berenice' is
just: 'The subject is far too horrible, and I confess
that I hesitated in sending it to you especially as a
specimen of my capabilities.'
May
'Lionising' in SLM.
From this month begins writing book reviews for SLM,
commencing with a review of Kennedy's Horse-Shoe
Robinson.
30 (Sat) Writes to White saying he has had a serious break-
down in health, and acknowledges payment for his
contributions to the May SLM.
June
'The Unparalleled Adventure of one Hans Pfaall' in SLM.
12 (Fri) Writes again to White saying he is entirely re-
covered from illness.
22 Writes a long letter to White concerning the SLM and
expressing willingness to meet him in Richmond: 'I
am anxious to settle myself in that city.'
July
'To Mary' in SLM (later retitled 'To F ...').
7 (Tues) Death of Mrs David Poe, aged 78.
8 Funeral of Mrs Poe, attended by EAB MC and other
mourners.
20 Sends White a copy of the Visiter of 12 October 1833,
containing a favourable review of his short stories,
and asking for the review to be reprinted in SLM.
August
Early in August travels by steamboat to Richmond, where
he takes up lodgings in Bank Street, Capitol Square. He
commences work as assistant editor of SLM in offices at
the corner of Main and Fifteenth Streets. His duties in-
1835 23
elude dealing with correspondence, writing book reviews

and checking proofs at an annual salary of $520.
20 (Thurs) Writes to his cousin William Poe (of Augusta)
urging him to give whatever assistance he can to MC.
29 Writes to MC to declare his love for her daughter
VC.
September
'King Pest', 'Loss of Breath' (revised version) and 'Shadow:
a Parable' in SLM.
'Lines Written in an Album' in SLM (later retitled To
F..... S S.O.... D).
4 (Fri) Writes to John Neal, editor of Yankee, enclosing
a copy of SLM and suggesting a regular exchange of
publications.
11 Writes to Kennedy thanking him for his past assist-
ance and stating that the post with the SLM 'is agree-
able to me for many reasons'. He adds that he is
convinced the article 'Discoveries in the Moon' [in
the New York Sun] 'was stolen from myself'.
20? Arrives in Baltimore having been dismissed by White,
editor of SLM, for unreliability.
22 Takes out a licence to marry his cousin VC.
25? Writes to White asking to be reinstated in his post at
the SLM.
29 White replies in kindly terms but declining to rein-
state him.
October
3 (Sat) Returns to Richmond and resumes his duties at
the SLM, White having relented.
Together with MC and VC, he moves into a boarding house
on the corner of Bank and Eleventh Streets, near Capitol
Square. During the remainder of the year contributes 37
book reviews, nine tales and four poems.
8 Writes to the playwright and novelist Robert M. Bird
requesting contributions to SLM.
December
'Bon-Bon' and 'Scenes from an Unpublished Drama' (later
known as 'Politian') in SLM. Reviews Frederick Thomas's
Clinton Bradshaw, Theodore S. Fay's novel Norman Leslie
and Irving's The Crayon Miscellany in SLM.
1 (Tues) Writes friendly letter to Beverley Tucker, a regu-
lar contributor to SLM, replying to criticisms of 'MS.
Found in a Bottle'.
1836
January
Reviews Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and William Gilmore
Simm's The Partisan in SLM.
12 (Tues) Writes to various Poe cousins requesting financial
support to enable MC to set up a boarding house of
her own.
21 Asks the publishers Carey & Hart to send a copy of
Bulwer Lytton's Rienzi for review in SLM.
22 Writes to Kennedy: 'I am now, in every respect, com-
fortable and happy', adding that his annual income
is nearly $800.
February
'The Valley of Unrest' (revised text, under the title 'The
Valley Nis') in SLM.
Carey & Lea return the manuscript of TFC, having de-
clined to publish it. EAP then submits the book to Harp-
ers, who also refuse it.
S (Fri) Sends the proofs of 'The Necessity of Selection
in Reading' to the lawyer and writer, Lucian Minor.
9 Writes to the clergyman and poet, Stephen G. Bulfinch
of Augusta, Georgia, soliciting his support for the SLM
'in the name, and for the sake of Southern Literature'.
1836 25
11 Tells Kennedy that only 'Lionizing' and 'Loss of Breath'

are 'satires properly speaking - at least so meant'.
12 George Poe sends EAP $100 in response to his ap-
peal of 12 January.
March
'To Helen' and 'Four Beasts in One' in SLM.
3 (Thurs) Writes to the minor poet John Collins McCabe
explaining the reasons why a contribution by McCabe
has had to be declined by the SLM.
10 Sends copies of 'Letters from New England' to Lucian
Minor.
17 J. K. Paulding, a New York literary friend, writes to
EAP urging him 'to undertake a Tale in a couple of
volumes, for that is the magical number'. (Shortly after
this begins work on NAG~)
April
'A Tale of Jerusalem' and 'Maelzel's Chess Player' in SLM.
Also review of Joseph Rodman Drake's The Culprit Fay
and Fitz-Greene Halleck's Alnwick Castle (an important
critical essay).
9 (Sat) The Mirror publishes a critical article satirising
his polemical reviews in SLM.
12 Thanks William Poe for sending $50 for MC.
Tells the poetess Lydia H. Sigourney, 'for the last six
months the Editorial duties [of the SLM] have been
undertaken by myself.'
May
'The Sleeper' in SLM (under the title 'Irene').
2 (Mon) Writes to Beverley Tucker apologising for the
omission of 'To a Coquette' from the April issue.
16 Marries VC at a public ceremony in Richmond (the
service is conducted by a Presbyterian minister). The
couple then leave for a honeymoon in Petersburg,
Virginia, returning before the end of May.
June
Reviews Dickens's Sketches by Boz in SLM.
3 (Fri) Writes to Harpers requesting them to publish a
collected edition of his short stories.
Writes to the Washington lawyer James H. Causten
requesting him to investigate the possibility of repaying
to MC sums of money loaned to the State of Mary-
land by General David Poe.
7 Asks Kennedy for a loan, 'having got into a little tem-
porary difficulty'.
Asks Robert M. Bird for a contribution to the SLM:
he is planning an issue 'which shall contain a series
of articles from all the first pens in the land'. Sends
similar letters to Fenimore Coope~ Fitz-Greene Halleck
and Washington Irving.
8 Thanks Stephen G. Bulfinch for his letter of 3 May
and for his poems, adding, 'It would, indeed, be a
source of congratulation with me if, by any means
within my powe~ I could secure your occasional aid
in the way of contributions.'
18 Writes to the author and scholar Peter S. Du Ponceau
of Philadelphia requesting a contribution to the SLM:
'It 'is our design to issue, as soon as possible, a num-
ber of the Messenger consisting altogether of contri-
butions from our most distinguished literati.'
19 Harpers write to EAP declining to publish Tales of the
Folio Club, on the grounds that many had previously
appeared in print and most were 'too learned and
mystical'.
July
'Letter to B ' (revised version) in SLM.
4 (Mon) Writes to Governor Lewis Cass requesting a
contribution for the magazine, adding: 'it would
greatly advance the interests of our Journal - espe-
cially in the South.'
7 Tells Kennedy that SLM 'is thriving beyond all
expectations'.
1836 27
16 Writes to Senator Littleton W Tazewell requesting a

contribution for the SLM.
About this time moves, together with his wife and MC,
to a cheap tenement on Seventh Street.
August
'Israfel' and 'Pinakidia' in SLM.
'The City in the Sea' (revised text) in SLM (under the
title 'The City of Sin).
25 (Thurs) White tells a contributor: 'Courtesy to Mr Poe
whom I employ to edit my paper makes it a matter
of etiquette with me to submit all articles intended
for the Messenger to his judgment and I abide by his
dicta.'
September
~utography' in SLM.
2 (Fri) Publishes a letter in the Richmond Courier de-
fending himself against the charge of undue severity
in his book reviews.
Tells the publisher Harrison Hall he now has 17 tales
to be included in his proposed Tales of the Folio Club
and enquires, 'if you, or any bookseller of your ac-
quaintance, would feel willing to undertake the pub-
lication.' He adds that he does not expect any payment.
October
20 (Thurs) Tells Sarah J. Hale, editor of the Ladies Maga-
zine, he is unable to contribute a prose article as he
is 'overwhelmed with business, having been sadly
thrown back by late illness'.
1837
January
First instalment of NAGP in SLM. 'Sonnet: To Zante' in
SLM.
Also review of Irving's Astoria and Bryant's Poems.
This issue also contains Poe's 'Valedictory': 'Mr Poe's at-
tention being called in another direction, he will decline
with the present number the Editorial duties of the Mes-
senger. His critical notices for this month end with Pro-
fessor Anthon's Cicero - what follows is from another hand.
With the best wishes to the Magazine, and to its few foes
as well as to its many friends, he is now desirous of bid-
ding all parties a peacable farewell.'
3 (Tues) Resigns as assistant editor of SLM. The Janu-
ary issue is the last to be edited by EAE During his
editorship it has increased its circulation from 500 to
3500 copies.
17 White promises to send him some money to assist
him with his removal expenses.
Spends the remainder of January winding up his corre-
spondence and preparing for his departure from Richmond.
February
Second and final instalment of NAGP in SLM.
Together with his wife and MC arrives in New York at
the end of the month, after a leisurely journey via Balti-
more and Philadelp,hia. In both cities he calls upon rela-
tives and friends. On arrival in New York takes up
residence in lodgings at the corner of Sixth Avenue and
Waverley Place, Manhattan.
28 (Tues) Tells the editors of The Baltimore Book he will
send them a contribution by 1 April (later submits
'Siope - a Fable').
March
30 (Thurs) Attends a literary dinner at the City Hotel.
Among the guests are Washington Irving and William
1838 29
Cullen Bryant. EAP proposes a toast to 'The Month-

lies of Gotham'.
April
6 (Thurs) Panic on the New York financial market in
which many old established firms are ruined. Many
magazines are suspended.
During April or May EAP moves to an old frame house
at 113 1/2 Carmine Street, New York City. Here MC takes
in boarders. While in this house EAP finishes NAG~
May
10 (Wed) New York banks close as economic depression
spreads in the United States.
27 Writes to his friend Professor Charles Anthon request-
ing a translation from the Hebrew of Isaiah 34: 10
and Ezekiel 35: 7 (required for a review of Stephens's
Arabia Petraea).
June
'Von Jung, the Mystific' in Monthly (later retitled 'Mysti-
fication'). NAGP is ·copyrighted by Harpers, New York.
EAP continues to revise the book through the summer
and winter of 1837.
October
Review of Stephens' Travels in Arabia Petraea in Review.
1838
July
Publication of NAGP in book form by Harpers, New York.
By mid-July has left the house in Carmine Street and
moved to Philadelphia. Here, together with his wife and
MC, he moves into a boarding house at 127 Arch Street.
19 (Thurs) Writes to James Kirke Paulding, Secretary of

the Navy, begging to be appointed to a clerkship 'to
relieve me from the miserable life of literary drudgery'.
September
First instalment of 'The Atlantis, a Southern World' in
Museum (under the pseudonym, Peter Prospera).
4 (Tues) Writes to Nathan C. Brooks, editor of Museum,
declining to write a critical article on Irving on the
grounds that he is not conversant with Irving's writ-
ings. Thanks Brooks for a payment of $10 (apparently
for 'Ligeia').
5 Moves to a small house on Sixteenth Street, near Lo-
cust Street on the outskirts of the city. Here he works
on the short stories later collected together as TGA.
At about this time becomes acquainted with Captain
Mayne Reid, author of adventure stories. Reid de-
scribes the house as 'a lean-to of three rooms'.
18 'Ligeia' in Museum.
October
English 'edition of NAGP published by Wiley & Putnam,
London.
During the autumn works on editing The Conchologist's
First Book, a volume on shells. His editorial work is car-
ried out at the publisher's office at 293 Market Street.
November
'The Psyche Zenobia' (later 'How to Write a Blackwood
Article') and 'The Scythe of Time' (later 'A Predicament')
in Museum.
1839 31
1839
January
'Literary Small Talk' in Museum.
March
17 (Sun) 'Hop-Frog' in Flag.
April
'The. Haunted Palace' in Museum.
May
8 (Wed) 'The Devil in the Belfry' in Chronicle.
11 W E. Burton, editor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine,
writes to EAP making him a formal offer of employ-
ment at a salary of $10 per week for two hours work
a day. On the same day Burton and EAP dine together.
June
1 (Sat) Complains to Burton, i\t first I wrote long ar-
ticles which you deemed inadmissible, and never did
I suggest any to which you had not some immediate
and decided objection.'
July
'To Ianthe in Heaven' in Burton.
Review of N. E Willis's Tortesa in Examiner.
From this month becomes assistant editor of Burton, work-
ing from the office on the corner of Bank Alley and Dock
Street.
14 (Sun) Tells his cousin George Poe that' as far back ...
as we can trace, our immediate progenitors are Irish.'
With the letter he encloses a detailed genealogy of
the Poe family.
August
'The Man that was Used Up' and 'Fairy-Land' in Burton.
'To the River' (revised text) in Burton.
8 (Thurs) Thanks the Baltimore journalist Beauchamp

Jones for drawing his attention to criticisms of his
work in the Sun. He adds, 'I intend to put up with
nothing that I can put down (excuse the pun)'.
September
'The Fall of the House of Usher' in Burton.
11 (Wed) Asks JES, co-editor of Museum, to write a re-
view of the September issue of Burton. He adds, 'I
am about to publish my tales collectively.'
21 Thanks the author Philip E Cooke for a letter con-
taining an appreciation of EAP's short stories.
28 Signs agreement with the publishers Lea & Blanchard
for his short stories to be issued in two volumes under
the title TGA.
October
'William Wilson' in Burton.
Reviews Longfellow's Hyperion.
7 (Mon) Thanks JES for a recent letter and assures him,
'I sincerely thank you for the interest you have taken
in my well-doing.' Asks whether he has in his pos-
session back-issues of SLM containing EAP's contri-
butions.
12 Sends Washington Irving a copy of 'William Wilson'
and tells him it is based 'upon a brief article of your
own': f\n Unwritten Drama of Lord Byron'. Asks Irving
to speak favourably of him to the publishers Lea &
Blanchard.
November
'Morella' in Burton.
11 (Mon) Thanks JES for two letters and tells him, 'Wash-
ington Irving addressed me two letters abounding
in high passages of compliment in regard to my Tales.'
December
'The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion' in Burton.
1840 33
6 (Fri) Twenty-four of EAP's short stories are published

by Lea & Blanchard under the title TGA, in an edi-
tion of 750 copies.
9 Asks the publishers Carey & Hart for an advance copy
of Captain Marryat's Diary in America for review.
12 Sends JES a copy of TGA and asks for copies of any
reviews which may appear in Baltimore newspapers.
18 'Enigmatical and Conundrumical' in Alexander's Weekly
Messenger (offering to solve ciphers submitted by
readers).
19 Tells JES the latter's 'Scenes of Childhood' will ap-
pear in the January issue.
At the end of the year moves from Sixteenth Street to a
house on Coates Street overlooking the river Schuykill.
1840
January
The first instalment of 'The Journal of Julius Rodman' in
Burton. From this month EAP's name appears on the cover
of the magazine in prominent type.
Issues a 'challenge to the world' in the Philadelphia
Alexander's Weekly to solve any and all cryptograms sub-
mitted by readers.
4 (Sat) 'Silence - A Sonnet' in Courier.
20 Writes to JES that 'I have heard, indirectly, that an
attempt is to be made by some one of capital in Bal-
timore, to get up a Magazine. Have you heard any-
thing of it?'
February
'The Business Man' in Burton. Reviews Longfellow's Voices
of the Night in Burton.
29 (Sat) Dines with Dr J. K. Mitchell, a prominent lec-
turer and physician.
March
'A Chapter on Science and Art' in Burton.
April
'Sonnet - Silence' in Burton.
24 (Fri) Writes to the publisher Hiram Haines propos-
ing a visit to Petersburg, Virginia, 'a month or two
hence' (to promote the proposed Penn magazine).
27 Thanks the Reverend S. Houghton for submitting a
contribution which he agrees to publish, adding that
he is 'grieved to say that the absurd condition of our
present copyright laws will not permit us to offer any
compensation.' (In November 1850, after EAP's death,
Houghton married MLS.)
May
'Philosophy of Furniture' in Burton.
At the end of May decides to terminate his employment
with Burton. During his year with the magazine he has
written 123 pages of material.
June
Final instalment of 'Julius Rodman' in Burton.
1 (Mon) Writes a long letter to Burton setting out his
grievances.
4 Writes to John Neal, asking him 'to aid me with your
influence, in whatever manner your experience shall
suggest.'
13 Announces the first issue of his proposed monthly
magazine, Penn, planned to appear on 1 January 1841.
17 Sends JES a copy of the Penn prospectus adding, 'You
will see that I have given myself sufficient time for
preparation. I have every hope of success.'
28 Writes to the poet Charles W Thomson advising him
of the proposed new magazine and asking whether
Thomson will contribute capital to the enterprise. EAP
adds that he is hoping to form a connection 'with some
gentleman of literary attainments' to help finance it.
1840 35
July
Throughout the summer months EAP is active in plan-
ning the launch of Penn, frequently writing letters to
potential supporters and soliciting subscriptions.
August
15 (Sat) Tells William Poe that the Penn is intended to
appeal mainly to a Southern audience. In the same
letter complains of the SLM: 'The drudgery was ex-
cessive, the salary was contemptible.' He adds that
Me 'is still living with me'.
18 Writes to the author Lucian Minor urging his sup-
port for Penn.
September
16 (Wed) Thanks John Tomlin, postmaster of Jackson,
Tennessee, for sending the names of nine additional
subscribers to Penn.
October
Burton sells his magazine to George R. Graham, the owner
of Atkinson's Casket. Graham decides to merge the two
magazines and name the new publication Graham's
Magazine.
10 (Sat) Thanks the poet and physician Pliny Earle for
his verses 'By an Octegenarian', and assures him they
will appear in the first issue of Penn.
November
During this month meets Graham for the first time and
discusses the possibility of becoming editor of the new
magazine with effect from February 1841.
6 (Fri) Sends a copy of 'To Zante' to the writer and
editor Richard H. Stoddard.
13? Visits Baltimore for ten days and stays with an artist
friend, William High. During his stay in Baltimore
has his photograph taken by Stanton & Butler, 79
Fayette Street.
23 Returns to Philadelphia.
Writes to FWT praising his novel Howard Pinckney and
promising to review it fully in Penn.
December
'The Man of the Crowd' in Graham.
During December is seriously ill, suffering from nervous
exhaustion.
30 (Wed) Tells the author Lewis J. Cist that owing to
illness, 'I am forced to postpone the issue of the first
number of the Mag. until the first of March next./
31 Writes to Kennedy asking for contributions for the
proposed new magazine, which will now be issued
on 1 March.
1841
January
Reviews Mary Shelley's Eminent Literary and Scientific Men
of France in Graham.
1 (Fri) Issues the Prospectus of a proposed monthly
literary journal, The Penn Magazine, in an effort to
secure support for such a venture. The projected first
issue is to appear in March 1841.
6 Writes to the banker Nicholas Biddle asking him to
'Lend me the influence of your name in a brief ar-
ticle for my opening number.'
17 Tells JES he has been ill but is still confident about
Penn: 'I shall be delighted to receive any prose article
from your pen./
18 Has an interview with Graham to formalise his posi-
tion as editor. In the meantime Penn is· to be held in
abeyance.
22 Writes to the author Robert I Conrad requesting a
contribution for Graham.
1841 37
February
Takes up his post as editor of Graham. He travels daily to
his office at Third and Chestnut Streets, maintaining his
post until April 1842.
Review of Dickens's Barnaby Rudge in Graham.
4 (Thurs) United States Bank suspends payment in gold,
producing financial panic.
20 Announces that Penn is suspended for financial
reasons.
An editorial in the Post (of which Graham is assist-
ant editor) announces: 'We have secured the services
of Mr Poe as one of the Editors of Graham's Magazine.'
March
Meets RWG for the first time and discusses the idea of
contributing to Poets and Poetry of America.
April
'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' in Graham. Also reviews
the novels of Bulwer Lytton. In this issue EAP issues a
challenge to readers to submit cryptograms in any Euro-
pean language: ',and we pledge ourselves for the solu-
tion of the riddle.'
1 (Thurs) Writes to JES summarising his relationship
with Burton and refuting allegations of intemperance.
He adds: 'The Penn, I hope, is only scotched, not killed.
It would have appeared under glorious auspices ...
but for the unexpected bank suspensions.'
May
'A Descent into the Maelstrom' in Graham. Also reviews
Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop and Master Humphrey's
Clock.
1 (Sat) Publishes article in Post deducing the subsequent
plot of Dickens's Barnaby Rudge.
3 Writes friendly letter to Longfellow inviting him to
contribute to Graham.
8 Asks RWG to send him a copy of John L. Stephens'
Incidents of Travel in Central America, 'or, if not, any

new book of interest'.
19 Longfellow replies, declining the invitation but as-
suring EAP that'all that I have read from your pen
has inspired me with a high idea of your power.'
20 FWT writes to him offering the possibility of a govern-
ment appointment as a sinecure.
22 'The Sleeper' (revised text) in Chronicle.
29 Writes to RWG enclosing several poems for his an-
thology. RWG selects 'The Haunted Palace', 'The Coli-
seum' and 'The Sleeper'.
June
'The Island of the Fay' in Graham. Also reviews Macaulay's
Critical and Miscellaneous Essays.
21 (Mon) Writes to Washington Irving and J. ~ Kennedy
inviting them to contribute.
22 Writes to Longfellow requesting his support for the
idea of a new literary magazine.
24 Invites the poet Fitz-Greene Halleck to become a regu-
lar contributor.
26 Replies to FWT expressing interest in the idea of a
federal appointment: 'notwithstanding Graham's un-
ceasing civility and real kindness, I feel more and
more disgusted with my situation'.
July
'A Few Words on Secret Writing' in Graham.
4 (Sun) Tells FW~ 'I would be glad to get almost any
appointment - even a $500 one - so that I have some-
thing independent of letters for a subsistence.' He
adds that he is too poor to travel to Washington.
12 Thanks JES for favourable comments on 'A Descent
into the Maelstrom': 'It was finished in a hurry, and
therefore its conclusion is imperfect.' Urges JES to
read his forthcoming review of Wilmer's The Quacks
of Helicon.
31 'Bridal Ballad' in Post.
1841 39
August
'The Colloquy of Monos and Una' in Graham. Also re-
view of L. A. Wilmer's The Quacks of Helicon.
11 (Wed) Writes to J. N. McJilton of Baltimore enclosing
the solution to a cipher sent to EAP for decoding.
13 Writes to Lea & Blanchard proposing that they should
publish a new and enlarged edition of TGA, for which
he now has 33 tales.
14 Asks the writer Hastings Weld for his signature (for
inclusion in EAP's series on Autography).
16 Lea & Blanchard decline his proposal, advising that
the 1840 edition is still not sold out nor has covered
the expense of publication.
During this month Mary Cecilia Rogers is murdered in
New York: an incident on which EAP's story 'The Mys-
tery of Marie Roget' (November 1842) is based.
September
'Never Bet the Devil Your Head' in Graham. Also review
of Captain Marryat's Joseph Rushbrook.
1 (Wed) 'Eleonora' in The Gift.
Writes to' FWT requesting biographical information
and a list of his published writings.
18 Writes to Lewis J. Cist explaining the situation re-
garding the postponement of Penn and his work for
Graham.
19 Asks JES whether there is a Baltimore 'publisher or
gentleman of moderate capital' who would join in
the launch of a new magazine.
24 Asks FWT to obtain for him more signatures of liter-
ary personalities for his i\utography' articles (Graham,
November and December 1841, and January 1842).
October
'Israfel' (revised version) in Graham.
27 (Wed) Tells FWT 'Our Mag. is progressing at the most
astounding rate' and that 25,000 copies will be printed
of the January issue.
November
'A Chapter on Autography' in Graham. Also review of
Harrison Ainsworth's Guy Fawkes.
10 (Wed) Invites the poetess Lydia H. Sigourney to write
for Graham.
16 Thanks Lydia Sigourney for her agreement to con-
tribute to the January issue: 'we are using every exer-
tion to prepare a number of more than ordinary
attraction.'
18 Writes to Richard Bolton of Mississipi to congratu-
late him on solving a cryptogram included in the
August issue.
26 Tells FWl; 'To the Latin and Greek proficient, the study
of all additional languages is mere play - but to the
non-proficient it is anything else.'
27 1\ Succession of Sundays' in Saturday Evening Post (later
entitled 'Three Sundays in a Week').
December
Announces that the subscription list of Graham has in-
creased from 5500 to 25,000.
1842
During this year plans a revised and enlarged edition of

TGA, Phantasy Pieces, containing 36 short stories which
he proposes to publish in two volumes.
January
'Exordium' in Graham.
10 (Mon) Attends a performance of Victor Hugo's Hernani
at the Walnut Street Theatre.
20 VC suffers a serious haemorrhage: the first sign of
her terminal illness.
1842 41
February
Reviews Dickens's Barnaby Rudge in Graham.
3 (Thurs) Tells FWT 'The project of the new magazine
still ... occupies my thoughts. If I live, I will accom-
plish it, and in triumph.' Asks FWT to enlist the sup-
port of Robert Tyler (son of the United States President)
for Penn.
March
Reviews Longfellow's Ballads in Graham. Publishes a story,
'May Evelyn', by a new contributor, Frances Osgood (his
first association with FSO).
5 (Sat) Dickens arrives in Philadelphia on a three-day
visit, staying at the United States Hotel.
6 EAP writes to Dickens suggesting a meeting and en-
closing a copy of TGA. Dickens replies at once ac-
cepting the suggestion.
7 Has a lengthy interview with Dickens at his hotel.
April
'The Oval Portrait' in Graham (under the title 'Life in
Death').
Also reviews of Longfellow's Ballads and Other Poems
and Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales.
Publication of RWG's Poets and Poetry of America con-
taining three of EAP's poems and an appreciation of him.
At the beginning of April relinquishes his post as editor
of Graham (he is succeeded by RWG).
May
'The Masque of the Red Death' in Graham. Also review
of enlarged second edition of Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales.
(This month's issue is the last to be completely edited by
EAE)
During May moves from Coates Street to 234 (now 530)
North Seventh Street, on the corner of Brandywine Alley.
21 (Sat) FWT writes suggesting a post in the Philadel-
phia Custom House might be acceptable.
25 Tells FWr:c 'Nothing would more precisely meet my

views.' In the same letter claims to have resigned from
Graham's because of 'the namby-pamby character of
the Magazine'.
June
Review of Poets and Poetry of America in Graham.
2? (Thurs) Tells his friend James Herron, 'The renewed
and hopeless illness of my wife, ill health on my own
part, and pecuniary embarrassments, have nearly
driven me to distraction.'
4 Tells JES, 'I am just now putting the concluding touch
to ... The Mystery of Marie Roget - a Sequel to the
Murders in the Rue Morgue.'
Offers 'Marie Roget' to the Boston Notion for $50.
At the end of the month visits New York briefly, return-
ing on the 29th.
30 Writes to James Herron expressing thanks for the gift
of $20 and optimism that he will obtain a govern-
ment post.
July
An editorial in Graham states: 'The connection of E. A.
Poe, Esq., with this work ceased with the May number.
Mr ~ bears with him our warmest wishes for success in
whatever he may undertake.'
6 (Wed) Writes to Daniel Bryan reaffirming his ambi-
tions for Penn; he is now aiming for a first issue in
January 1843. He claims to have increased the circu-
lation of Graham's from 6000 to 40,000 (the actual
figure is 37,000).
Writes to the editor I H. Chivers seeking financial
backing for a new magazine: 1\s I have no money
myself, it will be absolutely necessary that I procure
a partner who has some pecuniary means.'
7 Thanks his cousin Elizabeth Tutt (nee Herring) for the
gift of wine for ve.
18 Sends a copy of 'The Landscape Garden' to the edi-
1842 43
tor of Democratic, adding, 'I am desperately pushed for

money.'
August
27 (Sat) Tells FW1; 'Without an international copyright
law, American authors may as well cut their throats.'
He adds: 'My poor little wife still continues ill. I have
scarcely a faint hope of her recovery.'
September
12 (Mon) Tells FWT he is undecided on his future liter-
ary career: 'Should I go back to Graham I will
endeavour to bring about some improvements in the
general appearance of the Magazine, & above all, to
get rid of the quackery which now infects it.'
17 Confined indoors with a chill and unable to keep an
appointment with FWI
21 Writes to FWT to apologise.
27 Writes to Thomas Chivers thanking him for obtain-
ing subscribers for Penn and expressing optimism at
the idea of a government appointment: 'Of the gov-
ernment patronage ... I am assured and this alone will
more than sustain the Magazine.'
October
'The Landscape Garden' in Companion.
S (Wed) Tells John Tomlin (postmaster of Jackson, Ten-
nessee, and an admirer of EAP) that with the Cus-
tom House appointment 'to fall back upon as a certain
resource until the Magazine is fairly afloat, all must
go well.'
November
'The Mystery of Marie Roget' in Snowden.
Reviews RWG's Poets and Poetry of America in the Boston
Miscellany.
16 (Wed) Writes to JRL offering to become a regular con-
tributor to his magazine the Pioneer.
19 Writes again to FWT expressing interest in the Cus-

tom House possibility.
27 Dickens writes to him recalling their meeting in March:
'Do not for a moment suppose that ... I am not at
all times prepared to forward your views in this
country.'
December
17 (Sat) JRL writes to confirm that 'The Tell-Tale Heart'
will appear in the first number.
25 Sends JRL a poem, 'Lenore' (a revision of 1\ Paean').
27 Writes again to JRL suggesting further revisions to
'Lenore'.
1843
January
'The Conqueror Worm' in Graham; 'The Tell-Tale Heart'
in Pioneer.
19 (Thurs) Death of Thomas W White, publisher of the
SLM.
28 Publishes anonymous article on RWG in Museum.
31 Signs an agreement with the artist E O. C. Darley
for the provision of illustrations for the new maga-
zine, now entitled The Stylus.
February
'Lenore' in Pioneer (revised version).
4 (Sat) Writes to JRL congratulating him on 'the trium-
phant debut of the Pioneer' and asking him to re-
turn the essay 'Notes upon English Verse' if it is too
long. Thanks him for $10, the payment for 'The Tell-
Tale Heart'.
8 FWT sends EAP a letter of introduction to Robert 'lYler
(son of President Tyler).
1843 45
16 Sends his poem 'Eulalie' to the Pioneer.

25 Sends FWT a biography of himself, written by H. B.
Hirst, and encloses a prospectus for the Stylus: 'my
old Penn revived and remodelled under better aus-
pices'.
'The Coliseum' (revised text) in Museum.
March
'Notes upon English Verse' in Pioneer; 'Our Amateur Po-
ets' and 'The Rationale of Verse' in Graham; 'Our Maga-
zine Literature' in New World.
4 (Sat) Publishes detailed prospectus for the Stylus in
Museum.
'Bridal Ballad' (revised, under the title 'Song of the
Newly Wedded') in Museum.
7 Asks Robert Carter (co-editor of the Pioneer) for the
$30 due to him, so that he has the means to travel to
Washington.
8 Travels by train to Washington to meet the publisher
Thomas C. Clarke, staying at Fuller's HoteL He also
seeks subscriptions for the Stylus.
11 'Our Magazine Literature' in New World (highly criti-
cal of Lewis Gaylord Clark).
13 Travels home via Baltimore, having cancelled plans
to give a lecture due to illness.
15 Arrives in Philadelphia.
16 Writes to FWT apologising for his apparent unreli-
ability.
24 Asks Peter D. Bernard (Thomas W. White's son-in-
law) whether the subscription list of the SLM is avail-
able and, if so, on what terms.
27 Tells JRL that the Stylus will appear on 1 July, and
asks him to obtain an article from Hawthorne.
April
During this month writes to William Mackenzie (who had
adopted EAP's sister Rosalie) requesting him to ascertain
whether the subscription list of SLM is for sale and, if
so, upon what terms. He adds that VC 'is nearly recov-

ered'. (EAP hopes to combine the subscription lists for
SLM and the Stylus.)
22 (Sat) Writes to Thomas Mackenzie (son of William
Mackenzie) repeating the above request, adding,
'Please oblige me in this matter as soon as possible,
as I am exceedingly anxious about it.'
June
20 (Tues) Tells JRL'alas! my Magazine scheme has ex-
ploded ... Under better auspices I may resume it next
year.'
21 First instalment of 'The Gold-Bug' in Dollar.
24 'The Spectacles' in Courier.
28 Second instalment of 'The Gold-Bug'.
July
12 (Wed) Dollar publishes a refutation of the charge that
'The Gold-Bug' has been plagiarised.
19 Registers in the District Court of Philadelphia as a
law student (the plan comes to nothing).
August
19 (Sat) 'The Black Cat' in Saturday.
28 Tells John Tomlin, 'some months ago, I was obliged
to make a vow that I would engage in the solution
of no more cryptographs.'
September
During this month visits Saratoga to enquire whether the
mineral springs would be beneficial to ve's health but
concludes she could not attempt the journey.
13 (Wed) Tells JRL, 'Since I last wrote to you I have suf-
fered much from domestic and pecuniary troubles',
and begs for financial assistance.
October
10 (Tues) Writes to John B. Morris, a Baltimore lawyer,
asking whether he is willing to purchase the right of
1844 47
dower (currently owned by MC) to a piece of land

fronting upon Park Lane, Baltimore.
14 'Diddling Considered as one of the Exact Sciences'
in Courier.
19 Writes friendly letter to JRL praising his poetry. Tells
him that RWG 'certainly lacks independence, or judg-
ment, or both'.
November
Reviews Fenimore Cooper's Wyandotte in Graham.
25 (Sat) Lectures on f\merican Poetry' in Philadelphia.
1844
January
'Morning on the Wissahiccon' (later entitled 'The Elk') in
Opal.
31 (Wed) Writes to the Baltimore Patriot asking them to
publicise the lecture he is to give in Baltimore that
evening.
Lectures on f\merican Poetry' at the Odd Fellows Hall,
Baltimore.
February
1 (Thurs) Tells Kennedy he is unable to dine with him
that day, as he has business matters to attend to in
Elkton, Maryland.
18 Writes to the novelist George Lippard urging him to
ignore literary animosities and praising Lippard's The
Lady Annabel.
March
Reviews JRLs Poems in Graham.
1 (Fri) Agrees to lecture at Reading, Pennsylvania.
7 Confirms his agreement to lecture and asks for reply
by return of post.
13 Lectures on 'Poets and Poetry of America' at Reading.

15 Thanks Cornelius Mathews of New York for his 'able
pamphlet on the International Copyright Question'
and apologises for the flippant tone of his own cri-
tique of Mathews's Wakondah, published in the Feb-
ruary 1842 issue of Graham.
27 'The Spectacles' in Dollar.
30 Writes to JRL commenting on an anonymous article
(allegedly by Dickens) in the London Foreign Quar-
terly Review criticising American poets and urges the
need for international copyright law.
April
~ Tale of the Ragged Mountains' in Godey.
6 (Sat) Together with VC, leaves Philadelphia by train
bound for New York. Here he moves into a boarding
house on 130 Greenwich St.
7 Writes to MC assuring her he will send for her soon.
13 'The Balloon Hoax' in Sun.
IS? MC joins them in New York.
May
About time moves to 4 Ann Street, leaving VC and
MC at 130 Greenwich Street.
25 (Sat) Publishes letter in Columbia Spy describing the
sensation caused by. 'The Balloon Hoax'.
28 Writes to JRL giving him information for a biographical
article about himself. Tells Lowell that six unpublished
stories by himself are going the rounds of editors.
29 Writes to the editor of Opal urging them to accept a
contribution from him ('The Oblong Box').
31 Writes again to Opal asking them 'to keep open for
me the ten pages of which you speak' (later sends
them 1\ Chapter of Suggestions').
Asks the publisher Edward L. Carey to send him the
proof of 'The Purloined Letter' as the manuscript
contains 'many interlineations and erasures'.
1844 49
June
'Dream-Land' in Graham.
3 (Mon) Tells Lewis J. Cist he has long admired the
writings of Rebecca Shepard Nichols, adding that her
memoirs 'contain some of the finest passages I have
ever perused'.
18 'New York Harbour' in Spy.
During May and June 1844 EAP contributes seven letters
to the Spy (published in volume form posthumously under
the title Doings of Gotham). The letters contain his impress-
ions of New York life.
July
Early in the month gives up his Ann Street address and
moves, together with VC and MC, to a farmhouse along
Bloomingdale Road, near Eighty-fourth Street and Broad-
way, 5 miles out of New York. Here he continues to re-
vise 'The Raven'.
2 (Tues) Tells JRL, 'My life has been whim - impulse -
passion - a longing for solitude - a scorn of all things
present, in an earnest desire for the future.'
10 Tells Chivers, 'You will find me here - at New York-
where I live at present, in strict seclusion, buried with
books and ambitious thoughts.' He adds that he has
not given up his plans for the Penn or Stylus, but is
only biding his time.
31 'The Premature Burial' in Dollar.
August
'Mesmeric Revelation' in Columbian.
3 (Sat) 'Mesmeric Revelation' in New World.
18 Tells JRL he is working on a projected book, A Critical
History of American Literature. He adds that Hawthorne
'is a man of rare genius' and praises Hawthorne's
'Drowne's Wooden Image'.
31 'Mesmeric Revelation' in Museum.
50 An ·Edgar Allan Poe Chronology
September
'The Oblong Box' in Godey.
8 (Sun) Tells FWl; 'For the last seven or eight months I
have been playing hermit in earnest, nor have I seen
a living soul outside of my family.'
At the end of the month MC calls, on EAP's behalf, on
N. R Willis, editor of the Weekly Mirror. Willis agrees to
engage him as a columnist.
October
'The Angel of the Odd' in Columbian.
During October writes a long letter to Professor Charles
Anthon. asking him to use his influence with Harpers the
publishers for a collected edition of EAP's tales, of which
he now has 66.
7 (Mon) First edition of the Mirror containing contri-
butions by EAR
19 'The Pay for Periodical Writing' in Mirror.
28 Thanks JRL for writing the biographical sketch 'and
all the well intended flatteries it contains'. He con-
gratulates him on his forthcoming marriage, hoping
'you may derive from your marriage as substantial
happilless as I have derived from mine'.
November
'Thou Art the Man' in Godey.First instalment of 'Marginalia'
in Democratic. 'The Purloined Letter' (with revisions) in
Chambers Edinburgh Journal.
About this time moves from the farmhouse to a board-
ing house at 15 Amity Street, where he completes revi-
sion of 'The Raven'.
2 (Sat) Anthon tells EAP that he has called upon Harpers,
'but without accomplishing anything of importance'.
December
'The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esquire' in SLM.
During this month visits his friend C. E Briggs at 1
Nassau Street, New York. Briggs agrees to engage EAP
1845 51
as an editorial assistant on a new weekly journal,

Broadway.
23 (Mon) Signs a contract with Briggs and John Bisco,
publisher, agreeing. to become a partner in the pro-
posed new journal.
1845
January
4 (Sat) First issue of Broadway, containing EAP's critique
of Elizabeth Barrett's Drama of Exile and Other Poems.
Sends copy of 'Mesmeric Revelation' to George Bush
(Professor of Hebrew at New York University) and
invites his comments.
Thanks FWT for sending a copy of FWT's The Beechen
Tree.
13 Reviews Longfellow's The Waif in Mirror.
16 Resumes correspondence with RWG in the hope of
a reconciliation and of being included in RWG's forth-
coming Prose Writers of America.
18 Contributes article on N. ~ Willis, one of a series of
~merican Prose Writers', in Broadway.
29 'The Raven' published in Mirror (first appearance in
print).
February
'The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade' in Godey.
3 (Mon) 'Didacticism' in Mirror.
Sends a revised text of 'The Raven' to the Tribune.
4 'The Raven' in Tribune.
8 'The Raven' in Broadway (containing revisions).
Reviews Bulwer Lytton's Poems in Broadway.
15 'Some Secrets of the Magazine Prison-House' in Broadway.
21 Signs an agreement to 'assist' Briggs in editing Broad-
way, EAP to receive one third of the profits.
22 An editorial in Broadway states: 'We have the plea-

sure of announcing that hereafter Edgar A. Poe and
Henry C. Watson will be associated with the editorial
department of our Journal.'
24 Sends RWG a copy of 'Mesmeric Revelation' and se-
lections from Marginalia for inclusion in RWG's forth-
coming anthology.
28 Lectures on 'The Poets and Poetry of America' to the
New York Historical Society.
March
EAP is now one of Broadway's three editors, and also
dramatic critic. At about this time he meets the poetess
FSO.
During March and April contributes a series of articles
on Longfellow in Broadway: 'Plagiarism' (15 March); 'Mr
Poe's Reply to the Letter of Outis' (22 March); 1\ Large
Account of a Small Matter' (29 March); 'A Voluminous
History of the Little Longfellow War' (5 April).
1 (Sat) Mirror publishes a letter defending Longfellow
against EAP's charge of plagiarism.
8 Publishes letter in Broadway replying to criticisms of
his lecture 'Poets and Poetry of America'.
10 Tells Graham it might be politic for him not to pub-
lish EAP's criticism of Longfellow's 'The Spanish
Student' and therefore asks him to return the article.
15 EAP's name appears for the first time on the title
page of Broadway.
22 Reviews the poetry of Rebecca Shepard Nichols in
Broadway, describing her as 'one of our most imagi-
native and vigorous poets'.
24 Attends the opening night of Fashion, a play by Anna
Cora Mowatt, at the Park Theatre. EAP is present for
several nights running in order to write a review.
29 Reviews Longfellow's Poems in an anonymous article
in Aristidean.
1845 53
April
'Some Words with a Mummy' in American. Anonymous
article on Longfellow in The Aristidean. 'The Valley of
Unrest' (revised version) in American.
5 (Fri) Reviews Anna Cora Mowatt's Fashion.
12 f\nastatic Printing' in Broadway.
19 Returns corrected proofs of 'The Raven' and 'The
Sleeper' to RWG.
26 'To F ' (originally titled 'To One Departed') in
Broadway.
Final version of 'The Oval Portrait' in Broadway.
May
'Three Sundays in a Week' in Broadway.
Now in precarious health, EAP and his family move to a
tenement at 195 East Broadway.
During this month meets JRL for the first time.
4 (Sun) Tells FWT, 'For the last three or four months I
have been working 14 or 15 hours a day - hard at it
all the time.'
24 Revised version of 'Eleonora' in Broadway.
26 Writes to the editor of the Opal agreeing to submit a
contribution.
June
'The Power of Words' in Democratic.
Twelve of EAP's short stories are published this month
by Wiley & Putnam under the title Tales.
Briggs withdraws from Broadway, leaving the magazine
in EAP's hands.
7 (Sat) 'Magazine Writing - Peter Snook' in Broadway.
9 Sends in 'a brief sketch' to the Opal. (EAP is appar-
ently too late.)
26 Tells E. A. Duyckink, 'I have resolved to give up the
B. Journal and retire to the country for six months,
or perhaps a year, as the sole means of recruiting
my health and spirits.'
July
'Eulalie' in American; 'The Imp of the Perverse' in Graham.
EAP becomes sole editor of Broadway and one-third pro-
prietor. His health is declining, aggravated by increasing
worry concerning his wife.
12 (Sat) An editorial states: 'the editorial charge of the
Broadway Journal is under the sole charge of Edgar
A. Poe.'
Review of Henry B. Hirst's The Coming of the Mam-
moth in Broadway.
14 Contract signed with Bisco, EAP to have 'sole editorial
responsibility' .
19 Serves as member of a panel to judge essays submit-
ted by pupils at Rutgers Female Institute, and recites
the winning entry.
19 'The Masque of the Red Death' (revised version) in
Broadway.
August
'The American Drama' in American.
2 (Fri) 'The Business Man' (revised version) in Broadway.
8 Tells Neilson Poe that VC 'has been, and is still, in
precarious health'.
9 Tells the poet Thomas W Field, 'I shall be happy to
see you at any time, at my residence.'
11 Asks Chivers for the loan of $50 to assist the publi-
cation of Broadway.
15 Tells the poet Laughton Osborn how much he values
Osborn's friendship and that he has read Osborn's
The Confessions of a Poet 'with a very profound senti-
ment of admiration for its author'.
16 Reviews William Hazlitt's The Characters of Shakespeare
in Broadway.
'Catholic Hymn' in Broadway (later entitled 'Hymn').
29 Writes again to Chivers appealing for a loan 'for al-
most everything (as concerns the paper) depends upon
it'.
3D Revised text of 'William Wilson' in Broadway.
1845 55
September
At about this time moves from 195 Broadway to 85 Am-
ity Street (now 85 West Third Street, Greenwich Village).
6 (Sat) 'Why the Little Frenchman wears his Hand in a
Sling' in Broadway.
Reviews Wilson's Genius and Character of Burns in Broad-
way.
10 Sends Duyckink his selection of poetry to be included
in The Raven and Other Poems.
11 Meets Duyckink to discuss The Raven and Other Poems.
13 'To F ' (originally 'To Eliza') in Broadway.
27 Revised version of 'Ligeia' in Broadway.
Tells SHW 'The poem [To Helen] which I sent you
contained all the events of a dream which occurred
to me soon after I knew you. Ligeia was also sug-
gested by a dream - observe the eyes in both tale and
poem.'
28 Asks RWG to send him Volume 2 of SLM and as-
sures him, 'I will take especial care of it.'
October
'The Angel of the Odd' in Columbian.
4 (Sat) Announces in Broadway that Tales has sold 1500
copies.
11 'MS. Found in a Bottle' (revised version) in Broad-
way.
15 Reads proofs of The Raven and Other Poems.
16 Lectures to the Boston Lyceum, and reads M and
'The Raven'.
24 Signs an agreement to become sole proprietor and
editor of Broadway.
25 EAP is formally announced as 'Editor and Proprietor'
of Broadway.
'The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherazade' (re-
vised version) in Broadway.
26 Writes to RWG and Kennedy requesting temporary
loans to ensure continuance of Broadway.
November
'Spectacles' in Broadway. 'The System of Doctor Tarr and
Professor Fether' in Graham.
From this month onwards contributes regular columns
of criticism to Godey.
1 (Fri) Reviews Sarah J. Hale's poem l\lice Ray' in Broad-
way.
13 Writes to Wiley & Putnam requesting an advance on
royalties for Tales.
15 Tells Chivers that Broadway needs $140 to save it, but
he has been unable to raise this sum.
19 Publication of The Raven and Other Poems by Wiley &
Putnam in an edition of 1500 copies.
29 Reviews Victor Hugo's Tour of the Rhine in Broadway.
30 Tells George Poe, 'I have lately purchased the whole
paper [Broadway] but I have exhausted all my resources
in the purchase.'
December
'The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar' in American. Re-
views the poetry of FSO in Broadway.
1 (Mon) Writes to Fitz-Greene Halleck asking for a loan
of $100 to help finance Broadway.
3 Sells a one-half interest in Broadway to Thomas H.
Lane, EAP retaining editorial charge.
6 Offices of Broadway move to 103 Broadway.
20 'Leigh Hunt' in Broadway.
'The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar' (revised ver-
sion) in Broadway.
1846
January
'The Sphinx' in Arthur.
3 (Sat) Final issue of Broadway, containing a brief vale-
1846 57
dictory by EAP; 'Unexpected engagements demand-

ing my whole attention, and the objects being ful-
filled, so far as regards myself personally, for which
The Broadway Journal was established, I now, as its
Editor, bid farewell - as cordially to foes as to friends.'
5 'Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar' in London Morn-
ing Post (under the title 'Mesmerism in America').
8 Writes to Duyckink urging the publication of another
volume of his tales, adding 'Ligeia' is undoubtedly
the best story I have written'.
10 Attends a literary soiree at 116 Waverley Place, New
York, the home of Anne C. Lynch. The soiree is at-
tended by Cassius M. Clay, Catherine Sedgwick, Fitz-
Greene Halleck and others, in addition to EAE
16 Tells Mrs Sarah Hale, 'I have never regarded it [Broad-
way] as more than a temporary adjunct to other de-
signs. I am now busy making arrangements for the
establishment of a Magazine which offers a wide field
for literary ambition.'
30 Writes to Duyckink requesting information on vari-
ous literary personalities for his series of 'Literati'
papers.
February
14 (Sat) Receives a Valentine poem from VC (the only
verse she is known to have written).
21 'A Valentine' in Mirror (under the title 'To Her Whose
Name Is Written Below').
March
'Marginalia' in Graham.
Reviews poetry of FSO in Graham.
April
'The Philosophy of Composition' in Graham.
At about this time moves to a boarding house on Forty-
seventh Street.
16 (Thurs) Tells Philip ~ Cooke, 'I am now writing for
Codey a series of articles called 'The N. Y. City Lite-

rati'. They will run through the year & include per-
sonal descriptions, as well as frank opinions of literary
merit.'
28 Tells Duyckink he cannot accept the invitation to read
a poem at the University of Vermont owing to ill health
and other engagements.
Thanks the University of Vermont for their invita-
tion but declines, owing to 'a multiplicity of engage-
ments, with serious and, I fear, permanent ill health'.
May
First instalment of 'The Literati of New York City' in Godey
(continuing until October).
At the end of May moves to a cottage at Fordham, then
a cotIn.try district 13 miles from New York. The cottage is
leased to EAP for an annual rent of $100. (The building
is now preserved although not at its original site.) Here
he works on ~nnabel Lee'.
In the story 'Landor's Cottage' (1849) EAP presents an
idealised description of the Fordham house.
June
12 (Fri) Writes to his wife to explain his absence on a
business interview.
15 Writes to the editor of the St Louis Daily Reveille ask-
ing him to correct an article which had misrepresented
Po~' s physique.
23 Mirror publishes a personal attack on EAE
27 EAP prepares a reply to the criticisms in the Mirror:
'Mr Poe's Reply to English and Others'.
Asks Henry B. Hirst for an account of Hirst's literary
quarrel with Thomas Dunn English.
29 Sends a copy of 'Reply to English' to Duyckink as he
is anxious 'that some friend should read it before it
goes'.
1846 59
July
10 (Fri) Publication of EAP's reply in the Spirit of the
Times.
13 Mirror publishes a rejoinder, challenging EAP to sue.
16 Writes angry letter to Godey regarding the contro-
versy: 'I had never written an article upon which I
more confidently depend for literary reputation than
that Reply.'
22 Tells I H. Chivers he is 'in a snug little cottage' but
complains of 'dreadful poverty' and illness, having been
too ill to write for magazines from February to July.
23 EAP files a suit for libel against the Mirror in the New
York Superior Court.
25 'The Raven' (revised text) in Courier.
August
9 (Sun) Writes to the poet :r :r Cooke regarding a bio-
graphical article on EAP being prepared by Cooke.
Complains that the selection of short stories included
in his Tales (1845) had been chosen by Duyckink and
does not do justice to the diverse range of his work.
He adds that the Stylus 'is the one great purpose of
my literary life'.
November
'The Cask of Amontillado' in Godey.
December
Begins work on a projected volume, Literary America, a
critique of contemporary writers and poets (not completed).
15 (Tues) New York Morning Express announces that EAP
and his wife 'are both dangerously ill with the con-
sumption'.
Tells Eveleth, 'For more than six months I have been
ill - for the greater part of that time, dangerously so,
and quite unable to write even an ordinary letter.'
24 Asks Duyckink to loan him Gilfillan's Sketches of Modern
Literature.
24 Writes to the publishers Tickner & Fields requesting

a copy of Oliver Wendell Holmes's Poems.
30 Writes to N. e Willis deploring the press publicity
relating to his poverty.
Asks Duyckink to write a paragraph for one of the
city newspapers drawing attention to 'The Murders
in the Rue Morgue' and its reception in Europe.
Tells a correspondent 'The article ['The Facts in the
Case of M. Valdemar'] was generally copied in En-
gland and is now circulating in France. Some few
persons believe it - but I do not - and don't you.'
1847
January
During this year EAP works steadily on Eureka, his prose
poem dealing with the nature of the universe.
9 (Sat) Publishes letter in Journal responding to press
reports 'of his poverty and denying that he is 'with-
out friends'.
17 Thanks the writer Charles A. Bristed for the gift of
$10.
29 Relatives of the family gather at Fordham, as VC is
dying. EAP writes to MLS imploring her to come.
30 VC dies of pulmonary consumption, aged 24.
February
2 (Tues) Funeral of VC.
16 Writes to Eveleth defending himself against a charge
of plagiarism.
17 The libel case is heard. The verdict is in EAP's favour,
who receives $225 damages and costs.
March
'The Domain of Arnheim' in Columbian.
1847 61
10 (Wed) Thanks Jane Ermina Locke for sending him

some of her verses.
11 Thanks the Philosophical Society of Wittenburg Col-
lege, Springfield, Ohio, for electing him an honorary
member.
Tells Eveleth he considers an accusation of plagiarism
made against him in the Saturday Evening Post (apro-
pos The Conchologist's First Book) is not actionable.
13 'To M.L.S.' in Journal.
28 Authorises the lawyer E. L. Fancher to pay the damages
awarded on 17 February to MC, acting on his behalf.
June
During the summer works on Eureka and 'Ulalume'.
July
7 (Wed) 'To My Mother' in Flag.
August
Early in August visits Philadelphia, taking some articles
to sell to Graham.
10? (Tues) Returns to Fordham.
Writes to thank Robert I Conrad, editor of the North
American (and an assistant editor of Graham), for his
kindness in Philadelphia.
31 Writes again to Conrad enquiring about two articles
EAP had left with him.
November
'Tale Writing - Nathaniel Hawthorne' in Godey.
27 (Sat) Sends Sara Anna Lewis a copy of his poem An
Enigma' and asks if she can solve the riddle contained
within it.
December
'Ulalume' in American (anonymously).
8 (Wed) Sends N. e Willis a copy of 'Ulalume' and asks
him to reprint it in the Journal.
1848
January
'Ulalume' in Journal.
EAP reissues the prospectus for the Stylus, 'a monthly
journal of literature proper, the fine arts and the drama'.
He plans to travel widely in the United States in the hope
of enlisting a minimum of 500 subscribers.
4 (Tues) Tells Eveleth apropos VC's illness: 'it was the
horrible never-ending oscillation between hope & de-
spair which I could not longer have endured with-
out the total loss of reason.'
17 Asks his friend H. D. Chapin for the use of the Li-
brary of the New York Historical Society so that he
can deliver a lecture there.
Asks Godey whether he may submit an article for
publication [probably 'Mellonta Tauta'].
22 Tells Willis, 'I am about to make an effort at re-estab-
lishing myself in the literary world' and outlines his
plans for the Stylus.
February
3 (Thurs) Lectures on 'The Cosmogony of the Universe'
to the New York Historical Society.
29 Disturbed by inaccurate press reports of his lecture,
EAP writes to a number of his friends enclosing an
abstract of Eureka. Tells Eveleth, 'What I have pro-
pounded will (in good time) revolutionise the world
of Physical and Metaphysical Science.'
March
f\n Enigma' in Sartain.
30 (Thurs) Writes to MLS asking her to invite John Henry
Hopkins to visit him 'next Sunday'. (Hopkins had re-
viewed EAP's lecture on the universe in the Express.)
April
In the spring of 1848 has a series of meetings with MLS
1848 63
(at her home at 51 Tenth Street, near Broadway), leading

to the composition of 'The Bells'. During the following
months 'The Bells' is frequently revised.
May
3 (Wed) Tells Henry B. Hirst he thinks 'very highly' of
Hirst's poem Endymion, A Tale of Greece.
19 Writes a long letter to the poetess Jane E. Locke as-
suring her of his friendship and explaining that for
the last three years he has led a 'hermit life ... buried
in the woods of Fordham'. (In fact, EAP has lived at
Fordham for two years.)
23 Eureka: A Prose Poem is published by Putnam, New
York, in an edition of 500 copies. On the same day
EAP is paid an advance of $14, which he agrees to
repay if sales do not cover expenses.
June
7 (Wed) Writes to the author Charles Astor Bristed re-
questing a loan to enable him to travel to Richmond.
10 Lectures on 'The Poets and Poetry of America' in
Lowell, Massachusetts, at the invitation of the poet-
ess Jane Lo·cke. On this visit meets Mrs Annie Rich-
mond.
14 Thanks the poetess Anna Blackwell for sending some
of her verses, adding that he feels a deep interest in
the poetry and character of SHW
15 Sends 'To Helen' to the Union.
21 Tells Sarah Anna Lewis he has been re-reading her
volume of poetry Child of the Sea with pleasure and
promises to do it critical justice when it is published.
In the same month writes to MLS assuring her of his
friendship and tells her his poem 'The Beloved Physi-
cian' refers to her.
July
10 (Mon) Lectures on 'The Poets and Poetry of America'
in Lowell at the invitation of Jane Locke.
13 Arrives home after his visit to Lowell. On the same

day writes to Chivers urging a meeting before his
departure for Richmond.
16 Leaves New York for Richmond.
19 Arrives in Richmond where he remains for seven
weeks, visiting family friends and the offices of news-
papers. He gives several readings of his works to gath-
erings of friends and a public reading at the Exchange
Hotel.
August
Reviews the poetry of Sarah Anna Lewis in Democratic.
September
I? (Fri) Leaves Richmond and returns to the Fordham
cottage.
5 Writes to SHW (under the pseudonym Edward S. I
Grey) requesting her autograph.
20 Writes an open letter to the Literary World replying
to a criticism of Eureka.
21 Visits Providence to see SHW
25 Returns by train to New York.
October
'The Rationale of Verse' in SLM (revised version of 'Notes
Upon English Verse').
1 (Sun) Writes long letter to SHW the beginning of an
extensive correspondence.
18 Writes again to SHW assuring her of his love.
Accepts an invitation to lecture in Providence on 13
December (the date is later changed to 20 Decem-
ber).
During October writes to Jane Locke and to AR urging
them both to befriend the New York poetess Sarah Anna
Lewis.
November
'To Helen' in Union.
1848 65
2 (Thurs) To Providence.
4 To Boston, where he tries to see AR, and thence im-
mediately to Providence (where he is ill through con-
suming laudanum).
7 Writes to SHW begging her to contact him and
apologising for failing to keep his appointment on
the 4th. Has an interview with SHW at the Atheneum.
On the same day writes an im~assioned letter to AR.
8-14 Remains in Providence, where he has several meet-
ings with SHW On the 13th she consents to an en-
gagement to EA~
9 Photographed at the studios of Masury & Hartshorn.
14 Leaves for New York.
16 Writes to AR saying he has been ill and under the
influence of laudanum.
20 Writes to his relative Edward Valentine asking for $200
to launch the Stylus.
22 Writes to SHW assuring her of his safety and health.
24 Writes a long letter to SHW assuring her of his love
and asking her to ignore anonymous letters slander-
ing him.
26 Tells SHW he is aiming 'to establish in America the
sole unquestionable aristocracy - that of intellect'. Tells
her he is writing a new lecture, 'The Poetic Principle'.
December
4 (Mon) Writes to W J. Pabodie (a friend of EAP and
SHW) thanking him for his'considerate and gentle-
manly attentions' in Providence.
7 Writes to John R. Thompson agreeing to submit a con-
tribution in due course and asking him to send the
copy of SLM containing Susan Archer Talley's poem,
'Genius'.
15 Marriage contract drawn up between EAP and SHW
16 Tells SHW he will meet her at 2 pm on the 20th.
19 To Providence.
20 Lectures on 'The Poetic Principle' to a large audience
at the Earl House, Providence.
66 An Edgar· Allan Poe Chronology
23 Asks the Reverend Dr Crocker 'to publish the banns

of matrimony between Mrs Sarah Helen Whitman and
myself', the date of the marriage to be confirmed.
Writes to MC confirming his intention to marry SHW
On the same day SHW informs him of her decision
not to marry. EAP returns at once to New York.
28 Tells AR he is well and that an audience of 1800 had
attended his lecture.
1849
January
11 (Thurs) Tells AR he is resolved to get rich and to tri-
umph for her sake.
13 Writes to J. R. Thompson, editor of SLM, proposing
a new series of 'Marginalia'. Tells Thompson, 'I am about
to bestir myself in the world of letters rather more
busily than I have done for three or four years past.'
20 Sends 'Critics and Criticism' to American.
21 Tells AR he is 'busy now, and feel so full of energy'.
He lists his current literary projects including 'Landor's
Cottage', 'Marginalia' and an essay on 'Critics and
Criticism'. He urges her to read George Henry Lewes's
novel Percy Ranthorpe, from which he has derived'great
consolation'.
21? Writes to SHW explaining his actions and stating he
will announce that their marriage has been postponed
'on account of your ill health'.
February
'Mellonta Tauta' in Godey. Reviews RWG's The Female Poets
of America in SLM.
5 (Mon) Tells the editor of The Flag, 'I shall be happy
to contribute as often as possible. In the course of
next week I will se.nd you a tale or sketch.'
1849 67
6 Final revision of 'The Bells' is completed.

7 Completes MS. of 'Hop-Frog'.
8 Tells AR he is busy with literary work: 'I have not
suffered a day to pass without writing from a page
to three pages.'
14 Resumes correspondence with FWl: 'Depend upon
it after all, literature is the most noble of professions.
In fact it is about the only one fit for a man. For my
own part, there is no seducing me from the path.'
16 Sends copy of 'Ulalume' to Duyckink for publication
in the Literary World.
19 Writes to AR abandoning his proposed visit to Lowell
to see her.
During this month completes revision of 'For Annie' and
'Annabel Lee'.
March
Reviews Lowell's Fable for Critics in SLM.
1 (Thurs) Tells Sarah Heywood (sister of AR), 'Do not
you be influenced against me by anybody.'
3 'Ulalume' in Literary World.
'A Valentine' in Flag.
8 Completes MS. of 'Von Kempelen and his Discovery'.
Tells Duyckink apropos 'Von Kempelen': 'Of course, there
is not one word of truth in it from beginning to end.'
17 'Hop-Frog' in Flag.
23 Sends AR a copy of his poem 'For Annie'.
31 'A Dream within a Dream' in Flag.
April
'Song Writing' (the first of a new series of 'Marginalia')
in SLM.
'The Bells' in Journal.
1 (Sun) Reviews (anonymously) Sarah Anna Lewis's
Child of the Sea and Other Poems in the Western Quar-
terly Review.
8 Writes to the editor Edward Patterson thanking him
for his offer to back the Stylus.
14 'Von Kempelen and his Discovery' in Flag.

20 Sends Willis a copy of 'For Annie', asking him to pub-
lish it in the Journal.
21 'Eldorado' in Flag.
28 Tells AR his hopes of seeing her have been frustrated
by financial and health problems: ~s usual, misfor-
tunes never come single, [sic] and I have met one
disappointment after another.'
'For Annie' in Flag.
May
'On Imagination' in SLM.
10 (Thurs) Sends further instalments of 'Marginalia' to
SLM.
12 'X-ing a Paragrab' in Flag.
17 Tells Sarah Anna Lewis ('Stella') he is trying to inter-
est the publisher George Putnam in a new edition of
her Child of the Sea.
18 Writes to Putnam regarding Child of the Sea.
23 Writes to the publisher Edward H. N. Patterson en-
closing a proposed title-page for the Stylus designed.
by himself.
Travels to Boston and Lowell, to visit AR.
30? Returns to Fordham.
During May sends RWG revised copies of 'For Annie',
~nnabel Lee' and 'Lenore' for inclusion in the 10th edi-
tion of Poets and Poetry of America.
June
'The Veil of the Soul' in SLM.
9 (Sat) Tells John R. Thompson (editor of the SLM), 'It
was my design to be in Richmond about the first of
this month - but now it will be the 18th or 20th be-
fore I can leave New York.'
'Landor's Cottage' in Flag (the last of EAP's short
stories to be published in his lifetime).
16 Writes to AR confirming his intention to visit her, but
is unable to give a definite date.
1849 69
26 Sends a copy of 'For Annie' to Eveleth and asks for

his opinion: 'you know I put much faith in your
poetical judgments.'
28 Asks RWG to include an appreciation of the poetry
of Sarah Anna Lewis in his forthcoming Female Poets.
29 With MC takes the ferry to Brooklyn, spending the
night with friends at 125 Dean Street.
30 Leaving MC behind, travels by steamboat to Phila-
delphia.
July
1 (Sun) Arrives in Philadelphia where he remains for
two weeks, in poor health and suffering from hallu-
cinations.
7 'To My Mother' in Flag.
Tells MC he has been very ill: 'I have no desire to
live since I have done Eureka.'
9 MC writes to AR expressing her concern for EAP's
health and welfare.
13 To Richmond by boat via Baltimore.
14 Arrives in Richmond, where he stays with relatives.
On the 14th tells MC his valise was lost for ten days
and that his notes for both his lectures have been
stolen. After a few days moves to the Swan Tavern,
Broad Street.
19 Tells MC he is much better in health and spirits.
Tells Patterson, 'I left New York six weeks ago on my
way to this place, but was arrested in Philadelphia
by the cholera, from which I barely escaped with life.'
During his stay in Richmond reads 'The Raven' on sev-
eral occasions at private gatherings and has meetings with
SER.
August
Spends much of his time during August in the offices of
the Richmond Examiner, revising his poems.
7 (Tues) Writes to Patterson seeking his support for the
Stylus.
17 Lectures on 'The Poetic Principle' in the Exchange

Concert Rooms.
21 Patterson agrees to support the Stylus if EAP can se-
cure 1000 subscribers.
27 Takes a public pledge against alcohol by joining the
Richmond branch of the Sons of Temperance.
28 Writes to MC telling her of his plans and urging her
to join him in Richmond. He tells her, 'The papers
have done nothing but praise me before the lecture
& since.'
Together with his sister Rosalie, spends the evening
with SER.
September
4 (Tues) Writes to MC suggesting that the Fordham cot-
tage should be given up, as he wishes to live near
AR.
8 Leaves Richmond for Norfolk.
9 Attends a literary gathering at the Hygeia Hotel, Old
Point Comfort.
14 Lectures on 'The Poetic Principle' at the Norfolk
Academy~
17 Returns to Richmond, where he stays at the Madi-
son House. Visits SER.
18 Tells the Philadelphia poetess Mrs St Seon Loud he
hopes to call to see her on the 26th.
Writes to Sarah Anna Lewis thanking her for her kind-
ness to MC.
Writes to MC telling her of his plans to marry SER.
22 Visits SER, who agrees to marry him on 17 October.
SER writes to MC telling her of their plans.
24 Lectures on 'The Poetic Principle', at the Exchange
Hotel, Richmond.
25 Spends the night at Duncan Lodge, the home of the
Mackenzies.
26 Visits SER for the last time.
27 Leaves Richmond by boat for Baltimore.
28 Arrives in Baltimore, where he calls on his friend Dr
1849 71
Nathan C. Brooks. His movements for the next five

days are uncertain. (There is some evidence that EAP
may have been in Philadelphia between 29 Septem-
ber and 2 October, visiting friends.)
October
2? (Tues) Returns to Baltimore.
3 Election day in Baltimore. EAP is found unconscious
outside a polling station at 44 East Lombard Street
and taken to the Washington Hospital, where he is
treated by the physician Dr J. J. Moran and by JES.
4 EAP regains consciousness at 3 am but is in delirium.
7 EAP dies at 3 am.
9 EAP is buried at 4 pm at Baltimore Presbyterian cem-
etery, in the lot that had belonged to his grandfather,
David Poe.
l\nnabel Lee' in Tribune.
20 MC signs a power of attorney transferring to RWG
the right to publish a collected edition of EAP's works.
MC died on 16 February 1871, aged 81. At her own re-

quest she was buried next to EA~
On 17 November 1875 a marble monument in EAP's

memory was erected in Baltimore in place of his original
gravestone.
The Poe Circle
Allan, Frances Keeling, nee Valentine (1784-1829), foster
mother of EAE An orphan from the age of ten, Frances
was adopted by a printer, John Dixon, and brought up
in Richmond. In 1803 she married John Allan, a wealthy
merchant. It was in December 1811 that Frances prevailed
on her husband to adopt EAB the couple having no chil-
dren of their own. A charming and attractive woman,
she was solicitous for EAP's welfare throughout her life.
She died in 1829 at the age of 45.
Allan, John (1780-1834), guardian and foster father of EAE

A native of Irvine, Scotland, he emigrated from Scotland
to Richmond whilst still a young man and set up in busi-
ness as a merchant, trading in tobacco, grain and flour,
tea, coffee and wines. In 1811 he fell in with his wife's
wish that EAP should be brought up as if he were their
own son, although legal adoption formalities were never
completed. (This was by no means unusual by the stan-
dards of the time.) A proud and imperious man, Allan
failed to understand EAP's literary ambitions and as EAP
grew into manhood the two increasingly became estranged.
Poe and Allan were opposites, diametrically opposed in
philosophy, temperament and outlook. Where Allan was
unemotional and practical, Poe was impulsive and roman-
tic; where Allan inhabited the world of commerce and
hard economic realities, Poe was most at home in the
world of the poetic imagination. Faced with such a fun-
damental divergence of personalities it is hardly surpris-
ing that the relationship between the two became
increasingly subject to disagreements and misunderstand-
ings. Allan's first wife, Frances, who had always cared
deeply for Poe, died childless in 1829. In 1830 Allan mar-
ried Louisa Patterson, a New York lady 20 years his junior.
73
He died a wealthy man in 1834, but made no provision

in his will for his adopted son.
Anthon, Charles (1797-1867), classicist. A professor of

classical languages at Columbia, Anthon and EAP corre-
sponded for some years on linguistic topics. It was Anthon
who provided EAP with the Hebrew translations he
needed for his review of Arabia Petrea (1837). In 1844 EAP
sent Anthon a collection of his stories, asking him to use
his influence with Harpers to publish them; the scheme
did not materialise. Had Poe been successful in his ambi-
tion to establish the Stylus magazine, Anthon was to have
been its classical correspondent.
Bisco, John, publisher. A native of New England, Bisco

was formerly editor of the Knickerbocker Magazine, a New
York literary journal founded in 1833. In January 1845
Bisco and Charles Briggs founded the Broadway Journal,
EAP joining them as a partner in the following month.
On 24 October 1845, Bisco signed an agreement dispos-
ing 'his entire right and title to the weekly paper en-
titled the Broadway Journal to Edgar A. Poe'.
Bliss, Elam, publisher. In 1830 EAP wrote to Bliss, a New

York publisher, proposing the publication of an edition
of his poetry. Bliss came to West Point to discuss the ar-
rangements. The volume appeared in March 1831 under
the title Poems by Edgar A. Poe. The preface, 'On Poets
and Poetry, A Letter to B " is apparently addressed
to Bliss himself and is an important statement of Poe's
critical and artistic philosophy.
Briggs, Charles Frederick (1804-77), editor. A former sailor

and author of a novel, The Adventures of Harry Franco, Briggs
started a new weekly, the Broadway Journal, in January
1845. In February of that year EAP signed an agreement
with Briggs to assist in editing the journal; in June Briggs
withdrew, leaving the weekly in EAP's hands. The rela-
The Poe Circle 75
tionship between them was uneasy as Briggs was out of

sympathy with EAP's critical and aesthetic aims. EAP
attacked Briggs in his series of critical articles 'The Lite-
rati of New York' (1846), and Briggs responded by pub-
lishing a parody of a 'Literati' sketch.
Brooks, Dr Nathan Covington, editor. A native of Balti-

more, Brooks purchased the North American Quarterly
Magazine of Baltimore and changed it to a monthly jour-
nal under the title American Museum of Literature and the
Arts. Though the Museum was a short-lived publication
it maintained high critical standards, and Brooks, together
with his co-editor J. E. Snodgrass, published much of EAP's
work, including 'The Haunted Palace', 'Ligeia', 'How to
Write a Blackwood Article' and 'A Predicament'. Brooks
provided EAP with friendship and encouragement over
many years.
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett (1806-61), poetess. Mrs

Browning and EAP had a strong admiration for each
other's work and corresponded on poetical topics, EAP
having reviewed her work favourably in Graham's. Fol-
lowing the publication of 'The Raven' she wrote to him
saying, 'Your Raven has produced a sensation, a "fit hor-
ror", here in England.' She also wrote to him on mes-
merism following the publication of 'The Facts in the Case
of M. Valdemar'.
Burton, William Evans (1804-60), editor-publisher of

Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. An English comedian, ac-
tor and theatre manager, Burton acquired the magazine
in 1837 and owned it until October 1840, when it was
sold to George R. Graham. EAP was assistant editor of
Burton's from July 1839 to May 1840. Throughout this time
he was a frequent contributor to the magazine; some of
his finest work, including 'The Fall of the House of Usher'
and 'William Wilson' appeared in its pages. Eventually
Burton and EAP parted company owing to increasing
tensions between them. For his part EAP felt he had been
underpaid, whilst Burton was aggrieved that EAP was
making plans for a separate magazine, the Penn, without
consulting him.
Chivers, Thomas Holley (1809-58), poet and physician.

A native of Georgia, Chivers was the author of several
volumes of verse including The Lost Pleiad (1845) and A
Gift of Love (1851), and was a friendly rival of EAP for
some years. Poe sought Chivers's help in supplying capi-
tal for his proposed magazines the Stylus and the Penn,
and the two also corresponded on metaphysical questions.
Chivers and EAP met frequently in New York during the
latter's editorship of the Broadway Journal.
Clark, Lewis Gaylord (1808-73), editor. The editor of -the

Knickerbocker Magazine from 1834 to 1861, Clark was an
influential figure in New York literary circles and the twin
brother of Willis Clark, editor of the Philadelphia Gazette.
The antagonism between Lewis Clark and EAP began in
1835, when EAP suspected Clark was involved in a hoax,
plagiarised from his own short story 'Hans pfaall'. EAP
felt that Clark was the leader of a New York'clique' and
only favoured New York writers. When the Narrative of
Arthur Gordon Pym was published in 1838, .Clark wrote
an unfavourable review in the Knickerbocker; subsequently
he ridiculed EAP's attem.pts to. launch the Penn maga-
zine. Poe retaliated by belittling Clark in his series 'The
Literati'. Their quarrel continued for many years and
outlasted EAP's death, Clark repeating allegations of
plagiarisms made by RWG and seeking to undermine
EAP's critical rep·utation.
Clark, Thomas C., publisher and editor. As publisher of

the Philadelphia Saturday Museum Clarke was an influ-
ential figure who agreed to provide financial backing for
the proposed Stylus. He financed EAP's abortive visit to
Washington in March 1843.
The Poe· Circle 77
Clemm, Maria Poe (1790-1871), aunt and mother-in-law

of EA~ Maria, known in later life as 'Muddy', was the
sister of EAP's father, David. Brought up in Baltimore, in
1817 she married William Clemm, a widower with five
children. Following the death of her husband in 1826,
Maria was left destitute with two children of her own,
Henry, born in 1818, and Virginia Eliza, born in 1822, who
later married EA~ From 1829 onwards EAP lived inter-
mittently with the Clemm household, together with his
grandmother and brother. This was an overcrowded house-
hold struggling against poverty and ill-health; but Maria
Clemm was a remarkable woman and succeeded in holding
the home together through a combination of hard work
and charity. Maria mothered EAP as if he were her own
son. She did her utmost to further his literary reputation
and, by her own request, is buried next to him in Balti-
more.
Cooke, Philip Pendleton (1816-50), poet. A well-known

poet and contemporary of EAB Cooke was the author of
'Florence Vane', 'Young Rosalie Lee', the Froissart Ballads
and other popular verses. A perceptive critic of Poe's work,
Cooke corresponded with EAP for some years and EAP
evidently valued his judgement. Cooke wrote an appre-
ciation of his poetry and short stories (SLM, January 1848,
reprinted in the Harrison edition of Poe's works, I, pp.
383-92), commenting in particular on 'The Raven'.
Darley, Felix Octavius Carr (1822-88), artist. A notable

illustrator, in January 1843 Darley signed an agreement
with EAP and Thomas Clarke undertaking to prepare il-
lustrations for the proposed Stylus magazine. A friend of
EAP's for some years, he recorded later that 'The Gold..
Bug' and 'The Black Cat' were read aloud to him by the
author. As a member of the Philadelphia literary and ar-
tistic circle, Darley frequently encountered EAPand was
the original illustrator of 'The Gold-Bug'.
Dickens, Charles (1812-70), novelist. In February 1841 EAP

wrote a review of Barnaby Rudge, then appearing as a
serial, in which he predicted the plot of the story with
such accuracy Dickens is said to have exclaimed: 'the man
must be the devil'. The two met during Dickens's visit to
Philadelphia in March 1842 and thereafter they corre-
sponded. Dickens tried unsuccessfully to find a London
publisher for EAP's Tales. On his second visit to the United
States in 1868, Dickens called to see Maria Clemm in
Baltimore and left her a present of money.
Duyckink, Evert (1816-78), editor. A respected figure in

New York literary society, Duyckink was the reader for
the publishers Wiley and Putnam and advised EAP on
the selection of stories to appear in the Tales (1845). For
some years he acted as EAP's literary agent, and was a
valued friend and adviser. Duyckink admired his work
and through his practical help and confidence in EAP's
literary abilities played an important role at a time when
EAP was facing much discouragement. He later became
the editor and proprietor of the Literary World and ed-
ited many' encyclopaedias.
Ellet, Elizabeth Frieze Lummis (1818-77), writer. A fam-

iliar figure in New York literary society, she was a pro-
fessional author of novels, poetry and plays. She knew
both EAP and FSO, and EAP featured some of her work
in Broadway, including a flirtatious poem addressed to
himself, 'Coquette's Song' (December 1845). A prudish,
gossipy woman, she antagonised EAP by sending anony-
mous letters to his wife repeating falsehoods about him.
Ellis, Charles, partner of John Allan. In 1801 Ellis and

John Allan, then both clerks in the counting house of
William Galt, a wealthy Richmond trader, established their
own mercantile and trading business, Ellis and Allan,
specialising in the buying and selling of tobacco. On his
return to Richmond from England in August 1820, EAP
The Poe Circle 79
stayed for the summer at the home of Charles Ellis on

the corner of Franklin and Second Streets. Opposite this
house was a beautiful garden (the property of William
Galt), which Poe loved. The garden became one of EAP's
favourite haunts; he rhapsodised about it in 'The Land-
scape Garden' and frequently brought Elmira Royster there.
It was Ellis who was instrumental in securing a letter from
his brother, then a US Senator, recommending EAP to the
Secretary for War as a candidate for West Point (March
1830).
English, Thomas Dunn (1819-1902), editor and poet. A

native of Philadelphia, English graduated in 1839 and met
EAP in the same year. He contributed verse to Burton and
Graham and became editor of the Aristidean. In his series
'The Literati of New York City', EAP contributed a highly
critical article on English (July 1846), accusing him of
plagiarism and grammatical errors. English wrote a lengthy
reply accusing EAP of intemperance and other faults. This
literary quarrel culminated in a libel suit, which was even-
tually decided in EAP's favour (February 1847). In 1896
English published his Reminiscences of Poe, a frank account
which sought to undermine EAP's reputation.
Eveleth, George W A correspondent of EAP for some years,

Eveleth was a medical student in Philips, Maine, who
studied at the Maine Medical School in Brunswick. He
defended EAP against charges of alcoholism in an article
in the Portland Transcript, 8 June and 6 July 1850.
Galt, James A nephew of William Galt, John Allan's uncle

and benefactor, James attended the grammar school at
Irvine with EAP (1815). He returned to the United States
with EAP and the Allan family in July 1820. Later he re-
corded his impressions of EAP as a boy, noting EAP's
precociousness and literary ambitions. He was one of the
executors of the will of John Allan.
Godey, Louis Antoine (1804-78), editor. As editor of Godey's

Magazine and Lady's Book, a popular woman's journal,
Godey was an influential figure in Philadelphia literary
society. He founded the magazine in 1830 and was its
sole editor for six years; thereafter he shared the editorship
with Sarah Hale. Godey's was renowned for its hand-
coloured plates and high-quality art reproductions. Be-
tween May and October 1846 Godey published 38 of EAP's
critical pieces under the title 'The Literati of New York
City', a highly successful series for which Poe was well
paid. Godey also published a number of EAP's tales in
his journal including 'The Cask of Amontillado', 'The
Oblong Box' and 'Mellonta Tauta'.
Graham, George Rex (1813-94), editor and owner of

Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine. A native of
Philadelphia, Graham was admitted to the bar in 1839.
He became one of the editors of the Saturday Evening Post
and also owned the magazine The Casket. Graham acquired
Burton's in 1840 and merged it with the Gentleman's Maga-
zine in the following year under the title Graham's Maga-
zine. EAP was editor of Graham's from February 1841 to
May 1842, contributing for it some of his finest work in-
cluding 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' and 'A Descent
into the Maelstrom'. Largely because of his worries con-
cerning Virginia's health, EAP's behaviour during this
period was erratic and eventually Graham severed his
agreement with him. However, they parted on amicable
terms and Graham continued to defend EAP against the
attacks of Griswold and others, maintaining an interest
in EAP and a concern for his literary reputation until the
latter's death.
Griswold, Rufus Wilmot (1815-57), editor. Originally a

Baptist clergyman, Griswold became an editor and com-
piler, and through his contacts with writers and periodi-
cals was an influential figure in the American literary
world. He and EAP first met in 1841 when Griswold was
The Poe Circle 81
preparing his anthology Poets and Poetry of America; this

influential work appeared in 1842 and went through 29
editions. The anthology included several of EAP's poems,
including 'The Haunted Palace', and an account of his
life containing many inaccuracies. It was Griswold who
succeeded EAP as editor of Graham's, a fact which inten-
sified their mutual dislike and mistrust. Poe was unwise
enough to appoint Griswold as his literary executor, not
realising that Griswold in reality hated him. Immediately
following EAP's death, Griswold, writing under the pseud-
onym 'Ludwig', wrote an obituary (New York Daily Tri-
bune, 9 October 1849), giving a misleading account of his
life and conveying the impression that EAP had had few
or no friends. Griswold then edited EAP's works (Sep-
tember 1850) together with a 'Memoir' which repeated
the inaccuracies of the 'Ludwig' article. For some years
Griswold's interpretation of Poe's life and work was ac-
cepted as authoritative, and did untold damage to EAP's
reputation in Britain and the United States.
Hale, Sarah Josepha (1788-1879), editor. Mrs Hale, for-

merly the editor of the Ladies' Magazine, Boston, became
co-editor of Godey's Lady's Book when her magazine was
merged with Godey's in 1837. EAP wrote to her in both
capacities. He had known her son David E. Hale at West
Point. Mrs Hale was the author of 'Mary had a little lamb'
and a leading advocate of women's rights.
Halleck, Fitz-Greene (1790-1867), poet and banker. Author

of the popular Alnwick Castle with Other Poems, Halleck
was a fashionable poet who, together with his friend
Rodman Drake, wrote the Croaker Papers for New York
newspapers. EAP reviewed his verse in SLM (April 1836)
and also featured him in his 'Literati' series of essays. In
1835 Halleck lent money to EAP to assist with the Broad-
way Journal, and he was one of the well-known literary
figures to whom EAP wrote in 1841 inviting them to con-
tribute to Graham's.
Herring, Eliza Poe, paternal aunt of EAl? Eliza married

Henry Herring, a Baltimore timber merchant, and the
Herrings were neighbours of the Clemm household when
EAP was a young man. The Herring's daughter Elizabeth
was a friend of EAP's and he wrote a number of acrostic
poems for her, including 'Elizabeth' and 1\n Acrostic' (both
published posthumously).
Hirst, Henry Beck (1817-74), lawyer and poet. Hirst and

EAP met in Philadelphia in 1841, both men sharing an
interest in poetry and in international copyright. With
Hirst's encouragement EAP entered himself as a law
student (1843), but the plan came to nothing. The two
became firm friends and Hirst later claimed that some of
the early versions of 'The Raven' were read aloud to him.
Following EAP's death Hirst contributed an important
memoir (Model American Courier, 20 October 1849)
summarising his achievement and asserting that 'had his
opportunities equalled his genius and his ambition, he
would have died a universally esteemed great man'.
Irving, Washington (1783-1859), essayist. The author of

The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon (1820), Bracebridge Hall
(1822) and The Legends of the Alhambra (1832), Irving was
one of the foremost writers of his day. In June 1841 EAP
invited him to become a contributor to Graham's Maga-
zine. EAP admired Irving's work and wrote reviews of
Astoria (SLM, January 1837) and The Sketch Book (SLM,
December 1835).
Kennedy, John Pendleton (1795-1870), novelist and critic.

A native of Baltimore, Kennedy was admitted to the bar
but later abandoned a legal career in favour of literature
and politics. He was the author of a number of success-
ful novels including Swallow Barn (1832) and Horse-Shoe
Robinson (1835) and a respected public figure. Kennedy
was one of the judges who awarded EAP a prize for his
short story 'MS. Found in a Bottle' (1833) and continued
The Poe Circle 83
to provide him with encouragement and practical help.

It was at Kennedy's suggestion that EAP submitted Tales
of the Folio Club to Carey and Lea. His friendship and
support were of inestimable value at a crucial phase of
EAP's literary career.
Lewis, Sara Anna Robinson (1824-80), poetess. Mrs Lewis

used the pen names 'Stella' and 'Estelle Anna Lewis'. The
wife of the attorney Sylvanus Lewis, she and EAP met
in 1846. She visited him at Fordham, EAP assisting her
by revising her poems and writing favourable reviews of
them. In 1849 he tried to interest the publisher George
Putnam in issuing a new edition of her Child of the Sea
and Other Poems, and asked Griswold to include an ap-
preciation of her in the latter's Female Poets. There is no
evidence of any sentimental attachment; he was willing
to advance her career in return for practical help from
her and her husband. EAP's poem An Enigma' (1848) is
an acrostic concealing her name.
Locke, Jane Ermina (1805-59), poetess. The sister-in-law

of FSO, she was one of the literary women with whom
EAP became involved during 1848. She sent him senti-
mental verses and financial assistance, and it was at her
invitation that EAP lectured on 'The Poets and Poetry of
America' at Lowell (June 1848). She tried to break up his
friendship with Nancy Richmond (~nnie').
Locke, Richard Adams (1800-71), editor. English by birth,

Locke became editor of the Sun, New York's first penny
newspaper, and in 1835 published a hoax account of the
alleged discovery of life on the moon. EAP thought the
account was suggested by his own 'Hans Pfaall', though
Locke denied this. The Sun also published his 'Balloon
Hoax' on 13 April 1844. EAP featured Locke in his 'Lite-
rati' series (Godey, October 1846) and also planned to in-
clude him in the projected volume 'Literary America'.
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1807-82), poet. Professor

of Modern Languages at Harvard, Longfellow was the
author of a number of distinguished volumes of poetry
including Voices of the Night (1838), Ballads (1842), The Golden
Legend (1851) and Hiawatha (1855). EAP claimed, mistak-
enly, that Longfellow had plagiarised his poem 'The
Beleagured City' from 'The Haunted Palace'. EAP con-
tinued to press accusations of plagiarism, culminating in
a celebrated literary quarrel which became known as The
Longfellow War, commencing in March 1845 with a se-
ries of articles in the Broadway Journal. Longfellow did
not answer these criticisms in print, but Poe continued
to be obsessed with fears, whether real or imagined, that
Longfellow was imitating him and wrote a highly critical
review of the latter's poetry, published in the New York
Aristidean in April 1845.
Lowell, James Russell (1819-91), poet and critic. The author

of prose, poetry and criticism, Lowell wrote several vol-
umes of verse including Fable for Critics (1848) and The
Biglow Papers (1848) but today is mainly remembered for
his literary criticism including Among My Books (1870) and
My Study Window (1871). Lowell's Pioneer, a leading Bos-
ton literary magazine, published a number of EAP's stories
including 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and an important critical
article, 'Notes Upon English Verse'. It was Lowell who
recommended Poe to Charles E Briggs as associate editor
of the Broadway Journal and for some years he was a valued
friend and correspondent. Lowell was the author of a
major critical essay on Poe (Graham's Magazine, February
1845) which ably summarised EAP's literary achievement,
asserting that 'Mr Poe has two of the prime qualities of
genius, a faculty of vigorous yet minute analysis, and a
wonderful fecundity of imagination'.
MaCkenzie, Jane Scott, foster-mother of Rosalie Poe. The

wife of William Mackenzie, one of John Allan's closest
friends, she adopted Rosalie following the death of EAP's
The Poe Circle 85
mother. A charitable, kindly woman, she continued to take

an interest in the Poe family throughout her life, despite
the fact that she had two children of her own. The
Mackenzies' home at Duncan Lodge, Broad Street, Rich-
mond, was well known to EAP and a source of hospital-
ity to him for many years. Following her death EAP's
trunk was donated to the Poe Shrine at Richmond by
her granddaughter, Jane Mackenzie Miller.
Osgood, Frances Sargent, nee Locke (1811-50), poetess.

The wife of the portrait painter Samuel Osgood, Frances
(or Fanny as she was known) was a fluent poetess, al-
though childlike in personality and stature. She was the
author of numerous volumes of verse including The Po-
etry of Flowers (1841) and The Snowdrop (1842). EAP printed
some of her verses in the Broadway Journal and between
March 1845 and February 1846 a friendship developed
between them during which they corresponded and ex-
changed poetry. She also visited him at his home, appar-
ently at his wife's own invitation. The friendship waned
when EAP formed other romantic attachments. EAP's
poem 'A Valentine' (1846) is an acrostic concealing her
name. His biographer Arthur Hobson Quinn described
her as 'the first of the literary women with whom he
formed a warm friendship, which blossomed into one of
those sentimental adventures that punctuate his later life.'
Poe, David (1784-1810), father of EAE He was of Scot-

tish-Irish ancestry and his forebears can be traced back
to tenant farmers in County Cavan, Ireland. At the age
of 18 he abandoned a career in law to pursue the roving
life of a theatrical player. Of a romantic disposition, he
suffered intermittently from tuberculosis and never
achieved fame as an actor. Following his marriage to
Elizabeth Arnold in 1806 the couple appeared on the stage
in touring theatrical companies, but their life together was
a continual struggle against poverty and ill-health. They
succeeded in earning a bare living until the summer of
1810, when David Poe disappeared without trace. rradi-

tion has it that he died in Virginia in October 1810, but
this has not been substantiated.
Poe, 'General' David (1743-1816), grandfather of EAE A

native of Pennsylvania who later settled in Baltimore, David
Poe had a varied career, which included furniture-making
and serving as Assistant Deputy Quartermaster of the
Baltimore Company of the Revolutionary Army. Of great
assistance to Lafayette during the War of Independence,
his services earned him the nickname 'General'. EAP's
brother Henry was adopted at birth by David Poe and
his wife Elizabeth in 1807.
Poe, Mrs David, nee Elizabeth Cairnes (1757-1835), grand-

mother of EAE Of Irish ancestry, she was living in
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, at the time of her marriage
to 'General' David Poe, by whom she had seven children.
The eldest of these, also named David Poe, was the father
of EAE Following the death of her husband in October
1816, Mrs Poe went to live with her daughter, Maria
Clemm, in Baltimore. She continued to live in the Clemm
household, surviving on a small pension, until her death.
Poe, Eliza, aunt of EAB see Herring, Eliza Poe.
Poe, Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins (1787-1811), mother of

EAE The daughter of theatrical parents of London, En-
gland, she moved to the United States in 1796. (She was
born Elizabeth Arnold and was the widow of an Ameri-
can actor, C. D. Hopkins, whom she had married in 1802.
Hopkins died in 1805.) She married an actor, David Poe,
in January 1806. The couple appeared on the stage in
touring theatrical companies in Philadelphia, New York
and Boston. Elizabeth was an accomplished actress, dancer
and singer, whose performances received enthusiastic
reviews. Following her husband's death in 1810 she con-
tinued to appear on the stage, although now dying of
The Poe Circle 87
consumption. She died in Richmond on 8 December 1811,

having lived her final months in conditions of crushing
poverty and illness, despite the efforts of kind friends to
help her.
Poe, George (1778-?), cousin of EAE George Poe was the

grandson of John Poe; he was MC's first cousin and EAP's
second. He was a banker in Mobile, Alabama and gave
financial help to MC and EAP on a number of occasions.
Poe, Neilson (1809-?), second cousin of EAE He married

Josephine Clemm, the half-sister of Virginia Clemm who
became EAP's wife. Neilson (pronounced Nelson) stud-
ied law and later owned and edited a newspaper in
Maryland. He opposed Virginia's marriage as he consid-
ered her, at 14, to be too young, and offered to be re-
sponsible himself for her education and support. Though
he lived in Baltimore for many years he had little con-
tact with EAP but maintained an occasional correspon-
dence. He aided EAP during the latter's last illness, was
one of the mourners at EAP's funeral, and was of practi-
cal assistance to MC during her bereavement.
Poe, Rosalie (1810-74), sister of EAE Born a year before

the death of her mother, Rosalie was adopted by Mrs
William Mackenzie, who was one of the group of sym-
pathetic ladies who had looked after Mrs Poe during her
last illness. Of fragile health, she was educated at a fash-
ionable girls' school in Richmond run by the Mackenzies
and later worked there as a teacher of penmanship. A
naive and rather simple woman, she remained unmar-
ried and died in Washington in poor circumstances, the
Civil War having impoverished the Mackenzie family.
Despite her wish to be buried near to EA~ her body was
interred in a Washington cemetery.
Poe, Virginia Eliza Clemm (1822-47) wife and cousin of

EAE The daughter of EAP's aunt, Maria Clemm, Virginia
married Poe on May 16 1836, when she was 14. Of cher-

ubic appearance and a happy disposition, she ruptured
a blood vessel while singing in January 1842. This was
the onset of a steady deterioration in her health which
caused EAP years of anguish. After a winter of wretched
poverty she died in January 1847, aged 24.
There has been much speculation by biographers re-
garding the relationship between Poe and his child-wife.
That he was deeply devoted to her there can be no doubt,
but controversy persists as to whether he regarded her
as a dearly loved sister or as a wife in the conventional
sense. Some of his finest short stories, including 'Eleonora'
and 'Berenice', owe their inspiration to l}er.
Poe, William Henry Leonard (1807-31), brother of EAE

Henry was adopted and brought up by his grandparents,
'General' David and Elizabeth Poe, in Baltimore. Of a
poetical and melancholy disposition, he remained with
his grandparents until the death of David Poe in 1816,
when he went to sea as a midshipman. Returning to
Baltimore in 1827 he went to live with his aunt, Maria
Clemm, and worked in a law office. His few published
poems reveal some literary promise, and he and EAP
enjoyed each other's company. Henry died of tuberculo-
sis in 1831 at the age of 24. For a full account of his life
and poetry, see Poe's Brother: The Poems of William Henry
Leonard Poe by Hervey Allen and Thomas O. Mabbott (New
York, Doran, 1926).
Reid, Captain Mayne (1818-83), novelist. After many

adventures, including service in the Mexican War, Reid
settled in Philadelphia to concentrate on literary work.
While in Philadelphia from 1838 onwards he befriended
the Poes. Reid was a frequent visitor to the office of
Graham's during EAP's editorship and to Poe's home on
North Seventh Street, later recording his impressions of
the Poe household in 'A Dead Man Defended' (Onward,
April 1869) and in his memoir Edgar Allan Poe (1890). He
The Poe Circle 89
is mainly remembered today for his adventure stories for

boys including The Rifle Rangers (1849), The Scalp Hunters
(1851) and The White Chief (1859).
Richmond, Nancy Locke Heywood (Annie'). The wife of

a wealthy paper merchant, she and EAP first met at Lowell
in July 1848. The two began a correspondence, despite
the fact that he was simultaneously courting Sarah
Whitman. EAP was attracted by her ethereal quality and
in 'Landor's Cottage' describes the unforgettable impres-
sion she made upon him. He wrote impassioned love
letters to her even though she was married and living
with her husband. There can be no question that he was
deeply attracted to her and that for him she symbolised
qualities of womanliness and romance. His poem 'For
Annie' (1849) expresses his feelings for her.
Royster, Sarah Elmira. Poe and Elmira first met in 1824

when the Royster family were near-neighbours of the
Allans in Richmond. While he was a student at the Uni-
versity of Virginia he and Elmira exchanged love letters
and for a time he considered himself to be engaged to
her. The engagement was broken off at the insistence of
John Allan and of Elmira's parents. She later married
Alexander Shelton, a wealthy businessman who died in
1844. In September 1849, only a few weeks before Poe's
death, Poe and Elmira became engaged for the second
time. She then wrote an affectionate letter to Maria Clemm,
a few days before his fateful journey to Baltimore.
Sartain, John (1808-97), publisher and engraver. An En-

glishman by birth, Sartain settled in Philadelphia where
he became a foremost engraver and editor of Sartain's
Union Magazine. He provided practical assistance to EAP
on a number of occasions and published i\.n Enigma',
'To Helen' and 'The Bells'. His recollections of Poe are
recorded in Reminiscences of a Very Old Man (1900).
Shew, Marie Louise. A resident of Greenwich Village, she

had received training as a nurse. She befriended the Poe
family at Fordham and proved to be a sympathetic helper
and ally. She was present at Virginia's death and pro-
vided EAP with help and solace during his bereavement.
He felt a deep platonic attraction for her which is ex-
pressed in his poem 'To M.L.S.' (1847).
Snodgrass, Joseph Evans, editor and physician. Editor of

the Baltimore American Museum (together with Dr N. C.
Brooks), Snodgrass published some of EAP's most sig-
nificant work including 'Ligeia' (1838) and 'The Haunted
Palace' (1839). Though the Museum was well produced,
it ceased publication in June 1839. A correspondent and
friend for many years, it was Snodgrass who took EAP
to the hospital during his final illness.
Stanard, Jane Stith (1793-1824). The mother of EAP's

boyhood friend Robert Stanard, Jane possessed a grace
and classical beauty which he immediately found capti-
vating and he recognised in her the mother-figure he had
sought for so long. He visited her home frequently and
she encouraged his literary aspirations. The idyll was short-
lived, however, for she died of a brain tumor in April
1824, aged 31; he was utterly heartbroken and idealised
her as the epitome of transient, corruptible beauty. The
immediate effect of the death of Jane Stanard was to in-
spire the poem 'To Helen' (1831).
Stanard, Robert Craig (1814-57). A friend of EAP's since

school days in Richmond, Stanard was the son of Jane
Stith Stanard, the 'Helen' of EAP's adolescent dreams.
Poe was a frequent visitor at the Stanard household and
remained on friendly terms with Robert throughout life.
Sully, Robert, artist. A close friend of EAP since schooldays

in Richmond, Sully was the nephew of the artist Thomas
Sully (1783-1872) and the son of the actor Mathew Sully,
The Poe Circle 91
with whom Poe's mother acted in Norfolk, Virginia, in

1803. Both Robert and Thomas painted portraits of Poe.
Thomas, Calvin, F. S. (1808-76), printer and editor. Born

in New York, Thomas established a printing business at
70 Washington Street, Boston, and published EAP's
Tamerlane and Other Poems in May 1827. From 1835 to 1868
he lived in Buffalo and published the Western Literary
Messenger (not to be confused with the Southern Literary
Messenger, edited by EAP).
Thomas, Frederick William (1806-66), lawyer, novelist and

editor. The author of a number of novels which are now
forgotten, he was also a minor journalist and politician.
His novel Clinton Bradshaw was unfavourably reviewed
by EAP in SLM (December 1835), tho'ugh EAP later re-
vised his judgement. Thomas and EAP met in Philadel-
phia in 1840; the two became friends and frequently
corresponded. In 1842 Thomas tried without success to
obtain a sinecure for EAP in government employment in
Washington. The two men shared an interest in crypto-
graphy and literary affairs, and continued to correspond
until EAP's death.
Thompson, John Reuben (1823-73), editor. The editor of

the SLM during an important phase of EAP's literary
career, Thompson gave him friendship and encouragment.
It was Thompson who accepted 'The Rationale of Verse'
(1848) and agreed to publish a continuation of the popu-
lar 'Marginalia' (April-September 1849). EAP gave
Thompson a copy of Annabel Lee' shortly before his death.
Thompson acted as Rosalie Poe's attorney after EAP's
death, and some years later wrote his own appreciation
under the title Genius and Character of Edgar Allan Poe (not
published until 1929).
White, Thomas Willis (1788-1843), editor. A native of

Virginia, White was the editor of the Southern Literary
Messenger and an able printer and businessman. EAP

became a frequent contributor to the Messenger from the
spring of 1835 onwards; White recognised his literary
abilities and offered him permanent employment on the
paper. EAP was assistant editor from August 1835 to Janu-
ary 1837; though he was dismissed because of his irregu-
larities, White provided him with fatherly advice and had
a genuine admiration for his work. White was one of the
witnesses at his wedding to Virginia in 1836.
Whitman, Sarah Helen Power (1803-78), poetess. A woman

of culture and refinement, in 1828 she married John
Whitman, a lawyer, but was widowed five years later.
EAP had corresponded with her from 1845 onwards and
visited her in September 1848 at Providence, Rhode
Island, when he offered to marry her. He courted her for
some months and in November 1848 she conditionally
promised to marry him. A marriage contract was drawn
up, but on 23 December the engagement was broken
off, apparently because of his friendship with Nancy
Richmond. She recorded her impressions of EAP in Edgar
Poe and His Critics (1860).
Willis, Nathaniel Parker (1806-67), author and editor. As

editor of the New York Evening Mirror Willis employed
EAP as a columnist (September-December 1844). Willis
later became editor of the Home Journal and a force in
American journalism and criticism. He gave practical help
by printing and reprinting EAP's poems in the Home Journal
and the Mirror and had a genuine admiration for EAP's
literary gifts. One of the earliest publications of 'The Raven'
was in the Mirror (8 February 1845). After Poe's death he
published a sincere and eloquent defence of his charac-
ter (Home Journal, 20 October 1849) praising Poe's quali-
ties as a man and as a writer.
Wilmer, Lambert (1805-63), editor. As literary editor of

the Baltimore Saturday Visitor Lambert befriended EAP
The Poe Circle 93
and published much of his work including 'The Coliseum'

and 'MS. Found in a Bottle'. He wrote one of the earliest
critical appreciations of EAP (Visitor, 4 August 1832) and
was the author of 'Quacks of Helicon', a verse satire on
literary cliques, which EAP reviewed favourably in
Graham's (August 1841). Mter Poe's death Lambert sought
to defend him against the charges of RWG, and recorded
his memoirs in Our Press Gang (1860).
Wirt, William (1772-1834), writer and politician. Wirt was

the author of a biography of Patrick Henry and was a
distinguished Attorney-General of the United States. An
acquaintance of JA, he befriended EAP in Baltimore in
1829. He gave EAP encouragement and advised him on
the publication of ~l Aaraaf'. In 1832 he stood unsuc-
cessfully for the Presidency.
Chronology of Poe's
Works
1827 Tamerlane and Other Poems (Boston, Calvin F. S.
Thomas)
Contents:
A Dream
Dreams
Evening Star
The Happiest Day, The Happiest Hour
Imitation (later entitled A Dream within a Dream)
The Lake
Stanzas
Tamerlane
To
Visit of the Dead
1829 Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems (Baltimore,
Hatch & Dunning)
Contents:
Al Aaraaf
A Dream
A Dream within a Dream
Fairyland
The Lake
Song
Sonnet - To Science
Spirits of the Dead
Tamerlane
ToM--
To the River
1831 Poems (New York, Elam Bliss)
Contents:
Al Aaraaf
95
The Doomed City

Fairyland
Irene (later entitled The Sleeper)
Israfel
A Paean (later entitled Lenore)
Tamerlane
To Helen
The Valley Nis
1838 The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

(New York, Harper & Brothers)
1839 The Conchologist's First Book (Philadelphia,

Haswell, Barrington and Haswell)
1839 Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (Philadelphia,

Lea and Blanchard)
Contents:
The Assignation
Berenice
Bon-Bon
The Devil in the Belfry
The Duke de ~ Omelette
The Fall of the House of Usher
Four Beasts in One
How to Write a Blackwood Article
King Pest
Ligeia
Lionizing
Loss of Breath
The Man that was Used Up
MS. Found in a Bottle
Metzengerstein
Morella
Mystification
A Predicament
Shadow - A Parable
Silence - A Fable
Chronology of Poe's Works 97
A Tale of Jerusalem
The Unparalleled Adventure of one Hans Pfaall
Why the Little Frenchman wears his hand in a
Sling
William Wilson
1843 The Prose Romances of Edgar A. Poe (Philadelphia,

William H. Graham)
Contents:
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Man that was used up
1845 Tales (New York, Wiley and Putnam)

Contents:
The Black Cat
The Colloquy of Monos and Una
The Conversation of Eros and Charmion
A Descent into the Maelstrom
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Gold Bug
Lionizing
The Man of the Crowd
Mesmeric Revelation
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Mystery of Marie Roget
The Purloined Letter
1845 The Raven and Other Poems (New York, Wiley and
Putnam)
Contents:
Al Aaraaf
Bridal Ballad
Catholic Hymn (later entitled Hymn)
The City in the Sea
The Coliseum
The Conqueror Worm
A Dream
Dreamland
Eulalie - A Song
Fairyland
The Haunted Palace
Israfel
The Lake
Lenore
The Raven
Romance
Scenes from 'Politian'
The Sleeper
Song
Sonnet - Silence
Sonnet - To Science
Sonnet - To Zante
Tamerlane
ToF--
To F S. 0 . - -
To Helen
To One in Paradise
To the River
The Valley of Unrest
1848 Eureka: A Prose Poem (New York, Geo. P Putnam)
PUBLISHED POSTHUMOUSLY
1923 Politian, an unfinished Tragedy, edited by Thomas

O. Mabbott (Richmond, The Edgar Allan Poe
Shrine).
1929 Doings of Gotham, with introduction and com-

ments by Thomas O. Mabbott (Pottsville, Penn-
sylvania).
1965 Literary Criticism of Edgar Allan Poe edited by

Robert L. Hough (Lincoln, University of Ne-
braska Press).
Sources
My principal source has been the published biographies
of Poe, especially the three standard works: Israfel: The
Life and Times of Edgar Allan Poe by Hervey Allen (1934),
Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography by Arthur Hobson
Quinn (1941), and Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-End-
ing Remembrance by Kenneth Silverman (1992). I have also
made extensive use of Poe's letters, especially in the ex-
cellent edition prepared by John W Ostrom, The Letters
of Edgar Allan Poe (1948, revised 1966).
The following have also been consulted:
Allen, Michael, Poe and the British Magazine Tradition (New

York, Oxford University Press, 1969)
Beaver, Harold (ed.), The Science Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe
(London, Penguin Books, 1976)
Bonaparte, Marie, The Life and Works of Edgar Allan Poe
(New York, Humanities Press, 1970)
Caulson, Eric W, The Recognition of Edgar Allan Poe (Uni-
versity of Michigan Press, 1971)
Galloway, David (ed.), Edgar Allan Poe: Comedies and Sat-
ires (London, Penguin Books, 1987)
Galloway, David (ed.), The Fall of the House of Usher and
Other Writings (London, Penguin Books, 1986)
Haining, Peter (ed.), The Edgar Allan Poe Bedside Companion
(London, Gollancz, 1980)
Hammond, J. R., An Edgar Allan Poe Companion (London,
Macmillan, 1981)
Ingram, John H., Edgar Allan Poe.' His Life, Letters and
Opinions (London, Ward Lock, 1891)
Moss, Sidney E Poe's Literary Battles (Carbondale, South-
ern Illinois University Press, 1963)
Pollin, Burton R., Discoveries in Poe (Indiana, University
of Notre Dame Press, 1970)
99
Sinclair, David, Edgar Allan Poe (London, Dent, 1977)

Stern, Philip Van Doren (ed.), The Portable Edgar Allan Poe
(New York, The Viking Press, 1945)
Stovall, Floyd (ed.), The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
(Charlottsville, University of Virginia Press, 1965)
Wagenknecht, Edward, Edgar Allan Poe: The Man Behind
the Legend (New York, Oxford University Press, 1963)
Index
This index is divided into three sections:
1. The Writings of Edgar Allan Poe

2. People
3. Places
1. The Writings of Edgar Allan Poe

Al Aaraaf, 55, 93 The Colloquy of Monos and
Al Aaraaf Tamerlane and Una, 39
Minor Poems, 11, 12, 13, 95 The Conchologist's First Book,
The American Drama, 54 30, 61, 96
Anastatic Printing, 53 The Conqueror Worm, 44
The Angel of the Odd, 50, 55 The Conversation of Eiros
Annabel Lee, 58, 67, 68, 71, 91 and Charmion, 32
The Assignation, 20 Critics and Criticism, 66
The Atlantis, 30
Autography, 27, 39 A Decided Loss, 18, 19
A Descent into the
The Balloon Hoax, 48, 83 Maelstrom, 37, 38, 80
A Bargain Lost, 18, 19; see The Devil in the Belfry, 31
also Bon-Bon Didacticism, 51
The Bells, 63, 67, 89 Diddling Considered as one
Berenice, 22, 88 of the Exact Sciences, 47
The Black Cat, 46, 77 Doings of Gotham, 49, 98
Bon-Bon, 24 The Domain of Arnheim, 60;
Bridal Ballad, 38, 45 see also The Landscape
The Business Man, 33, 54 Garden
A Dream, 17
The Cask of Amontillado, 59, Dream-Land, 49
80 A Dream within a Dream, 67
A Chapter on Autography, 40 The Duke De ~Omelette, 17,
A Chapter on Science and 18
Art, 34
A Chapter of Suggestions, 48 Elderado, 68
The City in the Sea, 27 Eleonora, 39, 53, 88
The Coliseum, 20, 45, 93 The Elk, 47
101
102 Index
An Enigma, 61, 62, 83, 89 Letters from New England, 25

Enigmatical and Life in Death see The Oval
Conundrumical, 33 Portrait
Epimanes, 19, 20 Ligeia, 30, 55, 75, 90
Eulalie, 45, 54 Lines Written in an Album, 23
Eureka, 60, 63, 64, 69, 98 Lionizing, 20, 22, 25
Exordium, 40 Literary America, 59, 83
The Literary Life of Thingum
The Facts in the Case of Bob, Esquire, 50
M. Valdemar, 56, 57, 75 Literary Small Talk, 31
Fairy-Land, 13, IS, 31 The Literati of New York, 58,
The Fall of the House of 75, 79, 80, 81
Usher, 32, 75 Loss of Breath, 19, 23, 25
A Few Words on Secret
Writing, 38 Maelzel's Chess Player, 25
For Annie, 67, 68, 69, 89 Magazine Writing - Peter
Four Beasts in One, 19, 25 Snook, 53
The Man of the Crowd, 36
The Gold-Bug, 9, 46, 77 The Man that was Used Up,
31
The Haunted Palace, 31, 75, MS. Found in a Bottle, 20,
81, 84, 90 55, 82, 93
Hop-Frog, 31, 67 Marginalia, xi, 50, 57, 66, 67,
How to Write a Blackwood 68,91
Article, 30, 75 The Masque of the Red
Hymn, 54 Death, 41, 54
Mellonta Tauta, 62, 66, 80
The Imp of the Perverse, 54 Mesmeric Revelation, 49, 51,
Irene, 25 52
The Island of the Fay, 38 Metzengerstein, 17, 18
Israfel, IS, 27, 39 Morella, 22, 32
The Murders in the Rue
TheJourn~ of Julius Morgue, 37, 60, 80
Rodman, 33, 34 The Mystery of Marie Roget,
42,43
King Pest, 23 Mystification, 29
Landor's Cottage, 58, 66, 68, The Narrative of Arthur

89 Gordon Pym, xi, 25, 28, 29,
The Landscape Garden, 42, 30, 76, 96
43, 79; see also The Domain l The Necessity of Selection in
of Arnheim Reading, 24
Leigh Hunt, 56 N ever Bet The Devil Your
Lenore, 44 Head, 39
Letter to B--, 26, 74 New York Harbour, 49
Index 103
Notes upon English Verse, Sonnet - Silence, 33, 34

44, 45, 64, 84 Sonnet - To Science, 15
Sonnet - To Zante, 28, 35
The Oblong Box, 48, 50, 80 The Spectacles, 46, 48, 56
On Imagination, 68 The Sphinx, 56
Our Amateur Poets, 45 The System of Doctor Tarr
Our Magazine Literature, 45 and Professor Fether, 56
The Oval Portrait, 41, 53
A Tale of Jerusalem, 18
The Pay for Periodical A Tale of the Ragged
Writing, 50 Mountains, 48
Phantasy Pieces, 40 Tales, 55, 56, 78, 97
The Philosophy of Tales of the Folio Club, 18, 26,
Composition, 57 27,83
Philosophy of Furniture, 34 Tales of the Grotesque and
Pinakidia, 27 Arabesque, 33, 40, 96
Poems, 15, 16, 95 A Tale of Jerusalem, 18, 25
The Poetic Principle, 65, 70 A Tale of the Ragged
Politian, 24, 98 Mountains, 48
The Power of Words, 53 Tale Writing - Nathaniel
A Predicament, 30, 75 Hawthorne, 61
The Premature Burial, 49 Tamerlane and Other Poems, 7,
The Prose Romances of Edgar 8,95
A. Poe, 97 The Tell-Tale Heart, 44, 84
The Purloined Letter, 48, 50 Thou Art the Man, 50
The Thousand and Second
The Rationale of Verse, 45, Tale of Scheherazade, 51, 55
64,91 Three Sundays in a Week,
The Raven, 49, 50, 51, 53, 55, 40,53
56, 59, 69, 75, 77, 82, 92 To Eliza, 55
The Raven and Other Poems, To Helen, 15, 25, 63, 64, 89, 90
55,97 To Ianthe in Heaven, 31
To M.L.S., 61, 90
Scenes from 'Politian' see To Mary, 22
Politian To My Mother, 61, 69
Serenade, 19 To One Departed, 53
Shadow: a Parable, 23 - To One in Paradise, 20
Silence: a Fable see Sonnet- To the River, 31
Silence
Siope, 20, 28 Ulalume, 61, 62, 67
The Sleeper, 15, 25, 38, 53 The Unparalleled Adventure
Some Secrets of the of one Hans Pfaall, 20, 22,
Magazine Prison-House, 51 76,83
Some Words with a Mummy,
53 A Valentine, 57, 67, 85
104 Index
The Valley of Unrest, 15, 24, 53 Why the Little Frenchman

The Veil of the Soul, 68 wears his Hand In a Sling,
The Visionary, 20 55
Von Jung, The Mystific, 29 William Wilson, 32, 54, 75
Von Kempelen and his
Discovery, 67, 68 X-Ing a Paragrab, 68
2. People
Ainsworth, Harrison, 40 Chivers, Thomas Holley, 42,
Allan, Frances Keeling, 2, 10, 43, 49, 54, 56, 59, 64, 76
73 Cist, Lewis J., 36, 39, 49
Allan, John, 2-21 passim, Clark, Lewis Gaylord, 45, 76
73-4, 79 Clarke, Joseph w., 5
Anthon, Charles, 28, 29, 50, Clarke, Thomas C., 45, 76
74 Clemm, Maria (nee Poe), 4,
Arnold, General Benedict, 12 13, 23, 28, 29, 47, 66, 69,
70, 71, 77, 78, 88
Biddle, Nicholas, 36 Clemm, Virginia Eliza see
Bird, Robert Montgomery, 21, Poe, Virginia Eliza
23,26 Conrad, Robert I, 36, 61
Bisco, John, 51, 54, 74 Cooke, Philip E, 32, 57, 59, 77
Blackwell, Anna, 63 Cooper, Fenimore, 26, 47
Bliss, Elam, 15, 16, 74
Bransby, Reverend John, 4 Darley, F. O. C., 44, 77
Briggs, C. E, 50, 53, 74, 84 Defoe, Daniel, 24
Bristed, Charles Astor, 60, 63 Robinson Crusoe, 5, 24
Brooks, Nathan C., 30, 71, 75 Dickens, Charles, ix, 37, 41,
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 44,78
51, 75 Barnaby Rudge, 37, 41, 78
Bryan, Daniel, 42 Sketches by Boz, 26
Bryant, William Cullen, 28, Drake, Joseph Rodman, 25
29 Duyckink, E. A., 53, 55, 57,
Bulfinch, Stephen G., 24, 26 58, 59, 60, 67, 78
Burton, William Evans, 31,
34,75 Earle, Pliny, 35
Bush, George, 51 Eaton, John, 12
Ellis, Charles, 5, 20, 78
Carter, Robert, 45 English, Thomas Dunn, 58, 79
Cass, Governor Lewis, 26 Eveleth, George w., 59, 60,
Causten, James H., 26 61, 62, 69, 79
Chapin, H. D., 62 Ewing, William, 2
Index 105
Fay, Theodore 5., 24 Lewis, Sarah Anna, 61, 63,

Field, Thomas W, 54 64, 67, 68, 69, 70, 83
Lippard, George, 47
Gaines, General E. ~, 11 Locke, Jane Ermina, 61, 63,
Galt, James, 3, 79 64,83
Galt, William, 6, 79 Longfellow, Henry
Godey, Louis A., 58, 59, 62, 80 Wadsworth, 33, 37, 41, 51,
Graham, George R., 35,36, 52,53, 84
37, 52, 80 Lowell, James Russel, I, 43,
Graves, Samuel, 14 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50,
Griswold, Rufus Wilmot, 37, 53, 67, 84
38, 41, 43, 44, 51, 52, 55, Lytton, Bulwer, 24, 37, 51
66, 68, 69, 71, 80-1
Gwynn, William, 17 Mackenzie, Jane Scott, 2,
84-5, 87
Haines, Hiram, 34 Mackenzie, Thomas, 46
Hale, Sarah J., 27, 56, 57, 80, Mackenzie, William, 45, 70,
81 84
Hall, Harrison, 27 McCabe, John Collins, 25
Halleck, Fitz-Greene, 25, 26, Marryat, Captain, 33, 39
38, 56, 57, 81 Mathews, Cornelius, 48
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 41, 49 Minor, Lucian, 24, 25, 35
Hazlitt, William, 54 Mitchell, Dr. J. K., 33
Herring, Elizabeth, 42, 82 Morris, John B., 46
Herron, James, 42 Mowatt, Anna Cora, 52, 53
Heywood, Sarah, 67
High, William, 35 Neal, John, 13, 23, 34
Hirst, Henry B., 45, 54, 58, Nichols, Rebecca Shepard,
63,82 49,52
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 60
Hopkins, John Henry, 62 Osborn, Laughton, 54
Houghton, Reverend 5., 34 Osgood, Frances Sargent, 41,
Hugo, Victor, 40, 56 52,85
Irving, Washington, xi, 24, Pabodie, W J., 65

26, 28, 32, 38, 82 Patterson, Edward, 67, 68, 69,
70
Jefferson, Thomas, 6, 7 Patterson, Louisa Gabriella, 15
Jones, Beauchamp, 32 Paulding, J. K., 25, 30
Poe, David (father of EAP),
Kennedy, John ~, 21, 22, 23, 1,85-6
24, 25, 26, 36, 38, 47, 55, 82 Poe, 'General' David
(grandfather of EAP), 3, 86
Lane, Thomas H., 56 Poe, Mrs David (grandmother
Lewes, George Henry, 66 of EAP), 12, 22, 86
106 Index
Poe, Elizabeth Arnold Snodgrass, Joseph Evans, 32,

(mother of EAP), 1, 2, 85, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42,
86 71, 75, 90
Poe, George (cousin of EAP), Stanard, Jane Stith, 6, 90
25, 31, 56, 87 Stanard, Robert, 6, 90
Poe, Neilson (cousin of EAP), Stephens, John L., 29, 37
54,87 Stoddard, Richard H., 35
Poe, Rosalie (sister of EAP),
2, 70, 87, 91 Talley, Susan Archer, 65
Poe, Virginia Eliza, nee Tazewell, Senator Littleton,
Clemm (wife and cousin of 27
EAP), 5, 40, 48, 49, 54, 57, Thayer, Colonel, 16
60, 77, 87-8, 90, 92 Thomas, Calvin, 8, 91
Poe, William (cousin of EAP), Thomas, Frederick W, 24, 36,
23,25, 35 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44,
Poe, William Henry Leonard 45, SO, 51, 53, 67, 91
(brother of EAP), 1, 13, 17, Thompson, John R., 65, 66,
86,88 68,91
Ponceau, Peter S. Du, 26 Thomson, Charles W, 34,
91-2
Quinn, Arthur Hobson, xii, Tomlin, John, 35, 43, 46
xiii, xv, 85 Tucker, Beverley, 24, 25
Tyler, Robert, 41, 44
Reid, Captain Mayne, 30,
88-9 Valentine, Edward, 65
Richmond, Annie, 63, 64, 65,
66, 67, 68, 69, 89 Weld, Hastings, 39
Rogers, Mary Cecilia, 39 White, Thomas W, 21, 22, 23,
Royster, Sarah Elmira, 7, 69, 27, 28, 44
70,89 Whitman, Sarah Helen, 55,
64, 65, 66, 92
Shelley, Mary, 36 Willis, N. ~, 31, SO, 51, 60,
Shew, Marie Louise, 62, 63, 90 61, 62, 68, 92
Sigourney, Lydia H., 25, 40 Wilmer, Lambert, 38, 39, 92-3
Simms, William Gilmore, 24 Wirt, William, 11, 93
3. Places
Baltimore, 1, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14, Charleston, 2
16, 20, 21, 23, 28, 35, 47,
70, 71, 75, 77, 82, 87 Fordham, 58, 60, 61, 64, 83
Boston, 1, 8, 9, 65, 68, 91 Fortress Monroe, 9, 10, 11
Index 107
Greenock, 3 Providence, 64, 65, 92
Irvine, 3, 79 Reading, 47, 48

Richmond, I, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10,
Liverpool, 3, 5 II, 13, 18, 22, 23, 25, 64,
London, 3,4 69, 70, 73, 78, 85, 87, 89,
Lowell, 63, 64, 68 90
New York, I, 5, 14, 15, 16, Saratoga, 46

28, 39, 42, 48, 49, 64, 65, Stoke Newington, 4, 5
66, 76, 78, 83, 92 Sullivan's Island, 9
Norfolk, I, 2, 9, 70
Virginia, University of, 6-8
Philadelphia, II, 14, 28, 29,
36, 41, 45, 47, 61, 69, 71, Washington, II, 12, 45
80, 82, 88 West Point, 14-16

An Edgar Allan Poe Chronology: J. R. Hammond

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An Edgar Allan Poe

General Editor: Norman Page, Emeritus Professor of Modern

Published titles include

First published in the United States of America 1998 by

No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with

Printed and bound in Great Britain by

List of Abbreviations xvii

The Poe Family xx

Map of Atlantic Seaboard, United States xxiii

AN EDGAR ALLAN POE CHRONOLOGY 1

The Poe Circle 73

Chronology of Poe's Works 95

Philip Van Doren Stern

personal and professional life. Such a chronology is not,

its own distinctive advantages as well as its obvious

figures of his time, including Charles Dickens, Henry

years remain obscure, and we still know little about his

The following abbreviations are used for Poe's works:

Journals and newspapers are abbreviated as follows:

Columbian Columbian Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine

Poe's Family Tree

David Poe, m. Sarah-

John Poe, m. Jane McBride Alexander, m. Margaret Anne, m.

Came to Penna., b.1706[?]

David Poe, m. Elizabeth Cairnes George, m. Catharine Dawson

.William Henry [Leonard?] Edgar Allan, m. Virginia Eliza Clem_m----'~-_R~o-'-s-a-'i-e---

Archbald Scott Mary [?]

Other Children* William m. Frances Winslow

Samuel Maria m. William Clemm, Jr. Elisabeth m. Henry Herring

Henry Clemm Virginia Maria Virginia Eliza

ATLANTIC SEABOARD, UNITED STATES

19 January (Thurs) Edgar Poe is born in Boston, Massa-

8 February (Wed) EP resumes work at the theatre.

March? EAP is taken to Baltimore where he remains

16 May (Tues) The last appearance of EP in Boston.

September The Poe family moves to New York.

4 July (Wed) Final appearance of EAP's parents on the

During July DP leaves home, abandoning his family. EP

19 October (Fri) Supposed date of DP's death in Nor-

20 December (Thurs) Birth of EAP's sister Rosalie in

During the early months of 1811 EP plays at theatres in

29 April (Mon) Benefit perfomance for EE

July Returns to Norfolk where she is reported to be in

August Returns to Richmond, where she makes the ac-

11 October (Fri) Last appearance of EP on the stage (as

25 November (Mon) Richmond Enquirer publishes an

8 December (Sun) Death of EE

9 December Rosalie is adopted by Mrs William Mackenzie,

10 December EP is buried at St John's Episcopal Church,

11 December EAP is baptised.

Early in the year EAP attends the boys' school of William

17 June (Sat) EAP sails for England in the Lothair with

28 July (Fri) Arrives at Liverpool, where JA has busi-

During the summer EAP attends Kirkgate school at Irvine,

Early in October the family travel to England, stopping

7 October (Sat) Arrives in London, staying at Blake's

15 October Moves to 47 Southampton Row, Russell

December? EAP returns to Scotland and resumes his

Early in the year EAP returns to London where he at-