Given my fascination with history and Poe I obviously was not going to pass up a chance to read about Poe, his wife, his mistress and the friendship the latter two began.
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary. Arguably one of Poe’s best literary works, the Raven, begins Mrs. Poe, a novel by Lynn Cullen.
Unbeknownst to most, Poe was not a successful author, at least not until The Raven received critical acclaim from many poets, authors, and laureates of his time.
We are swept away to New York City, in the mid 1840’s. We are then introduced to Francis Osgood (of Puss in Boots fame) she’s in the office of a magazine editor who is telling Ms. Osgood that her articles are stuffy and that she should return to children’s writing. The only problem being for Ms. Osgood is that writing children’s literature does not pay enough for her to provide for herself and her young children.
Ms. Osgood takes a chance and decides to meet Edgar Allen Poe. The two soon begin an illicit affair made all the more complicated because Mr. Poe is married.
His wife is extremely frail and sick and rarely leaves their home.
As Francis and Poe grow closer we are taken for a historical romp through the 1840’s. Soon another begins to complicate the relationship that Francis and Poe have cultivated.
I adored this novel and was taken away several times to the bouncing and bustling city of New York. While visiting one of my favourite authors.
Pick this up at Turns and Tales or order online!
