[Music] from the very start edgar allan poe's life was dramatic and confused he was born in boston in january 1809 the second child of actors david and elizabeth poe elizabeth poe was the daughter of an actress called mrs arnold who had apparently learned her craft in the theater royal covent garden in london for so she was advertised when elizabeth arrived from england she was nine years old her mother teamed up with a man called tubbs and soon the young elizabeth took part in their productions as she grew older and her beauty and talent matured she
became the star of various companies up and down the eastern seaboard she married another actor mr hopkins in 1802 he died in 1805 and almost at once she married another actor david poe david poe had begun his adult life as a law student but gave up his studies to go on the stage whether his talent merited the move is hard to say but the family certainly was very poor we know little more of david poe except that he disappeared in 1810 either he died or he ran off with another woman elizabeth poe was left in
boston with two children and expecting a third the eldest boy william was adopted by relatives but taking edgar along she went on working as and where she could up and down the country apart from the difficulties of her pregnancy she was already suffering from tuberculosis while working in norfolk virginia she gave birth to her daughter rosalie and had to go on working to support the two children her last engagement was in the town of richmond virginia with its splendid state capitol building designed by thomas jefferson not far away in these simple buildings no longer standing
elizabeth poe lodged for a time and died at the beginning of december 1811. fortunately she was not without friends who were concerned about the plight of her children she was buried in the churchyard of saint john in the upper part of the old town and two women immediately agreed to adopt the children edgar went with a mrs francis allen and rosalie with mrs allen's friend mrs mackenzie it was a lucky chance for the two children for the families were well off and well able to care for them francis allen was then 25 married for eight
years and childless it is not hard to believe that she was delighted to adopt the attractive curly-haired little boy edgar she was a good woman and her husband a prosperous merchant who owned a part share in a large store in the town so for edgar poe it was a wonderful stroke of luck john allen was a scotsman who had arrived in virginia about 1795 at the age of fifteen to work as a clerk for his uncle william galt a leading merchant of the city with gold's help allen eventually set up as a merchant with a
friend charles ellis their business a general store pictured here in later years but also a substantial tobacco exporting operation prospered at first the family lived over the shop richmond at this time was a thriving stable community with fine churches like the one in whose yard elizabeth poe was buried and an increasingly prosperous middle class setting itself up well in houses like these the allens went to this church known as the memorial church it was built to commemorate the death of nearly 90 people who died when the theater which used to occupy the spot was burned
down this happened only a few weeks after elizabeth poe's death and of course she had often acted in the theater poe later remembered the rather overbearing preacher pictured in this silhouette and the pleasing elegance of the social life surrounding the church enjoying its status as a seat of government richmond had good schools and to these the little boy was sent by his foster parents mr and mrs allen allen had plans to expand his business in london and taking his family along with him he sailed for england in 1815 when poe was about six years old
on arrival in liverpool they went north to scotland to visit allen's relatives they were well received and an attempt was made to settle edgar into school in irvine where the allen relatives lived although he had a young cousin to study with when his stepmother went south to london he wanted to be there too so after about a couple of months schooling in scotland he went to london they settled in bloomsbury in comfortable lodgings but the london of 1815 with the napoleonic wars just over was an expensive place and allen's business affairs did not prosper however
he sent edgar to the best schools he could find including one in the little village of stoke newington to the north of the city in the manor house school edgar did well and his foster father seemed pleased and ready to spend the considerable sums edgar's schooling required back in richmond in 1820 after the failure of his english ventures alan was almost bankrupt with the help of his uncle galt he survived for edgar it was the best time of his life he grew up in every respect he became an excellent swimmer for example here in the
james river pictured today a mile or two above the town such huge rivers are common in the united states but even more astonishing are the massive tracts of land crowding the shores which are quite undeveloped even today but in the richmond of poe's youth the sophisticated and charming southern society was developing a pace and edgar allan poe fitted right into it jane stannard the beautiful mother of one of his school friends lived in the large house pictured here at the back of the capitol building poe developed a passion for her and when she suddenly died
in 1824 he was devastated she inspired one of his best-known poems written in later years to helen he was already at 15 precocious and reading and writing poetry poe was much loved by his foster mother francis allen he was still sent to the best of schools mixing with the best of society in spite of his stepfather's considerable financial difficulties however his relationship with john allen was never an easy one alan never formally adopted him in spite of his bringing the boy up in the heart of his household it was always assumed by the outside world
that alan looked on edgar as his son and heir a school friend later wrote mr allen was a good man in his way but edgar was not fond of him often when angry with edgar he would threaten to turn him adrift he never allowed edgar to lose sight of his dependence on his charity allen was a meticulous person and kept all his correspondence in one astonishing and revealing letter at this time to poe's brother in baltimore he says of the young edgar the boy possesses not a spark of affection for us not a particle of
gratitude for all my care and kindness towards him it was a harsh judgment but it makes what followed in their relationship easier to understand of poe's character his boyhood friend thomas sully later wrote he would never allow the big boys to tease me and was kind to me in every way i used to admire and envy him he was so bright and clever and handsome another friend tom ellis wrote there was not a brighter more graceful boy in the city than edgar allan poe how did john allen get it so wrong about his foster son
whatever the reason when edgar was 15 john allen succeeded to his uncle gold's fortune making him one of the first citizens of the town the rise to riches did not improve his relationship with his foster son alan bought this house and the prestige that went with it across the road lived elmira royston 15 years old beautiful and as it turned out sensitive and intelligent within months she and poe had unofficially become engaged to each other and in later years elmira confirmed the depth of their feelings meanwhile john allen had developed good reasons for getting rid
of edgar allen had an illegitimate son by a former mistress and more children by another woman it is very likely that in a tight society like richmond edgar had learned about these liaisons and he would undoubtedly have been hurt on his stepmother's behalf and all too ready to accuse alan face to face in his newfound eminence alan could not afford a scandal with his wife and as poe was devoted to francis and full of ideals about honor he could not easily be kept quiet he had to be got rid of virginia in the early 19th
century was very much at the heart of the new united states having produced no less than three out of the first four presidents early in 1825 one of these thomas jefferson realized his dream of establishing a new university for virginia and in the buildings he designed teaching began in 1826 edgar allan poe joined the new intake of 177 students he was 17 and bent on being a professional writer this idea did not go down well with the pleasure-loving young virginian gentleman by whom he was surrounded art was all very well but it wasn't work for
a gentleman it was also entirely at odds with what john allen wanted of him if by now he wanted anything students were housed in the hotels that lined the green in front of the rotunda professors occupied the delightful pillared houses in between and much thought was given as to how the university should be run poe eventually settled in this room in the block known as west range here poe studied and struggled with the problems which began to beset him from the very first week he got into debt because the money john allen had given him
was not enough to cover the initial expenses of the school but as alan's son he got credit easily enough when alan did not send more money poe gambled as everyone else did and ran up more debts not doubting that alan would pay in the end he spent freely on clothes and entertainments and before long he was head over heels in difficulties it was from this time that he had a reputation for being a drunkard something that dogged him for the rest of his life it seems that in fact very little alcohol produced in him disastrous
effects at the end of his first year allen brought him home paid the most pressing bills and more or less made it clear that from then on po would have to fend for himself it was a dreadful predicament for the young man until now used to comfort and even luxury and the expectation that they would continue of course part of allen's plan to discredit poe had included breaking off relations with elmira all his letters to her were intercepted when her parents were told poe would not inherit allen's wealth they arranged for her to marry another
man a few months later having left home and got somehow to boston in desperation he joined the army as private perry within months his good qualities had been recognized and he was doing well it is strange to find the would-be romantic poet in so fundamentally unpoetic an organization as the army however even as private perry he had pursued his poetic ambitions and had his first book of poems published in 1827 tamilan and other poems and it established one of the most remarkable elements of poe's character namely that no matter how he was buffeted about by
life he kept on writing carefully and well he was in fact the true professional when it came to the work he cared about his army career was successful to such an extent that he was accepted at west point military academy as an officer cadet this time under his own name and with some signs of support from alan whom he continued to write to asking for help west point sits high on the banks of the hudson river 50 miles north of new york and is the training ground for the officer elite of the u.s army at
west point poe did surprisingly well at first at study on parade and even when it came to discipline poe seemed to cope and almost to thrive but his past was still hanging over him his foster mother and his greatest ally francis allen had died surprisingly john allen feeling perhaps that the army was not such a bad way to keep him out of richmond had sent some money to help him poe had felt encouraged poe might well have continued to enjoy alan's support at west point but he had unfortunately written a letter to an earlier creditor
in which he had described john allen as not very often sober this letter had reached alan who was about to remarry in a fury he broke off all connection with poe who then determined to have himself thrown out of the army a few drinks too many and a few rules broken and it was done in february 1831 he was dismissed from west point but a second edition of his poems was being published in new york 124 pages paid for by the subscriptions of his fellow students at the academy something must have gone right there but
new york was not the place for him poe's life took a new twist he turned to his surviving po relatives in baltimore with them he was to live in the little house in amity street and establish his reputation as a writer and editor in baltimore things all turned around this woman maria clem younger sister of poe's father david poe she had been widowed at 36 and left with two children so with poe's grandmother and sick brother to care for and now edgar she had a lot to cope with by 1832 he had managed to get
a few stories published in local papers and it began to be accepted that eddie had a career as a writer and would eventually make it he won small prizes for poetry and stories run by local magazines it was not much but it was encouragement of salts alan had meanwhile died and of course left him nothing poe moved to richmond to take up a job as assistant editor of a magazine called the messenger this was a step up the ladder but his progress was affected by a further dimension in his life in baltimore he had lived
with maria clem and her little daughter virginia for six years when he left virginia was 12 years old he had already set his heart on eventually marrying her in richmond poe was told by letter that virginia was to go to live with a cousin nielsen poe and his wife there she would be looked after and educated it seemed that the rest of the family were out to protect her from him paul wrote to mrs clem the tone of your letter wounds me to the soul o aunty auntie you love me once how can you be
so cruel now you speak of virginia acquiring accomplishments and entering into society you speak in so worldly a tone are you sure should we be more happy do you think anyone could love her more dearly than i my dear auntie i cannot advise you ask virginia leave it to her let me have under her own hand a letter bidding me goodbye forever and i may die my heart will break but i will say no more for virginia he added my love my own sweetest my darling little wifey think well before you break the heart of
your cousin eddie it may all be a bit pathetic the virginia listened all the same at the messenger all was not well poe was sacked for being drunk in the morning there is evidence to suggest that in fact poe had an illness such as diabetes from which he eventually died and which would be severely aggravated by alcohol if this is so it goes a long way to explain his erratic behavior however he sorted things out with his employer on the messenger and soon mrs clem virginia and poe were settled in a house on capitol square
in richmond the messenger though not paying much allowed him scope to make his name and under his editorship circulation rose from 500 a month to 3500 a month on may 16 1836 poe and virginia were married she was 13 and po 27 and a bit of arm twisting must have been done to persuade the preacher that she was legally old enough but virginia proved to be the mate poe needed and he loved her to the end of her short life the messenger and opposed guidance had quickly come to be recognized as one of the best
magazines in the states but it had gone way ahead of its owner and he dismissed poe in january 1837. the break was amicable and anyway it was time to move on to more demanding pastures they settled in greenwich village in new york and mrs clems started a boarding house to help pay the bills it did well and edgar worked hard at his writing he took the short story to new heights and produced a level of work never seen in america before the narrative of arthur gordon pym was written at this time they moved next to
philadelphia and in this house some of his best stories were written he got no more than ten dollars each for them however until finally in tales of the grotesque and arabesque 25 stories came out in one volume it hardly sold and the future looked grim poe had always wanted to start a magazine of his own and he drew up a prospectus for one to be called the pen his proposals were of course excellent because he knew what he was talking about a continuous definite character and a marked certainty of purpose are requisites of vital importance
but he also wanted a criticism self-sustained guiding itself only by the purest rules of art although he put together a good subscription list the pen never got off the ground he was aiming too high and it was certainly a bad time to start a business someone who read the prospectus however was a young man called george graham an assistant editor of the saturday evening post he wanted a quality magazine and in 1840 bought one called the gentleman's it had a circulation of 5000 per month he offered the editorship of graham's ladies and gentlemen's magazine as
he called it to poe so the family circumstances changed dramatically poe now had a reasonable salary and a chance to work as he wanted under a sympathetic owner circulation rose to 25 000 a month by the end of 1841. in this house poe enjoyed perhaps the most stable and agreeable period of his life they entertained virginia played and sang to their guests and poe came to quickly occupy a real position of respect among the literary people of philadelphia poe was not making a lot of money but he was stable and in this period he wrote
some of his best criticism and stories he met dickens who was visiting philadelphia and obviously impressed him as the novelist later made efforts to get poe's work published in england sadly this stability of philadelphia did not last long in the midst of his success virginia fell ill with consumption and very nearly died this set him drinking again and by 1842 he had lost his job and began spiraling down drinking offending people being his usual oversensitive self he went to new york there mrs clem helped him to get a job as sub editor on the evening
mirror and there once again he had a regular income he did have a real reputation by this time so publishers and editors were ready to buy what he wrote around this time poe wrote the raven his best-known poem published in the mirror on 29th january it was a sensation and he became a celebrity he moved to be joint editor of the broadway journal and everything might have at last gone well for edgar allan poe but as a large part of his work was literally criticism and he was never afraid to speak the truth as he
saw it he was soon in hot water boldly criticizing other writers and drawing their wrath upon himself however by sheer chance the broadway journal increasingly successful under its new editor was in fact in financial trouble and the owner sold it to poe for fifty dollars payable in december of that year eighteen forty five at last it seemed he had his own journal but come december unbelievably he did not have the money to pay and he lost it once again out of work and living in this little cottage at fordham outside new york to the north
po virginia and mrs clem struggled it was too much for virginia and she died on 30th january 1847 poe was left with only mrs clem to care for him and the problems he constantly brought upon himself it is an indication of how quickly poe's reputation rose over the 19th century that this house like several others he lived in across the country is carefully preserved for posterity in a new york park and open as a museum celebrating his work poe was still a celebrity if a broken one and of course he also presented a very attractive
personality to the world one of the unusual results of this was that he was often pursued by women eager to have him praise their literary efforts however quite distracted by virginia's death he set off unaccountably on a journey to philadelphia and baltimore on it he appears to begun drinking he who could not take even a small amount of alcohol without being severely affected by it he somehow got to richmond and met again of all people elmira shelton his boyhood sweetheart and now a rich widow he certainly wanted to marry her but before it went any
further he abruptly left town he was next found lying in a street in baltimore suffering from an illness never quite defined which within a few days had killed him mysteriously he was not wearing his own clothes mrs clem read of his death in the newspapers his end has some of the mysterious qualities of his own stories which are the best guide to his character in edgar allan poe america had its first truly great imaginative writer in his own genre of horror and suspense he remains unmatched and in his professionalism and high artistic goals against all
odds he set standards which are his own best memorial [Music] you
