A very nice mystery novel surrounding the death of the famed author Edgar Allan Poe. Pearl uses the real life events surrounding the death of Poe ... (show more)
The Poe Shadow: A Novel
“I present to you . . . the truth about this man’s death and my life.”
Baltimore, 1849. The body of Edgar Allan Poe has been buried in an unmarked grave. The public, the press, and even Poe’s own family and friends accept the conclusion that Poe was a second-rate writer who met a disgraceful end as a drunkard. Everyone, in fact, seems to believe this except a young Baltimore lawyer named Quentin Clark, an ardent admirer who puts his own career and reputation at risk... (show more)
“I present to you . . . the truth about this man’s death and my life.”
Baltimore, 1849. The body of Edgar Allan Poe has been buried in an unmarked grave. The public, the press, and even Poe’s own family and friends accept the conclusion that Poe was a second-rate writer who met a disgraceful end as a drunkard. Everyone, in fact, seems to believe this except a young Baltimore lawyer named Quentin Clark, an ardent admirer who puts his own career and reputation at risk in a passionate crusade to salvage Poe’s.
As Quentin explores the puzzling circumstances of Poe’s demise, he discovers that the writer’s last days are riddled with unanswered questions the police are possibly willfully ignoring. Just when Poe’s death seems destined to remain a mystery, and forever sealing his ignominy, inspiration strikes Quentin–in the form of Poe’s own stories. The young attorney realizes that he must find the one person who can solve the strange case of Poe’s death: the real-life model for Poe’s brilliant fictional detective character, C. Auguste Dupin, the hero of ingenious tales of crime and detection.
In short order, Quentin finds himself enmeshed in sinister machinations involving political agents, a female assassin, the corrupt Baltimore slave trade, and the lost secrets of Poe’s final hours. With his own future hanging in the balance, Quentin Clark must turn master investigator himself to unchain his now imperiled fate from that of Poe’s.
Following his phenomenal debut novel, The Dante Club, Matthew Pearl has once again crossed pitch-perfect literary history with innovative mystery to create a beautifully detailed, ingeniously plotted tale of suspense. Pearl’s groundbreaking research–featuring documented material never published before–opens a new window on the truth behind Poe’s demise, literary history’s most persistent enigma. The resulting novel is a publishing event that, through sublime craftsmanship, subtle wit, and devious twists, does honor to Poe himself
From the Hardcover edition. (show less)
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It felt to me as though Pearl was trying here, unsuccessfully, to mimic Poe's style. He succeeded in evoking an atmosphere of oppression, sort of ... (show more)
It felt to me as though Pearl was trying here, unsuccessfully, to mimic Poe's style. He succeeded in evoking an atmosphere of oppression, sort of like what Poe did with The Fall of The House of Usher, but instead of the oppression building suspense, it just decended into a sort of prolonged ennui. I enjoyed Pearl's The Dante Club for its realistic portrayal of historic Boston and the luminaries of the American literary scene in the post-Civil-War era. The Poe Shadow lacked that appeal for me. There seemed to be less attention to the broader sweep of history and a narrower focus on minute details of a brief period in Poe's life. I also found the central plot device, the main character's obsession with "clearing Poe's name" after his unexpained death, to be incredible. I am sad to say that I cannot recommend The Poe Shadow. Its flaws significantly outweigh its merits. (show less)
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I was excited to read this book after reading the Dante Club, also by Matthew Pearl. This book, while not bad, necessarily, didn't quite live up to that expectation.
The book starts out very slowly. It does pick up some, but with entirely too many subplots and obtuse references throughout. The connections, once the story does converge, seem altogether contrived to the point of straining believability. It seems too much conspiracy theory and paranoia, which may have been meant as a reflec... (show more)
I was excited to read this book after reading the Dante Club, also by Matthew Pearl. This book, while not bad, necessarily, didn't quite live up to that expectation.
The book starts out very slowly. It does pick up some, but with entirely too many subplots and obtuse references throughout. The connections, once the story does converge, seem altogether contrived to the point of straining believability. It seems too much conspiracy theory and paranoia, which may have been meant as a reflection on the character of Edgar Allen Poe; however, we are given no insight into the character of that man, as the plot revolves entirely around the days immediately preceding his death. Instead of attempting insight into literary genius, we are given a spoiled, paranoid, obsessed-beyond-reason fictional lawyer. He's hardly interesting and completely irrelevant.
The descriptions of 19th-century Baltimore were interesting and seemed to be well-researched. One can imagine walking the foggy streets at night, yet ultimately receives very little satisfaction from the journey. (show less)
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Flat . . . . I was disappointed in this one. Having thoroughly enjoyed 'The Dante Club' I was looking forward to reading this, but about two thirds through I stopped caring about the characters and the mystery . . . . I found the main protagonist and narrator irritating and sometimes downright stupid. This may have something to do with the style - Pearl does a passable imitation of Poe but if I had wanted to read Poe I would have chosen the real thing! Poe's stories and novels do have the ... (show more)
Flat . . . . I was disappointed in this one. Having thoroughly enjoyed 'The Dante Club' I was looking forward to reading this, but about two thirds through I stopped caring about the characters and the mystery . . . . I found the main protagonist and narrator irritating and sometimes downright stupid. This may have something to do with the style - Pearl does a passable imitation of Poe but if I had wanted to read Poe I would have chosen the real thing! Poe's stories and novels do have the advantage of being relatively short - this one (over 500 pages) was far too long and drawn out and the ending was unsatisfying - I got the feeling that Pearl was as bored as me by this time, and, like me, just wanted to get it finished but wasn't quite sure how to do it . . . . Sorry, didn't like it . . . . (show less)
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Disappointing book....its main flaw is that the reasons given for the plot are really not that believable. AND the whole point of the book isn't even carried out....Glad it's over. Wonder if his Dickens book is any better.
Ashley Ellison 19 days ago
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