***** * ***The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 1 By Edgar Allan Poe* * *
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**Edgar Allan Poe* *( *January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849* ) was an **American** writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. **Poe** is best known for his poetry and short **stories** , particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of **Romanticism** in the **United States** and of **American** literature as a whole, and he was one of the **country’s** earliest practitioners of the short **story**. He is also generally considered the inventor of the *detective* fiction genre and is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of *science* fiction. **Poe** was the first well-known **American** writer to earn a living *through* *writing alone* , resulting in a *financially* *difficult* life and *career*.
**Poe** was born in **Boston** , the second child of actors **David** and **Elizabeth** **Eliza** **Poe**. His father abandoned the family in **1810** , and his mother died the following year. Thus *orphaned* , the child was taken in by **John** and **Frances** Allan of **Richmond** , **Virginia**. They never formally adopted him, but he was with them well into young adulthood. **Tension** developed later as **Poe** and **John Allan** repeatedly clashed over debts, including those incurred by gambling, and the cost of **Poe’s** education. **Poe** attended the **University** of **Virginia** but left after a year due to lack of money. He quarreled with Allan over the funds for his education and enlisted in the **United States Army** in **1827** under an assumed name. It was at this time that his publishing career began with the anonymous collection *Tamerlane and Other Poems* ( **1827** ), credited only to *a* *Bostonian* . Poe and Allan reached a temporary rapprochement after the death of Allan’s wife in 1829. Poe later failed as an officer cadet at **West Point** , declaring a firm wish to be a poet and writer, and he ultimately parted ways with **Allan**.
Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. His *work* forced him to move among several cities, including **Baltimore** , **Philadelphia** , and **New York City**. He married his **13-year-old** **cousin** , **Virginia Clemm** , in **1836** , but **Virginia** died of tuberculosis in **1847**. In **January 1845** , Poe published his poem The Raven to instant success. He planned for years to produce his own journal *The Penn* (later renamed *The Stylus* ), but before it could be produced, he died in **Baltimore** on **October 7, 1849** , at **age 40**. The cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to disease, alcoholism, substance abuse, suicide, and other causes. * *****