This April marks the 175th anniversary of the publication of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders of the Rue Morgue. It was the first of the three stories to feature C. Auguste Dupin, the first literary detective. Later writers, including Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, would cite Poe and Dupin as their inspiration. Fitting, as it is…
Pushkin Vertigo, a section of Pushkin Press, has dedicated itself to identifying masterful, classic foreign mysteries and bringing them to a new audience. Carefully chosen and given gorgeous cover designs, even the most dedicated crime reader will find something new. (Read about the other Pushkin Vertigo classics I loved) THE TOKYO ZODIAC MURDERS The Tokyo…
After visiting Poe’s grave at Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, we walked the few blocks to Amity Street and were guests in his humble home. He lived at the address from 1833-35. His grandmother received a widow’s pension as the surviving wife of a Revolutionary War solider. She, an aunt, two cousins and Poe all lived in the tiny house.
This past weekend, I visited Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, the final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe and other local luminaries, including James McHenry (signer of the US Constitution and namesake of Fort McHenry), Philip Barton Key (son of Francis Scott Key), and Robert Smith (Secretary of the Navy, Secretary Of State, and Attorney…
Edgar Allan Poe is a figure often association with the dark and the macabre. This week is the anniversary of his strange death and subsequent burial. While his death was noted in several regional newspapers, his funeral was barely attended. His cousin-in-law Reverend Clemm presided over the rainy ceremony, cut short by the weather and…