Sunday, October 20, 2013

Mrs. Poe

By Lynn Cullen   Take a trip back in time, to New York City,
circa 1845. The literati consists of every famous name, the very core of American literature. Poets, writers, artists and those that surrounded them. Their reputations could be made or broken on a whim of gossip or assumed impropriety. Francis Osgood, a beautiful poet married to artist/portraitist Samuel Osgood, a scoundrel by every definition of the word, befriends the new poet on the scene whose fame is growing at a rapid pace, none other than Edgar Allen Poe. Their friendship is one filled with longing and desire, their instant connection exposed in letters and poetry is both frowned upon and envied. This group of eclectic intellectuals are of a class that must adhere to social niceties at all costs. Mrs. Poe, Virginia, is very ill, frail and sad. She is the first cousin of Poe that he married when she was only 13 yrs old. Her strange and lonely mother Mrs. Clemm is her caretaker and obsessed with both Poe and Virginia's happiness. It is hard to know who is a friend and who is an enemy. Reminding me of the fabulous novel American Bloomsbury (By Susan Cheever) author Lynn Cullen brings these details back to life, these amazing figures back to the very center of American Literature. The imagination and sensuality all the more mesmerizing because these historical characters have touched our lives whether we are aware of it or not. Highly recommend this excellent read. Could not put this one down!! BUY TODAY!!!  Mrs. Poe

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