"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."
General
Imprint: |
Random House
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
July 2007 |
First published: |
July 2007 |
Authors: |
Matthew Pearl
|
Dimensions: |
201 x 132 x 23mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
416 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8129-7012-8 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
Genre fiction >
Crime & mystery >
General
|
LSN: |
0-8129-7012-8 |
Barcode: |
9780812970128 |
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