Edgar Allan Poe (Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition)

Few American writers have been and remain as widely appreciated, misunderstood, and influential as Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was the second of three children born to David Poe, an actor, and Elizabeth Poe, an actress. Following his mother’s death in 1811, young Edgar became a member of the childless family of John Allan, a Scottish tobacco merchant in Richmond, Virginia. He was given the name Edgar Allan and treated as the son of the family.

When John Allan sailed for England to establish a branch of the firm, Edgar went with him and his wife. He was kept in an English school most...

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