A Mystery of Mysteries

A Mystery of Mysteries is a brilliant biography of Edgar Allan Poe that examines the renowned authorΓÇÖs life through the prism of his mysterious death and its many possible causes. It is a moment shrouded in horror and mystery. Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7,1849at just fortyin a painfulutterly bizarre manner that would not have been out of place in one of his own tales of terror. What was the cause of his untimely deathand what happened to him during the three missing days before he was founddelirious and ΓÇ£in great distressΓÇ¥ on the streets of Baltimorewearing ill-fitting clothes that were not his own? Mystery and horror. Poewho remains one of the most iconic of American writersdied under haunting circumstances that reflect the two literary genres he took to new heights. Over the yearsthere has been a staggering amount of speculation about the cause of deathfrom rabies and syphilis to suicidealcoholismand even murder. But many of these theories are formed on the basis of the caricature we have come to associate with Poe: the gloomy-eyed grandfather of Gothhunched over a writing desk with a raven perched on one shoulderdrunkenly scribbling his chilling masterpieces. By debunking the myths of how he livedwe come closer to understanding the real PoeΓÇöand uncovering the truth behind his mysterious deathas a new theory emerges that could prove the cause of PoeΓÇÖs death was haunting him all his life. In a compelling dual-timeline narrative alternating between PoeΓÇÖs increasingly desperate last months and his brief but impactful lifeMark Dawidziak sheds new light on the enigmatic master of macabre.