If one could measure the various uncertainties surrounding Edgar Allan Poe, what led to his death might have to be converted into hectares. Maybe miles. Possibly tons. Probably not lightyears, but you see my point. There is a lot of uncertainty regarding Poe’s death.
At the Smithsonian Magazine website, Natasha Geiling approaches this complex controversy by looking at “the top nine theories.” These include beating, cooping, alcohol, carbon monoxide poisoning, heavy metal poisoning, rabies, brain tumor, flu, and murder. If you’re new to the subject, this is a good departure point for your journey into bewilderment.
What’s that? Nine theories aren’t bewildering enough for you? In that case, Open Culture has a page titled “The Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe’s Death: 19 Theories on What Caused the Poet’s Demise.” There, Josh Jones offers a handy list of 15 theories along with information to dig up the publications in which each was first proposed. He mentions that the list was pulled from the website of The Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, but his link is dead. All I can find at that site is a quick mention of “over 26 published theories of [Poe’s] demise” on their page titled “Poe Biography.” Struggling through a jungle of that many theories would require, by my calculations, at least three machetes, seven pith helmets, and a dozen cans of bug spray.
The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore eases the struggle with a very useful, in-depth review of many of the theories. Wisely, they group things under “The Alcohol Theory,” “Disease and Other Medical Problems,” and “The Cooping Theory.” They also provide full citations for the original sources.
In Geiling’s article mentioned above, Poe expert Chris Semtner is quoted as saying, “I’ve never been completely convinced of any one theory, and I believe Poe’s cause of death resulted from a combination of factors.” I find great relief in adopting this stance. The debate over Poe’s birthplace is pretty much settled: Boston, not Baltimore. His role in establishing detective fiction is less certain, though I feel confident in saying that, while Poe had a crucial role in refining and directing the mystery genre, it’s misleading to suggest he alone invented it. The cause of his death, however, is a question I refuse to answer, even tentatively. In fact — as with ghosts, Bigfoot, Jack the Ripper, and how “literally” came to mean “not at all literally” — I quite prefer the enduring mystery to any solution.
That said, I’ve begun a piece of fiction that posits an imaginary explanation of what happened. It features Harry Escott, Vera Van Slyke’s mentor in occult detection. Hoping to add a dash of realism, I’ve started a page that puts into chronological order some of what we know about the end of Poe’s life. I call it “The Facts in the Case of Poe’s Demise.” It’s very much a work in progress, and any helpful comments would be appreciated.
Go to THE POE UNCERTAINTIES: HIS BIRTHPLACE
Go to THE POE UNCERTAINIES: HIS PLACE IN THE HISTORY OF DETECTIVE FICTION
BROM BONES BOOKS 