Mrs. Poe By: Lynn Cullen

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. I love Edgar Allan Poe, but I wasn’t sure how a book about his mistress would shed any light on him the writer. But, I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It is based on Poe’s life, his writings, and his mistress Frances Sargent Osgood. Mrs. Poe is a work of fiction, but you can learn a lot about Poe, his life, his family, and others prominent people in this time frame. Many well-known names are mentioned in this book including Mr. Rufus Griswold, Walter Whitman, and Mr. Longfellow. It was great reading these names and getting a glimpse of their lives as well. Lynn Cullen does a great job of setting up the story about how Edgar and Frances meet, exchange poems, and fall in love. She also describes how they were treated and talked about because of their love for each other. Virginia Poe was more vindictive than I thought she was concerning Edgar’s and Frances’ relationship. You never knew what she was going to do next. But was it really her trying to harm Frances and her family or was it someone else? You’ll have to read the book to find out! Great job of weaving fact into fiction!