Mrs. Poe (43 page)

I think I had better stop now.

8. Since its publication in 1845, “The Raven” has become a canonical text. It has inspired other writings ranging from Vladimir Nabokov to Ray Bradbury, and has even been parodied. Why do you think the poem has had such an enduring appeal?

“The Raven” is catchy and vivid. It’s a movie in words. Also, Poe’s legend as a frightening, half-mad genius (thank you, Rufus Griswold!) brings a darkness to the poem that has thrilled people for centuries. In addition, its immense popularity in Poe’s day helped cement it into the American memory. We picture Poe’s raven almost as automatically and as mindlessly of its origins as we say “OK.” Personally, I don’t think it’s his most honest work. For authentically expressed anguish, see “Ulalume.”

9.
Mrs. Poe
is based on historical facts. When recreating the relationship between that Poe Frances, what liberties did you take?

As a historical novelist, the game I like to play with myself is to try to make sure that everything that happens in the story could have actually happened. I like to fill in the gaps in recorded history but try very hard not to bend the facts. But since I’m a novelist and not a Poe scholar with decades of Poe study under my belt, and since so much has been recorded about him, I might have inadvertently gotten some things wrong. (Poe scholars: forgive me!) It wasn’t my intention, though, to write a biography about Poe or Frances Osgood, fictionalized or otherwise. My aim was to take these two personalities as I came to understand them, put them together, and see what sparks flew.

10. What would you like your readers who are interested in Edgar Allen Poe’s writings to take away from
Mrs. Poe
?

Mainly, I hope readers will think about how his difficult life shaped his writing. He was a wounded beast and his own worst enemy, but that he put everything he had into his work. What I think Poe strove for hardest was simply to be loved.

11. What are you working on next?

It’s a secret just yet. But I promise to keep raising unanswerable questions. And there will always be people in my story craving for something they shouldn’t have.

AUTHOR PHOTO BY MEGAN CULLEN CAYES

LYNN CULLEN
is the author of
The Creation of Eve,
named one of the best fiction books of the year by
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ;
and
Reign of Madness,
nominated for the Townsend Prize for fiction. She is also the author of numerous award-winning children’s books and the highly acclaimed young adult novel
I Am Rembrandt’ s Daughter
. An avid traveler and historian, Cullen lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Visit the author on Facebook or at
www.lynncullen.com
.

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Also by Lynn Cullen

Reign of Madness

The Creation of Eve

I Am Rembrandt’s Daughter

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First Gallery Books hardcover edition September 2013

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ISBN 978-1-4767-0291-9

ISBN 978-1-4767-0293-3(ebook)