Edgar Allan Poe was an outstanding American writer, poet and essayist. He was born on January 19, 1809, in the acting family. When Edgar was still little his mother died, while his father left their family long before that. As a result, he was adopted by John Allan’s family who was a rich merchant.
Later on, he was educated at a prestigious boarding school in England. At the age of fifteen he entered a prestigious university. As a student he was often seen gambling and drinking, which provoked a series of conflicts with his stepfather. After one of such conflicts he left his home.
His literary career began around 1827, when he published a collection of poems. As a serious writer he launched his first book in 1833. It was called “A manuscript found in a bottle”. Starting from 1840s he worked on a number of detective stories, which brought him national recognition.
Among his literary characters I can think of Auguste Dupin. He combines his considerable intellect with creative imagination, even putting himself in the mind of the criminal. Dupin was not a policeman, but he solved the crime, using newspaper information. His talents are strong enough that he appears able to read the mind of his companion, the unnamed narrator of all three stories. Poe created the Dupin character before the word «detective» had been coined.
The writer died in 1849 at the age of forty. Posthumous fame of Edgar Allan Poe is huge. His original style of writing has found many followers. The subjects of his books brought to life several directions in the literature.
