#13 Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen

#13 Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen

I found this book in the discount bin at my local bookstore and after reading the jacket, was intrigued to read a story about one of America’s most famous authors.

Frances Osgood is a poetess in 1845. Abandoned by her painter husband, she is forced to support her girls through her writing.  Frances is introduced to Mr. Poe at a literary gathering at a time when his poem “The Raven” is all the rage. They begin a professional relationship where he kindly encourages her to take risks in her writing which yields some published works in local newspapers.   In addition to his own writing, Mr. Poe also reviews the work of other authors, often scathingly, yet he delivers glowing reviews of Frances’s poems leading to much speculation as to the true nature of their relationship.  Naturally the speculation is true and their relationship turns into something more; an illicit love affair of hushed words, secret meetings and love poems to each other published in a journal for all the world to read.

What complicates their love affair is the fact that they are both married. Despite her husband abandoning her, divorce is not an option as she would automatically lose custody of her children as was the norms of the day.  By the time Poe meets Frances, he has been married 10 years to Virginia, a cousin who was 13 when they married…which is gross at any period in time! Now a woman in frail health and not often in society, Mrs. Poe’s fragility allows Frances and Poe’s relationship to blossom. Despite her naiveté, Virginia learns of their relationship and through a series of dark and twisted events, Frances becomes convinced that her life is in jeopardy.

I enjoy reading period pieces because they give us a glimpse back in time. Through the lens of the present, we may view them as old-fashioned or quaint and perhaps, in some ways they are; reminding us of simpler times when manners mattered and people’s behavior was predictable.   But I always find something of relevance; a paragraph or even just one line that practically screams through the centuries, still ringing true today. On page 102 there is an exchange between Frances and Edgar early in their relationship at a time when she begins to see him as a kindred spirit. She says, “How quickly the world changes, yet we are so busy trying to live that we don’t notice it.” To which he replies, “And yet it doesn’t change quickly enough.”  I would argue the same is still true. And on that note, dear reader…have you read a book today?

Julie