Peeples, Scott

OUR SYNOPSIS: Scott Peeples explores the story of Edgar Allan Poe “with a distinct focus on the American cities where Poe lived for extended periods of time: Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York.” (4) While he argues that “Poe was ambivalent about urban life and the places where he lived and worked,” Peeples also identifies how these cities shaped Poe in important ways. (10) Poe grew up as a foster child in Richmond, after his father left and his mother passed away. However, his foster family temporarily moved with him to England for five years. When they returned to Richmond, his foster father received a large inheritance that included many enslaved people. Poe also regularly encountered slavery throughout the city itself, just as he would during his time in Baltimore. Peeples suggests that the violence and torture featured in Poe’s writing was influenced by his encounters with the violence of slavery. Poe lived moved around the East Coast starting in 1827, but Peeples argues his time in Baltimore was especially significant. Indeed, “in Baltimore, he taught himself to write fiction for magazines, and he found a family.” (40) He moved in with his father’s sister Maria Clemm and her daughter Virginia, who he married at some point. When he left Baltimore to temporarily return to Richmond and then move to Philadelphia, they went with him. He achieved substantial professional success in Philadelphia before moving to New York in 1844. The next year he published “The Raven.” It was an instant hit but this success contributed to Poe’s continued struggles with alcohol addiction and the general instability shown by his frequent moves around New York.