![]() Another possibility is that Poe was referencing Henry R. Reynolds, a newspaper editor and explorer who may have inspired the novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. One possibility is that he was recalling an encounter with Jeremiah N. Poe is said to have repeatedly called out the name "Reynolds" on the night before his death, though no one has ever been able to identify the person to whom he referred. He was denied any visitors and was confined in a prison-like room with barred windows in a section of the building reserved for drunk people. Moran cared for Poe at Washington College Hospital on Broadway and Fayette Street. Poe was never coherent long enough to explain how he came to be in this condition, and it is believed the clothes he was wearing were not his own, not least because wearing shabby clothes was out of character for him. John Joseph Moran, who was Poe's attending physician, gives his own detailed account of Poe's appearance that day: "a stained faded, old bombazine coat, pantaloons of a similar character, a pair of worn-out shoes run down at the heels, and an old straw hat". His clothing, Snodgrass said, which included a dirty shirt but no vest and unpolished shoes, was worn and did not fit well. Snodgrass's first-hand account describes Poe's appearance as "repulsive", with unkempt hair, a haggard, unwashed face and "lusterless and vacant" eyes. Snodgrass later claimed the note said that Poe was "in a state of beastly intoxication." ![]() Poe, and who appears in great distress, & he says he is acquainted with you, and I assure you, he is in need of immediate assistance. His letter reads as follows:ĭear Sir-There is a gentleman, rather the worse for wear, at Ryan's 4th ward polls, who goes under the cognomen of Edgar A. Walker sent a letter requesting help to Joseph E. No reliable evidence exists about his whereabouts until a week later on October 3, when he was found delirious in Baltimore at Ryan's Tavern (sometimes referred to as Gunner's Hall). He departed on September 27 for his home in New York City, having decided to relocate for an editor job and remarry. He recuperated and gave well-received lectures and readings to pay his expenses. He arrived there still suffering the effects of what he described as a cholera attack accompanied by hallucinations, insistent that he had not been drinking. Poe stayed in Richmond from July to September 1849 to explore a possible magazine venture. Much of the evidence for this image of Poe is believed to have been forged by Griswold, and though friends of Poe denounced it, this interpretation had lasting impact.Ĭhronology Poe portrait by William Abbot Pratt from September 1849, a month before his death Griswold, who became the literary executor of Poe's estate, was actually a rival of Poe and later published his first full biography, depicting him as a depraved, drunk, drug-addled madman. ![]() Īfter Poe's death, Rufus Wilmot Griswold wrote his obituary under the pseudonym "Ludwig". Evidence of the influence of alcohol is strongly disputed. Theories as to what caused Poe's death include suicide, murder, cholera, hypoglycemia, rabies, syphilis, influenza, brain tumor and that Poe was a victim of cooping. The newer monument also marks the burial place of Poe's wife, Virginia, and his mother-in-law, Maria. Poe was buried after a small funeral at the back of Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, but his remains were moved to a new grave with a larger monument in 1875. Much of the extant information about the last few days of Poe's life comes from his attending physician, John Joseph Moran, though his credibility is questionable. Poe had no visitors in the hospital and gave no account of how he came to be in his condition before dying on October 7 at age 40. Snodgrass and was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where he was treated for apparent intoxication. He sought the help of magazine editor Joseph E. ![]() American author Edgar Allan Poe was found delirious and disheveled at a tavern in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 3. The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7, 1849, has remained mysterious in regard to both the cause of death and the circumstances leading to it. ![]() The death of the author is shrouded in mystery and debate. Poe's body lies beneath this monument in Baltimore. ![]()
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