Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen
Release Date - October 2013
Lynn Cullen
Gallery Books
Book Review by Bob Walch
The
tumultuous life of Edgar Allan Poe continues to fascinate authors
and provide fodder for new novels. Lynn Cullen is the latest person
to fall under the spell of the famous American poet and writer. In
this story Cullen focuses on Frances Osgood, a struggling poet and
mother of two children, who falls under Poe’s spell.
Osgood
meets the illustrious author of “The Raven” at a literary
gathering and she is surprised that Poe has some knowledge of her
work. A mild flirtation is followed by a seduction and then an
illicit affair. As Osgood falls for her complicated, married lover,
the situation becomes rather volatile as Virginia Poe, the frail wife
of the writer, befriends Osgood.
At
this point the story becomes as bizarre and twisted as one of Poe’s
famous short stories. With the fates of these two women now
intertwined, the tale of this romantic triangle takes some unexpected
and surprising turns.
In
the “Author’s Note” at the back of the book Cullen writes that
when she began writing this novel her intention was “not to write a
shivery tale”. That may have been the plan but that’s not how
things turned out. You’ll discover what I mean once you begin
reading this gothic story of misguided love.
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