The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl

The Poe Shadow is a historical mystery novel that blends real history with fiction, centered on the mysterious death of the famous American writer Edgar Allan Poe in 1849. 📖 What the Book Is About The story follows Quentin Hobson Clark, a young Baltimore lawyer and passionate admirer of Poe, who attends Poe’s modest, poorly attended funeral and refuses to accept the common belief that Poe died a miserable drunk. Determined to uncover the truth behind Poe’s death — which was shrouded in mystery and unanswered questions — Clark launches his own investigation, even at the risk of losing his career and engagement. Inspired by Poe’s fictional detective C. Auguste Dupin, Clark travels to Paris seeking the real-life model for that character, believing this person might help him solve the puzzle of Poe’s last days. Along the way he becomes entangled with international intrigue, conflicting clues, and dangerous figures, ultimately returning to Baltimore to piece together a theory about Poe’s final hours.