Mrs. Poe Review

Better late then never, right? So let's get started. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. Mrs Poe is a fictional account of Edgar Allen Poe, his wife, and his mistress Frances Osgood. Although I had a hard time with the subject matter, infidelity doesn't sit well with me, I still really enjoyed the story. Mrs Poe is set during the 1840's in New York city. The authors description of that time and place was perfect. I love details, and I think she did a great job with it. I also enjoyed the main character, Frances, who was also a writer/poet like Poe. She was married with children, and had an absent husband, but she was willing to work hard and didn't like taking from others. I found her admirable in that way. Poe's wife was very young, beautiful, and also pretty darn clever. As a character, I loved and hated her at the same time. There's an interesting twist with her in the end, that I thought was well done. Poe I found to be quite miserable. I did not like him as a person at all. I found him arrogant, mean, and selfish. I was often amazed that Frances loved him. I didn't feel like the woman that she was described to be, would love a man like him. I really can't imagine anyone loving him. He annoyed me, can ya tell? Great writer, terrible guy. With that being said, it was still a good read. I would recommend it to historical fiction lovers, especially if you love New York!

More Halloween reads

I had to pick up my new glasses today, and decided to hit the thrift store on my way home. Thrift stores are the best places to get books. I may not always find what I'm looking for, but I always come home with something good. Anyway, I picked up eight books today, two of which I'd like to read this month. The first one is called Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen. It's about the love triangle between Edgar Allen Poe, his wife , and his mistress. I'm kinda ashamed to admit, I've never read any Poe and don't know much about him. Being from Baltimore, you'd think we would have read his stuff in school, but we never did.

I'm also going to try to read Dust and Shadow by Lindsay Faye. This is a Sherlock Holmes/Jack the Ripper Story. Seems like the perfect Halloween read.