Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and of American literature as a whole, and he was one of the country’s earliest practitioners of the short story. He is also generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre and is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. Poe was the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.

• Study Guide: The Major Works of Edgar Allen Poe

  As an author of the nineteenth-century, Poe is credited with creating detective fiction. Moreover, he was well known for his dark and haunting imagery throughout his works. Titles in this study guide include The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Cask of Amontillado.