Edgar Allan Poe enters New York’s literary salon scene, meets celebrated poet Frances Sargent Osgood and immediately begins making choices with the discretion of a man firing a pistol in a drawing room.

What follows is poetry published in plain sight, private letters, public gossip, one extremely complicated pregnancy, Elizabeth Ellet inserting herself into everyone’s business, threats of legal action, a deeply unnecessary firearm and two literary men rolling over furniture.

But beneath the absurdity is a much sadder story about reputation, double standards, Virginia’s declining health and the way history has too often reduced Frances to a lovesick footnote in Edgar’s life.

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Long before The Raven, before the literary feuds, and before the world knew his name, Edgar Allan Poe was just young man trying to find his place in it.

In Episode 3, we're following Poe through some of the most formative and turbulent years of his life. We'll explore his romance with Elmira Royster, his troubled relationship with John Allan, his brief time at the University of Virginia, and the debts and disappointments that would alter the course of his future.

Along the way, we'll watch Edgar leave Richmond, publish his book of poetry, enlist in the United States Army under an assumed named, and rise through the ranks before finding himself at West Point, where another chapter of his life would come to abrupt and dramatic end.

This is the story of a young man standing at a crossroads. A poet before he was a legend. A solider before he was and author, and a dreamer trying to become something more than the world expected of him.

New to Poe? Welcome.

Already obsessed? You're among the bros.

With his military career behind him and his relationship with John Allan beyond repair, Edgar Allan Poe arrives in Baltimore with little more than his talent and determination. As he builds a new life with Maria “Muddy” Clemm and Virginia, Edgar sets out to achieve what many believed was impossible: earning a living as an American writer.

In this episode, we explore Poe’s marriage to Virginia, the complexities surrounding one of history’s most debated relationships, his rise as a fearless literary critic, and the financial struggles that never seemed far behind. From borrowing money and changing jobs to writing some of the most influential short stories in literary history, this is the chapter where Edgar’s ambition burns brighter than ever… even if his bank balance doesn’t.

Before The Raven made him a household name, there was a decade of relentless work, impossible odds, and a man determined to prove that genius could survive by the pen.

New to Poe? Welcome.

Already obsessed? You're among the Bros.