Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston in 1809 to two traveling actors. His father left the family early on, and his mother passed away from tuberculosis before he was three. He was taken in by John and Frances Allan in Richmond, Virginia, though he was never formally adopted, and it was from John Allan that he got his middle name.
Poe’s relationship with John Allan was troubled from the beginning and never truly healed. He briefly attended the University of Virginia in 1826 but accumulated gambling debts, leading Allan to withdraw him and refuse to pay for his education. Afterward, Poe went to West Point, but he intentionally arranged for his own dismissal in 1831. By that time, he had already published two poetry collections, funded almost entirely by himself and receiving little public attention.
“The 1830s and 1840s were filled with hard work for Poe.”
He served as an editor and critic for various magazines in Richmond, Philadelphia, and New York, where he gained a reputation for being a sharp and sometimes harsh reviewer. Although he was effective in his role and helped increase the magazines' circulations, he was never paid enough to feel secure. In 1835, he married his cousin Virginia Clemm when she was thirteen and he was twenty-seven. Her prolonged illness and eventual death from tuberculosis in 1847 left him heartbroken.
Poe shot to fame with the publication of "The Raven" in January 1845, which quickly became popular nationwide, with people reciting it on the streets. However, this fame did not bring financial stability. He continued to struggle with heavy drinking, a habit that had plagued him for years and cost him more than one editorial job.
