Midnight Dreary: The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe [Paperback]

The bulk of the book, and the jewel of the author's research consists of the presentation, organization and analysis of the relevant evidence, either quoted directly from the sources or summarized. Walsh fits the data against the prevailing theories and finds them lacking in probability. This is a lean and muscular work of historical scholarship. The relentless focus on the scant relevant material is another highlight of this work, there is no padding. The evolution of the witnesses' and researchers' stories closest to the event is also ably chronicled in the book. The accretion and fusing of memory and myth around notorious historical events is interesting all by itself and is well documented by Mr. Walsh.

The proposed new solution conforms neatly to my prejudices, in that it is firmly linked to Poe's private life, I tend to believe (as articulated very well by Louise Brooks among others) that the mysteries of biography and history frequently resolve to the mysteries of love and the bedroom or in the hackneyed phrase of the mystery genre 'cherchez la femme'. The quality and honesty of his work can be judged from the fact that although he forwards a new twist on the 'death by drinking' theory, which oddly enough, depends crucially on an assertion that Poe was not likely to have broken his fresh Temperance Pledge, his work can be read as dialectic against any theory other than death resulting from a sadly typical self destructive drinking binge.

The presentation and consideration of the evidence is a model for anyone writing on a topic to imitate. The thesis itself, alas, is another matter and occupies a brief few pages at the end. He carefully holds back what he argues happened until all the paltry evidence is produced and evaluated. Testimony is scant and often hearsay or second hand or recalled after many years so no firm conclusions are possible. Walsh suggests that the missing 5 days of Poe's life were spent in a running battle between Baltimore and Philadelphia with pursuers bent on doing him harm. He bases this on a number of conjectures and extrapolations. There is the testimony of a rail road employee that Poe was seen heading towards Philadelphia, and further statements drawn from colleagues in Philadelphia who reported unusual encounters with him. These stories are stretched, cropped, altered and split and then finally moved in time to support the hypothesis. The identity of the poet's enemies and their motives appear like rabbits from a hat and are based on the slenderest wisps of evidence. As with any good magician, though, the groundwork for the gimmick is deftly introduced. However, this is the part of tale where I consider the more or less contemporary explanation of the event was concerned with transforming the poet's death into a more fitting end for a great literary figure. The considerable liberties taken with this part of the evidence don't lend much weight to the conclusions.

As with many theories put forward to resolve the puzzles of literature and the past, this one founders on the sharp reef of Occam's Razor. The simplest explanation, consistent with Poe's sordid history of alcoholic binges detailed in the text and his toxic reaction to alcohol, also well attested, is that he died as a result of one final bender. For those of us familiar with binge drinkers, finding one after a 5 day disappearance under bizarre circumstances is no surprise. The very last person to see Poe on his way to Baltimore stated that he had been drinking, but was sober, not a good omen for a man who'd just promised to become a teetotaler.

While Walsh advances another possible explanation of Poe's death in a crisp, well organized book that moves along at a brisk tempo, he fails establish his solution to the case as likely. I highly recommend this book both for the novelty of its approach, overall quality and for its tight focus.

In the first instance, Walsh succeeds beyond one's expectations. I ahve read dozens of biographies of Poe and have not come across a good deal of this material. Letters, journal entries, recollections of personal interviews - Walsh succeeds in bringing extant material to light.

In the second endeavor, Walsh has not been as successful. In my opinion, he falls into every theorists greatest trap - attempting to bend the facts to fit his hypothesis. In several cases, Walsh accuses his subjects of faulty memory and/or outright embellishment. "Such and such can not have occurred on this date, but if we assume that the wrier was incorrect and it actually occurred on blah-blah date, then it all makes sense." No. No and no. As observers of history, we do not have the luxury of assuming those who lived it were forgetful liars.

Nonetheless, this IS an interesting book and it is a treasure trove of data for those interested in Poe's death. Additionally, it is written in an interesting, conversational style that I found quite readable. I enjoyed this book, as a reader and as an historian.

E.A. Poe's death--its cause and circumstances--have been a mystery since the day he died. Many theories have been posited, from the well-known "beat up by election day thugs," to "rabies," to Walsh's "beaten up by the brothers of a woman whose letters Poe refused to return." Maybe, but the case is far from being made.

Walsh provides a lot of background information, not much of which supports his thesis, unfortunately, but is a good resource for learning just what has been written about Poe's death. His writing style, though, deserves a premature burial. It alternates turgid with folksy in an extremely irritating mix. One gets the sense of great condescention on his part. As this is only his latest book on Poe, it may be that he's just recycling his own, earlier work. In any event, this is one to avoid.