Publishers Weekly
A licentious interlude in the life of Edgar Allan Poe provides an intriguing if somewhat insubstantial premise for May's frothy historical novel. In late 1844, Poe is 36 years old, at the height of his literary powers, an experienced magazine editor and reviewer in New York City well-known for his poetry and stories. He is also chronically broke, the caretaker of his young tubercular wife, Sissy, and her mother, Muddy, and a binge drinker (a habit that will kill him by the time he is 40). May's story opens in the teeming publishing and maritime district of Lower Broadway, where Poe (called Eddy), has resigned as assistant to Nathaniel Parker Willis at the prestigious New-York Mirror to start his own review, the Broadway Journal. Poe's star rises with the publication of "The Raven," and he is suddenly much sought after for his eerie reading of the poem. At the Waverly Place salon of Anne Lynch, he meets a diminutive, flirtatious poetess of the hour, Mrs. Fanny Osgood. A quasi love affair as unconvincing as it is undocumented ensues. To generate romance, May takes dubious liberties in reading between the lines of Poe's and Osgood's poetry. Skirt the insipid dialogue for the glimpses of colorful pre-Civil War New York and its personages, such as Willis, chronicler of society's Upper Tenth, and his servant, freed slave and autobiographer Harriet Jacobs. Agent, Christy Fletcher. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Using as supporting evidence the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe and Fanny Osgood (included in the appendix), first-time novelist May builds a case that the two were romantically involved in the mid-1840s. At that time, Poe was married to his too-young cousin Virginia, who was dying of tuberculosis. Osgood, separated from her artist husband and wooed by a wealthy businessman, nevertheless caught Poe's eye. They immediately orchestrated an almost-chaste, exceedingly dramatic affair of the heart. May paints a detailed, relentlessly grim picture of a pivotal year in Poe's life, set against the richly absorbing literary society of 19th-century New York, which first swooned over Poe and then shunned him. In May's novel, Poe's genius is nearly buried by his emotional immaturity, reckless self-absorption, and crushing personal tragedies. Poe admirers would do best to steer clear of this brutal portrayal of him as a selfish, stubborn drunk who was shockingly irresponsible financially, uncomfortably inept as a suitor and lover, and, yes, a sporadically prolific genius of the written word. Recommended for larger libraries.-Beth E. Andersen, Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Fictionalized account of one particularly dismal year toward the end of Edgar Allan Poe's short and generally unhappy life. First-timer May focuses on a possible love affair between Poe and the now-forgotten poet Fanny Osgood. In 1845, Poe is living in New York with his ailing young wife/first-cousin Sissy (the real-life Virginia) and Sissy's mother. Although he has already published many of his most memorable stories, he is barely scraping by, earning money for his poems and reviews wherever he can while launching The Broadway Journal with a partner he dislikes. May's writing is strongest when it brings across the Poes' financial desperation-a state not helped by the frequent drunken binges that Poe, a difficult man even when sober, continues to embark upon. After the writer's one loyal champion and friend, N.P. Willis of The World, publicizes The Raven, Poe briefly becomes the toast of New York and captures the interest of Fanny Osgood, currently separated from her artist husband and living, like Willis and his wife, at the Astor Hotel. Although courted by a wealthy businessman, she is drawn to Poe's genius. The two exchange letters, but more revealing are the thinly veiled poems they write and publish about each other (included in full in an appendix). When they find themselves a topic of gossip, Fanny flees to her brother's family in Providence. Poe follows and they consummate their affair, but Poe is racked with guilt concerning Sissy, who has received anonymous letters about Fanny. A now-pregnant Fanny's only recourse is to return to her husband. Poe loses his magazine, takes a temperance vow, and moves out of town with the dying Sissy. Fanny and Poe's child is born but does notsurvive. A labored history lesson about the social and cultural life of 1845 New York, but not especially entertaining-or enlightening-about Poe. Agent: Christy Fletcher/Fletcher & Parry
