Dream within a Dream by Nigel Barnes
160 years after his death, Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the most polarizing and mysterious figures in American literature. Hailed as a genius and condemned as a mentally unstable alcoholic often in the same breath the genre pioneer has received a considerable amount of less-than-kind attention from biographers. Taking a far more sympathetic approach, this meticulously researched account draws on public records, previous biographies, an exhaustive list of rare periodicals, and an impressive catalog of correspondence between Poe and numerous relatives and associates. The account reconstructs Poe from his dire beginnings, born to two struggling actors, to his tragic end, dying alone at age 40. Barnes's scholarly style is ponderous and slow at times, but he offers one of the most complete and fair portraits of Poe yet written. He spends much time defending and excusing Poe's more outre behavior-binging, marrying his 15-year-old cousin, locking himself away for days at a time but also reframing it by jettisoning the hyperbolic Poe caricature popular in the public imagination: drunk, insane, perverted, and overrated.In the west of Ireland, Nigel Barnes runs an antique repair business with his partner. He is a member of the Antiquarian Horological Society and defines himself as an enthusiastic amateur horologist who draws on his technical expertise and a family tradition in clockmaking dating back to the 18th century.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780720613223 |
| ISBN 10 | 0720613221 |
| Title | Dream within a Dream |
| Author | Nigel Barnes |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Peter Owen Publishers |
| Year published | 2008-12-12 |
| Number of pages | 348 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |