The Poe Shadow

Written by Matthew Pearl

Narrated by Erik Singer

INCLUDES MATTHEW PEARL'S EXCLUSIVE AUDIO AFTERWORD ON THE TRUTH BEHIND POE'S DEATH!

Baltimore, 1849. The body of Edgar Allan Poe has been buried in an unmarked grave. Everyone seems to accept the conclusion that Poe was a second-rate writer who met a disgraceful end -- except for a young Baltimore lawyer named Quentin Clark, an ardent admirer who puts his own career and reputation at risk in a crusade to salvage Poe's.

As Quentin explores the puzzling circumstances and unanswered questions of Poe's demise, he realizes that he must find the one person who can help: the real-life model for Poe's brilliant fictional detective character, C. Augustine Dupin, the hero of ingenious tales of crime and detection. Soon Quentin finds himself enmeshed in sinister machinations involving international political agents and the lost secrets of Poe's final hours, and must himself turn master investigator to escape Poe's grisly fate.

Drawing on original, groundbreaking research, the bestselling author of The Dante Club has once again crossed literary history with sublime craftsmanship and devious twists to create a beautifully detailed, ingeniously plotted tale of suspense.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: May 23, 2006
• ISBN: 9780743555791

Matthew Pearl

Matthew Pearl’s novels have been international and New York Times bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, The Atavist Magazine, and Slate. The New York Daily News raves "if the past is indeed a foreign country, Matthew Pearl has your passport." Matthew has been chosen Best Author for Boston Magazine's Best of Boston and received the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction. 

Reviews for The Poe Shadow

[the_hieb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would have liked it more had it been shorter, a little more coherent, and if the narrator was a little less of a wuss.

[catsinstacks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although the information is interesting, and the authour presents an interesting tale of Edgar Poe's last days, the storytelling is slow and tedious.

[rubbah_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Poe shadow is basically about a man trying to clear his favourite author's bad name by hiring a man he believes Poe's fictional detective(Dupin) is based on. As the reviewers before me have pointed out, Pearl has done everything he can to make it factually correct in every aspect. Whilst some of it is intesting to know, a lot of it seems pointless and we are told the same details over and over again. It took me a long time to start enjoying the book and it does pick up in the last 150 or so pages so only buy if you are prepared to force yourself to keep going.

[marek2009_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The 2nd of Pearl's book, I was very eager to find it after reading the Dante club. It's a great read, imaginative & evocative with plot twists that match the 1st. However at times it relies on coincidence too much, and the ending is a bit anti-climactic. Apparently Pearl has done much original detective work himself on the case & uncovered unknown evidence & clues...

[jphillips3334 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very nice mystery novel surrounding the death of the famed author Edgar Allan Poe. Pearl uses the real life events surrounding the death of Poe and creates fictional characters who task themselves to investigate the mysterious demise of Poe. In fact Pearl does extensive research surrounding the mystery of Poe's last few days and weaves it very well into his story. You get a good sense of his fictional protagonist, Quentin Clark, as someone who really could have been in Baltimore discovering the secrets surrounding the death of one of America's unique mysteries.

[winshoe · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not badly written, but very slow. The main character is very unlikable in my opinion, which makes this book difficult to read. The supporting characters, Duponte and Dupin, are both dynamic and interesting so they make this novel berable.

[hotchk155 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Following the death of Edgar Allan Poe, lawyer Quentin Clark comes to believe it his duty to explain the mysterious circumstances of Poe's death and prove that he had not, as was widely thought, fallen foul of the demon alcohol.Becoming convinced that he must track down "The Real Dupin" (Poe's French detective mastermind) in order to solve the mystery, Clark sets off to Paris and things start to get rather complicated.This is a convincing period piece, written in a 19th century styley and effortlessly mixing historical fact and fiction. There is a nice development of the central character, Clark, from a naiive, head-in-the-clouds rich kid with an easy life to focused and resourceful hero with everything to lose.An entertaining and absorbing read, if a little bit on the long side. The ending is a little bit of an anticlimax, when the 'mystery' is solved and turns out to be rather unmysterious after all.

[eileenmary_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

couldn't finish, style of writing was irritating

[edwinbcn · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Could not get through the first 100 pages.

[benjclark · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Umm.... I liked it. I think. One of the stronger elements to the book was a fairly believable 19th Century American voice. The pedantic in me liked, no, loved the original research that went into the novel. Some of the "twists" were really only turns. I for one loved the non-fictive elements. Not sure if that's a word. It was true to the sad life of Poe and offers a couple ideas as to how he truly died.

[zojo_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This wasn't as good as I thought it would be! I still enjoyed it but found it slightly long-winded and sometimes a bit confusing. It still had many good points though and I did enjoy it.

[thebooky_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this book, I really did, but I found it hard to care about Quentin Clark's obsession.

[ficusfan · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I started this book but could only get to around 100 pages. I just didn't like the story, the characters, and most especially the writing. Its awful. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but it doesn't flow. Its like driving on a highway made of speed bumps.I didn't like his first book either, though I finished it. Both books were local book group selections, or I never would have picked them up. I just couldn't force myself to finish this one.

[thequotidian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pearl's second novel, the Poe Shadow shows definite improvement from his first, The Dante Club.While The Dante Club was an excellent book itself, Pearl seemed to struggle in intorducing the plotline and all the characters. As a result, I found it diffuclut to make my way through the first 100 pages or so.In The Poe Shadow, Pearl does a much better job introducing the premise of his book. Instead of having to force myself through the opening chapters, I was quickly ensnared in the plot of the book.The book takes place in Baltimore in the 1850's, from the day of Edgar A. Poe's funeral to a time roughly 2 years later. Pearl brilliantly uses fictional characters and real historical figures, along with the real events surrounding Poe's cryptic death, to try to recreate the last week of Poe's life.To any fan of Pearl, Poe, or historical fiction, Matthew Pearl's The Poe Shadow is a must-read. And while you're at it, check out The Dante Club too.4 Stars.

[riverwillow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An intruiging and interesting read.

[chmessing · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Much like the 8/15/08 review posted by Bart in which he "recommends it for: no one but a hard core Edgar A. Poe or Matthew Pearl fan", I must concede defeat on this one and admit that I just could not get past the first 100 or so pages of this book. It seems that I am neither a hard core Poe fan, nor a hard core Matthew Pearl fan. Now that I think about it, I didn't finish Pearl's first book "The Dante Club" either. Just couldn't get into it. The more I get into this website and really looking for good books (and finding so many!), the more I realize life is too short to waste on finishing books that don't excite you. Nothing about this book excited me.

[markbrowning_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Having struck paydirt with his Dante book, Pearl seems convinced that the key to continuing fortune is to continue to write historical fiction about mysterious dead writers. In this work, he's sadly missed the mark. Allow me to sum up this pathetic excuse for a mystery novel. A lawyer, curiously obsessed with the writings of Poe, risks position, family, fortune, and life in order to discover the truth behind the mysterious death of the author, who never appears within the pages of this novel alive. He travels to Paris to track down the real-life Dupin--or is this the real Dupin?--and then goes through all manner of danger, disappointment, and distress. But in the end, it all pays off, right? Sure! In the end we discover that he's basically wasted a couple of years of his life in order to accomplish exactly NOTHING! The intriguing plot twist at the end of The Poe Shadow is that there is nothing to be discovered. It's a Po' Shadow of a real thriller/mystery.

[wirtley · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Mystery novel about the death of Edgar Allan Poe. Could have been reduced by 200 pages. Too long, too detailed and too boring. We discussed this in book club and many people did not like.

[tarablanca_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Intriguing and meaty...very wordy and circular. It seemed to topple (toward the end) under the weight of its own self-conscious complexity, but at that point I was just anxious to be done with it so read on, determined to see it through. I'm not sure that I'll seek out more books by this author. I appreciate the original research that went into the book but got the sense that the author was trying too hard.

[drneutron_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Frankly, I just didn't like this book. I don't know why. I started it twice and dropped it both times about 1/3 of the way through. More than anything else, I think I just didn't like the main character, and that's usually enough to make me lose interest.

[sggottlieb_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I just couldn't get into this book. I struggled with it for a while hoping that it would pick up but there was just too much about the neurotic protagonist.

[thornton37814 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Quentin Clark, a Baltimore attorney, is obsessed with Poe's death. He is determined to resolve it with the help of the person who was the basis for Poe's character Dupin. Has he chosen the right Dupin? Will the mystery surrounding Poe's death be resolved? I had difficulty forcing myself to finish this book. The book did not hold my attention. The book was at least 100 pages too long. I never felt a connection to the lead character. I would much prefer to read the primary source materials from which this work was drawn than this work which does not do a very good job of combining the facts surrounding Poe's death with a fictional sleuth to investigage it.

[ulan25_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I just couldn't ride the zeal of the main character to shed light on the mysterious circumstances regarding Poe's death. I found him overly whiny and naive. And I couldn't help but side with the characters around him who see him as being a downright selfish fool. I did enjoy reading the big theory, or the result of Duponte's investigation, plus the notes at the end of the book.

[ddelmoni_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

As many others, I too can't believe that the author of The Dante Club wrote this book OR that he had the same editor. What a shame.

[vidalia11_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was listening to this as an audiobook and had to quit. I had high hopes for it, but it was tedious and completely unbelievable. I couldn't buy the premise that the protagonist felt compelled to defend the honor or memory of E.A. Poe, for no real reason. And once I didn't buy the premise, the rest of it just seemed silly. Admittedly, I didn't finish the book, maybe it got better.

[fmrox · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Baltimore lawyer Quentin Clark becomes fascinated and obsessed with the mysteries surround Edgar Poe's death. He in turn begins his own investigation that includes a trip to Europe to capture the believed real life model of Poe's fictional detective Auguste Dupin from the The Murders in the Rue Morgue fame.This investigation takes months almost years and the story seems to drag on for that amount of time as well. It isn't as well drawn out as previous Pearl novels. It took a long time to read. It certainly could have been shortened and thus much more enjoyable. I did like the ending. The protagonist on the other hand seems to be a bit of an obsessed idiot.

[tinfoilspider13 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wasnt sure about this to start as Iv not read the dante club but have an interest in poe. It was well written with plenty of facts and an intrigueing plotline. My only problem with the book was there were a few places where it seemed a struggle to get through it. It does take some concentration in parts to keep up with all the data that is being said but it was still very enjoyable

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Set in Baltimore in the mid-1800s. A young man, Quentin Clark, is a huge fan of Edgar Allan Poe and is distraught when his favorite author dies unexpectedly. Putting his own life on hold he begins to research the man and the mystery, even traveling to Paris to try to find the inspiration for the detective Dupin, to help him solve the questions surrounding Poe's death. Clark is a stiff and awkward leading man. He always seems to be out of the loop and is the last to figure out anything. The story lags and it was hard stay interested. I honestly think I would have preferred to read a nonfiction book discussing Poe's death, instead of this mystery novel. Pearl did a great job researching the book and the factual information is fascinating. I've been a Poe fanatic for a long time, so it was worth reading, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't.

[tinfoilspider · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wasnt sure about this to start as Iv not read the dante club but have an interest in poe. It was well written with plenty of facts and an intrigueing plotline. My only problem with the book was there were a few places where it seemed a struggle to get through it. It does take some concentration in parts to keep up with all the data that is being said but it was still very enjoyable

[ix0x0l_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not really sure how I felt about this one. Overall it was a great idea, but WAY too drawn out. Got me reading Poe again though.