The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science

by John Tresch

Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize | Finalist for the 2022 Edgar Award

An innovative biography of Edgar Allan Poe—highlighting his fascination and feuds with science.

Decade after decade, Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the most popular American writers. He is beloved around the world for his pioneering detective fiction, tales of horror, and haunting, atmospheric verse. But what if there was another side to the man who wrote “The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”?

In The Reason for the Darkness of the Night, John Tresch offers a bold new biography of a writer whose short, tortured life continues to fascinate. Shining a spotlight on an era when the lines separating entertainment, speculation, and scientific inquiry were blurred, Tresch reveals Poe’s obsession with science and lifelong ambition to advance and question human knowledge. Even as he composed dazzling works of fiction, he remained an avid and often combative commentator on new discoveries, publishing and hustling in literary scenes that also hosted the era’s most prominent scientists, semi-scientists, and pseudo-intellectual rogues. As one newspaper put it, “Mr. Poe is not merely a man of science—not merely a poet—not merely a man of letters. He is all combined; and perhaps he is something more.”

Taking us through his early training in mathematics and engineering at West Point and the tumultuous years that followed, Tresch shows that Poe lived, thought, and suffered surrounded by science—and that many of his most renowned and imaginative works can best be understood in its company. He cast doubt on perceived certainties even as he hungered for knowledge, and at the end of his life delivered a mind-bending lecture on the origins of the universe that would win the admiration of twentieth-century physicists. Pursuing extraordinary conjectures and a unique aesthetic vision, he remained a figure of explosive contradiction: he gleefully exposed the hoaxes of the era’s scientific fraudsters even as he perpetrated hoaxes himself.

Tracing Poe’s hard and brilliant journey, The Reason for the Darkness of the Night is an essential new portrait of a writer whose life is synonymous with mystery and imagination—and an entertaining, erudite tour of the world of American science just as it was beginning to come into its own.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Science, Biography Memoir, Audiobook, Historical

448 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2021

About the author

John Tresch is Associate Professor of History & Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible Audiobook – Unabridged
John Tresch (Author), Paul Woodson (Narrator), Tantor Audio (Publisher)
Listening Length 14 hours and 12 minutes
Audible.com Release Date June 15, 2021

If this sounds like something you want to read more of then, please enjoy it.

Many of Poe’s devoted fans— whether they revere him as the mastermind of horror, inventor of the detective story, pioneer of science fiction, high priest of symbolist art, or brooding prince of the goths— have never read Eureka: A Prose Poem, the cosmological theory he propounded that night in 1848. Beyond its length, and the difficulties of its form and argument, Eureka seems out of place among Poe’s most famous works, whether his outrageous tales of horror and madness or his hymns to ethereal beauty.

This book tells the full story of Edgar Allan Poe’s life— but it does so from a new angle. It returns Poe’s cosmology to its place at the summit of his life and thought, showing his work as a singular expression of the tumultuous ideas and passions of his age, thoroughly bound up with the emergence of modern science….

…Poe argued that every word and image in a poem or tale should contribute to a single, deliberately chosen effect. His works deliver a dazzling array of shocks and delights— effects of terror, humor, disgust, sublimity. Yet a second moment often follows the initial blow. Attentive readers might wonder, how did he do it? What combination of words, expectations, and publicity allowed him to strike such a concussion upon the individual and collective mind?

[Justin Tate · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second Poe biography to read in so many months. This one has a curious goal of portraying the great author as a pioneer of science as well as inventor of multiple literary genres. This angle attempts to provide a newish spin on the thoroughly analyzed figure. The result is muddy, however, and noticeably inferior to Jeffrey Meyers' straight forward biography of Poe's life.

The task of connecting Poe to science is a struggle throughout and rarely proves fruitful. Poe was a product of his generation and certainly had more than an average interest in scientific thought. Possibly Poe had instinctual notions about the cosmos, as described in his lengthy poem Eureka, but even Tresch admits there are inconsistencies and faults with Eureka that go beyond a primitive understanding of the universe. Jeffrey Meyers, in his biography of Poe, all but dismisses Eureka as the ravings of a mentally ill man. I will say it is nice to read a perspective which places Eureka somewhere in the middle.

Though Tresch's Poe-as-Scientist arguments are unconvincing, casual readers may enjoy side details about scientific advances during Poe's lifetime as historical breaks from literary obsessiveness. For those of us more concerned with Poe's life and words, the digressions come across as irrelevant distractions.

If you're looking for a book that provides the best biographical account of Poe's life, this is not it. Neither is it the best book for information on Nineteenth Century scientific advances. The engaging writing generally succeeds as highly readable scholarship, even if the narrative struggles to take hold. Being lukewarm on both Science and Poe, and unsuccessfully connecting the two, I don't think many readers will feel particularly enlightened. Still, there is a lot of good information and you could certainly do worse with your time.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 This is the first full length biography I have read of Poe and it revealed many, to me at least, surprising insights. Science vs. literary pursuits. There is much I had known of Poe, snippets I read here and there, in other books. I did know he went to West Point, served in the military, married his cousin, etc. What I didn't know was his avid interest in science. An interest that formed in his youth and that was reflected in some of his poems and fiction.

His life was prolific but personally sad. The early death if his wife, his drinking all presented challenges that he never seemed to overcome. His last lectures on science, were ones he hoped would provide redemption and bring him back into the public eye.

The author I think has presented a good portrait of this tortured genius. I enjoyed his insightful outlook and discussions of Poe's many literary pursuits.

[Ed Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biography of Poe that emphasizes the ways he was connected with scientific ideas of his times.

He had a pretty good grounding in the basics of science and math. He spent a year at the new University of Virginia getting the start of a classical education, and then did very well in his one year at West Point, with an intense math and science curriculum. The most money he made from any of his writings was a serious science book about categorizing conchs. He worked often with magazines and newspapers that were full of the latest science, as well as quackery, and hoaxes. (Not always clearly separable then or now.) He created some hoaxes himself, as well as basing stories on the hot new "science" of Mesmerism. Many people accepted those fictional stories ("Mesmeric Revelation", "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar") as factual reporting, and he didn't try to correct the record. He seems to have accepted Phrenology as a legitimate science, but didn't write any stories about it. Many of his stories were related to other recent writings. This book helps give them context that is often lacking today. (Especially useful for the satires.) His final book, "Eureka", feels to me like pseudo-science. Yet it isn't any less earnest than the anonymously-published Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation that was all the rage during Poe's life. "Vestiges" posited, among other things, that the solar system evolved from a swirling cloud of dust. Poe extended the idea to the entire universe, starting with an explosion from a single point, then a coalescing into whirls of various size, then eventually collapsing back again.

This book never makes an explicit claim that Poe's stories can be seen as Science Fiction, but I will do so. Instead it talks about how they inspired other people to develop genres like Symbolism (in Valery and Mallarme) and Science Fiction (in Verne) and Horror (in Robert Louis Stevenson and Lovecraft) and whatever you want to call it (in Borges and Kafka).

On the side, one cool thing I learned about here was the 1845 poetry-writing machine of John Clark, also called "Eureka", that predates the similar Oulipo poetry generator of Queneau: One Hundred Million Million Poems.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science by John Tresch is the first biography I have read of Poe. I was totally enthralled. Tresch's approach gives us a man of technological and scientific insight, an expert craftsman with the pen, an original thinker, and a relentless worker. And yet, everything was against Poe, he struggled to provide basic needs, and his dreams were always beyond reach.

It is one of the saddest biographies I have ever read. A genius with everything against him, a man who achieved great heights and died with nothing. Had he been born in a different time, would his fate have been happier?

I first read Poe in my grandfather's 1926 paperback 101 Famous Poems in which I discovered The Raven, The Bells, and To Helen. Then, I discovered a complete set of Poe on gramp's shelves and borrowed the volumes so often, he told me to just keep them. This was almost 57 years ago!

Like my own grandfather, Poe's father had abandoned his mother and with her death was an orphan. Like my grandfather, Poe was taken to be raised by a family without formal adoption. Like my grandfather, Poe was sent into the world without enough financial support to live on. Like Poe, my grandfather was an engineer, a writer, relentlessly working three jobs to support his family. Unlike my grandfather, Poe had been raised by a wealthy family and had expectations of being supported to continue that lifestyle. Plus, he had inherited the family problem of alcoholism.

Poe embraced two interests: the advancement of a distinct American literature that could rival Europe's, and an interest in science and technology. His classical education, training at West Point, deep reading, and relentless pursuit of financial security and fame was derailed by his inability to handle alcohol, which was almost impossible to avoid in society or business.

He took on his aunt and cousin as family, his love for both deep and sincere. They starved with him and followed him from home to home. He married his child bride cousin, who died of tuberculosis, perhaps the inspiration for his poem Annabel Lee.

Poe lived in an age when science and pseudoscience and faith clashed. He reacted to the new scientific ideas that precluded purpose and meaning to existence.

Tresch begins and ends with Poe's lecture Eureka! which presented radical ideas that later were seen as foreshadowing current theories accepted in the scientific community. He neither envisioned a universe controlled by a deity, or abandoned by a deity, or once created remained unchanged. His universe was dynamic and evolving. He saw that science had its limits in understanding the human experience and place in the universe.

Poe lived during the rise of the magazine, and he relentlessly wrote articles of every kind, published in magazines such as Graham's Ladies and Gentleman's Magazine; forty years ago I bought an 1841 bound volume in a Maine antique shop which included numerous works by Poe, articles on cryptography and autography (analyzing signatures), The Colloquy of Monos and Una, and the poems Israfel and To Helen.

It was so interesting to read Tresch's comments on these articles and poems. The Colloquy, he comments, includes lines that foretold the future: "Meantime huge smoking cities arose, innumerable. Green leaves shrank before the hot breath of furnaces. The fair face of Nature was deformed as with the ravages of some loathsome disease.[...]now it appears that we had worked out our own destruction in the perversion of our taste, or rather in the blind neglect of its culture in the schools." He continues, "Taste along could have led us gently back to Beauty, to Nature, and to Life."

With my new insights into Poe, I really must return and reread his work.

I received a free galley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

[Aellirenn Czyta · Rating 5 out of 5]

To najbardziej zaskakująca biografia, z jaką przyszło mi się zmierzyć. Wyłania się z niej obraz człowieka, który wyprzedził swoje czasy. Świat nie był na niego gotowy. W naszych czasach odnalazłby się bez problemu i pewnie byłby znanym influenserem i robił live-y na Insta 😊

Wnioski płynące z tej książki są jasne. Gdyby Poe żył dziś, toby:
- miał prawie 10k follow zanim założyłby Instagrama
- był mistrzem ciętej riposty
- clickbaitował swoje posty jak szalony i byłby w tym genialny
- wiedział wszystko o algorytmach IG
- interesował nowinkami technologicznymi
- krytykował książki bez zważania na słowa
- trollował na prawo i lewo
- protestował przeciw użyciu paliw kopalnych
- był feministą
- był pionierem i twórcą true crime
- organizował zloty fanów
- swoje głupie wybryki usprawiedliwiał „eksperymentem społecznym”
- podsycał plotki na swój temat, bo nie ważne co mówią, byle nazwiska nie przekręcali
- organizował zrzutki na swoje utrzymanie, a na live-ach zbierał donejty
- inspirował kolejnych twórców

Naprawdę, taki byłby Poe teraz. Taki był prawie 200 lat temu. Jego geniusz objawiał się w tym, że swój nad wyraz analityczny umysł i zamiłowanie do nauki potrafił wykorzystać inaczej niż tylko do cyferek, tabelek i statystyki. On z tego zrobił sztukę przez wielkie S. Wielkie ukłony dla autora za pokazanie innej strony Poego, za przygotowanie do pisania (użytych źródeł jest mnóstwo!) i za obraz pierwszej połowy XIX wieku. Nawet nie wiecie w jak bardzo podobnych czasach żyjemy. Technologicznie poszliśmy mocno do przodu, ale jako ludzkość nie zmieniliśmy się wcale.

Przeczytajcie tę biografię. Ja bym się z Edgarem zaprzyjaźniła. Trochę jest mi nawet smutno, że żył jakby w omyłkowym wieku. On powinien być tu i teraz z nami.

Ps. Brawo dla Magdy Witkowskiej za wspaniałe tłumaczenie.

[Peter Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reason for the Darkness of the Night by John Tresch

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I was surprised that I knew as little about Poe as it turned out. I knew some facts of Poe's life on a superficial level - the drinking, the underage wife, the drinking and general weirdness - but this book did a great job of putting the details in context, correcting some misimpressions, and adding some new details.

In theory, the book is framed around Poe's interest in science and technology. Tresch points out that Poe wrote several pieces involving scientific speculations of his time, including a hoax about a balloon flight across the Atlantic for his newspaper and articles about phrenology. Poe analyzed Maelzel's Turkish chess player hoax. The book starts with a discussion of Poe's 1848 lecture on Science and metaphysics.

Tresch explains that Poe had an early interest in astronomy. Poe also studied mathematics and engineering at West Point. He was at West Point for about a year before deciding that his interest were directed better toward literature. Prior to West Point, Poe had been in the army for a couple of years, making the rank of sergeant major - the highest rank for a non-commissioned officer. One of the frustrating things about Poe was how easily he achieved things and then threw them away out of indiscipline. This frustration grows when you realize that Poe would die at the age of 39 in 1848.

Poe's early life was filled with tragedy. His mother was an actress who died when Poe was an infant. He was adopted by a family that was a fan of Poe's mother, from whom he took the middle name of Allan. Poe was raised among wealth and high society, but he was the redheaded stepchild of the family and was never really treated as a son. Poe was often at odds with his adopted father, often about whether his father would pay his debts.

Despite the putative focus on Poe's scientific interests, this book offers a lot of interesting insights into Poe's writing and editing. Poe's genius spanned a range of genres. He may have invented mystery. He wrote horror. He was a genius as a poet with his "The Raven" (1844) recognized as a great work of poetry immediately. The Raven made Poe a household name from that time on.

Tresch also introduces the reader to the literary world of the first half of the nineteenth century. Unsurprisingly, the American literary scene was small and many writers knew each other. Like the blogging world, nothing drew readers like a grudge match. Poe was good at grudge matches, with a particularly nasty one that was directed at Henry Wordsworth Longfellow and the Boston writers as part of an effort to supplant Boston with New York. Poe seemed to come across in this episode, and in his other attacks on writers, as petty. On the other hand, it explains the interest that Poe had in pointing out examples of plagiarism in his review of other writers' books.

Another theme of the book involves the gradual professionalization of science. The hucksterism and hoaxes that were endemic during Poe's life - as seen in the newspaper articles that exploited the public's gullibility about trips to the moon or across the Atlantic by balloon. The small group of individuals with degrees and positions that allowed them to claim recognition and expertise formed groups, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, with entrance rules that could vet papers and claims. From this humble beginning the mighty doctrine of "peer review" emerged to stifle non-PC science and permit the publication of woke nonsense (see the Sokal hoax), not to mention foster the problem of reproducibility that exists today.

But it was better than nothing.

Poe's marriage to his thirteen year old cousin when he was in his late twenties was considered odd at thet time but not entirely unheard of. Poe seemed to love her. Poe had other romantic interests in his life, but they were "age appropriate." It is hard to not see Poe as a pedophile, but that doesn't seem to be the case. This is an area where we may have to accept that people in the past simply had different views than we do.

One thing that is the case is that Poe and his wife, and her mother, were often on the verge of starvation. Poe was able to find employment positions that would provide for his family, but he regularly screwed up his life by drinking. His employers would recognize his genius, but decide that life was too short to put up with Poe's undependability.

Poe's death is as mysterious as his best stories. In October 1848, Poe was traveling from Richmond to Philadelphia for a job. His ship stopped in Baltimore and he got off the ship. The next thing that is known is that Poe was found incoherent in a tavern/polling place - congressional elections were going on. Poe was able to identify himself and ask the pub to inform a friend. His clothes had been stolen. He was taken to a hospital where he died a few days later.

Poe may have died of rabies. He may have been the victim of a voting scam. He had not been drinking for months before his death.

This was an interesting book that illuminated the writer's life and his world.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Reason for the Darkness of the Night by John Tresch is one of the best biographies of Poe I have read and could serve as an example for future biographers when writing about someone who has been largely presented from one limited perspective. Tresch doesn't so much refute every mistake or overstatement made about Poe as he simply presents Poe in his entirety, as a complete person, flaws and all. Though he does take the time to show the intentional and planned tainting of Poe's legacy after his death.

It is mistaken to imply that all previous biographies bought wholly into the troubled alcoholic theme, most over the past several decade have been less negative on Poe as a person. Even in the early 90s when I was taking a course with J Gerald Kennedy we learned that Poe was far more nuanced than we had been led to believe. That said, this is one of the, if not the, first biographies to focus on all that Poe accomplished and tried to accomplish and not on his flaws and weaknesses.

While science serves as the opportunity and perspective from which Tresch recovers Poe, it is not simply a book about Poe and science. It is literary criticism as well, showing how scientific thought, as well as the changes within the science community, influenced Poe's fiction as well as his nonfiction. His attempts, many successful to some degree, of organizing and categorizing aspects of writing and reading. His contributions have influenced genre fiction, and fiction as a whole, to this day. From the single effect to ratiocination, Poe is still with us today.

I would highly recommend this to those who like biographies of literary figures as well as anyone who is interested in the history of science, since the period covered was pivotal to how we now perceive science.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a biography that goes beyond the printed works of Edgar Allan Poe, then this is the biography for you. I have learned so much more in just the first few pages of this book, than I did in all my years of schooling.
At first, I tried to look at this from the publisher’s point of view. A work is presented about the life of an American literary institution. Someone who whole college courses are taught about. Someone who is studied from birth to death, what more could be said. Well, this biographer found it, wrote it, and nailed it, in my opinion.
This biography isn’t just a dry, dusty regurgitation of facts either. It’s interspersed with works I’d not read, snippets of his life I hadn’t known. It’s not limited to his writings either. The author discusses Poe’s love of science and math, his time at West Point and how hard he worked to gain entry only to leave before finishing. But it’s his whole life, not just the early years like I’ve listed here. We float through Poe’s whole, albeit short life. Through the ups, and the downs that we’ve all heard about. Poe’s flaws are laid wide open for the reader to traipse through, but we also see his drive, his wit, his genius.
In my opinion, this is the best biography I’ve read about this esteemed literary giant, and even though Poe has been gone 172 years, I feel closer to him now than I ever have. Thank you, Mr. Tresch for such a moving biography. If you want to know more about the original master of both detective novels and horror stories, please read this biography, you won’t be disappointed.

**I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

[Paul Graham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful. Simply dreadful. The author fails comprehensively in establishing any sort of cohesive thesis. Poe lived during a period in which science was developing, Poe was probably quite brilliant, and Poe had an amateurish interest in science. To reach these banal conclusions, readers must plod through a disjointed narrative and endure the author's gratuitous and ill-informed observations about American history and economics. Goes into the garbage bin and not the bookshelf.

[Sarah Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars but I rounded up. Two of my favorite things: science and Poe, should not have been written in such a dry, factual way. I learned a little bit but otherwise was really disappointed on the book’s sterile description of an era.

[Rude Kadry · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Tresch w swojej obszernej biografii "Edgar Allan Poe. Ciemna strona księżyca" rzuca fascynujące światło na życie i twórczość jednego z najbardziej niezwykłych pisarzy amerykańskich. Napisana z rozmachem, książka nie tylko odsłania Edgara Allana Poego jako mistrza grozy, ale również przedstawia go jako pasjonata nauki, co czyni ją wyjątkową perspektywą na ówczesny okres, gdzie granice między literaturą a badaniami naukowymi zacierały się.

Zdecydowanie wartościowym elementem biografii jest sposób, w jaki autor rozpoczyna historię Poego - od tajemniczego wykładu o początkach wszechświata, który pisarz wygłosił pod koniec życia. To fascynujące wejście, które zapowiada głębokie zanurzenie w związkach Poego z nauką. Tresch zręcznie ukazuje, że Poe nie był jedynie mistrzem grozy, ale także myślicielem, który aktywnie uczestniczył w ówczesnym dyskursie naukowym.

Wątki biograficzne związane z trudnym dzieciństwem Poego stanowią istotną część narracji. Autor precyzyjnie opisuje wpływ utraty rodziców na młodego pisarza oraz skomplikowane relacje z przybranym ojcem, Johnem Allanem. Tresch ukazuje, jak te doświadczenia kształtowały mroczny ton wielu utworów Poego, nadając im nie tylko literacką, lecz również emocjonalną głębię. Mężczyzn łączyła specyficzna relacja, pełna burzliwych kłótni i wzajemnych żali. Tresch precyzyjnie prezentuje ten związek, podkreślając, jak wpłynął on na psychikę i twórczość Poego. Stosunki z przybranym ojcem dodają biografii nowego wymiaru, pozwalając czytelnikowi zrozumieć enigmatyczną osobowość pisarza.

W kontekście życia dorosłego Poego, małżeństwo z kuzynką Virginą Clemm jest przedstawione z delikatnością i złożonością. Autor nie unika trudnych tematów, ukazując zarówno romantyczne aspekty tej relacji, jak i wyzwania, z jakimi zmagali się małżonkowie. Niebagatelną część biografii stanowi także walka Poego z alkoholizmem, co jest ujęte w kontekście jego życiowych trudności. Poprzez analizę periodycznych epizodów nadużywania alkoholu przez Poego, biografia zwraca uwagę na to, jak te chwile wpływały na jego twórczość i zdolność funkcjonowania społeczno-zawodowego. Choroba Poego staje się jednym z kluczowych elementów, które rzucają światło na jego złożoną psychikę i emocjonalne rozterki.
Niebagatelnym aspektem jest także to, w jaki sposób alkoholizm Poego był związany z jego trudnościami finansowymi i zawiłymi relacjami miłosnymi. Tresch ukazuje, że uzależnienie wpływało na różne obszary życia pisarza, włączając w to stabilność emocjonalną, zdolność do utrzymania związków i wydajność literacką.

Edukacja Poego oraz jego służba w wojsku również zajmują ważne miejsce w tej biografii. Autor zgłębia te aspekty, ukazując, jak doświadczenia związane z nauką i służbą militarą wpłynęły na rozwój intelektualny i charakterystyczny styl literacki Poego. Nie jest to jedynie opis faktów, lecz dogłębna analiza, która pozwala zobaczyć, w jaki sposób te elementy ukształtowały jednego z najważniejszych pisarzy swojej epoki.
Jednakże, choć biografia jest napisana niezwykle ciekawie, to niektórzy czytelnicy mogą poczuć, że autor zbyt obszernie zagłębia się w życie towarzyskie Poego. Szereg informacji dotyczących znajomych pisarza może wydawać się zbędny, odciągając uwagę od sedna postaci. Osobiście, bardziej ceniłbym skupienie się na samym Edgarze Allan Poe, co ułatwiłoby lepsze zrozumienie jego twórczości i związków z nauką.

Podsumowując, biografia "Edgar Allan Poe. Ciemna strona księżyca" to bogata, wielowątkowa opowieść o życiu jednego z najbardziej enigmatycznych pisarzy. Wartościowością biografii jest sposób, w jaki Tresch balansuje pomiędzy pełnym zrozumienia spojrzeniem na walkę Poego z alkoholizmem a unikaniem glorifikacji czy moralizowania. Pokazuje, że uzależnienie stanowiło integralną część życia pisarza, jednocześnie wpływając na jego sztukę. Tresch nie tylko przynosi nowe spojrzenie na twórczość Edgara, ale także oddaje hołd jego burzliwemu życiu, eksplorując zarówno ciemne zakamarki jego duszy, jak i fascynujące obszary nauki, które kształtowały tę wyjątkową postać.

[marguerita.czyta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Z czerwonej okładki błyskają na nas gwiazdy zebrane wokół mechanicznego układu słonecznego. Z księżyca, a jednocześnie z półcienia spogląda na nas twarz człowieka, który patrzy na nas, a jednocześnie tak jakby przez nas. Grube, przyjemne w dotyku strony przewracają się powoli z delikatnym, subtelnym szelestem. Tak właśnie prezentuje się Biografia Edgara Allana Poe na chwile po jej rozpakowaniu. Kolejna zdawałoby się pozycja przeznaczona dla bibliofili lubujących się w detalach żywota znanych autorów.

Myśląc tak, rozczarujecie się jednak. Kolejne sceny mijają, a my patrzymy na nie, niczym widzowie w teatrze, jedynie gdzieniegdzie dostrzegając zarys głównego bohatera. Ku naszemu rozczarowaniu nie chce on wyjść w blask reflektorów. To właśnie całe sedno tej biografii, to bardziej obraz czasów, w których Poe żył, ludzi, z którymi miał kontakt, bardziej niż skupiona na Poe historia. Zaakceptowanie tego znacząco wzmacnia zabawę z czytania tej książki. Kolejne lata, historie, ludzie, listy, właśnie, ambicje co chwila przynoszą uśmiech na naszą twarz. Kreślony jest nam obraz człowieka pełnego sprzeczności. Ambitnego, nierozważnego inteligenta, a przy tym wyzyskiwacza, oportunisty. Alkoholika, hazardzisty, kłamcy, a jednocześnie człowieka z ogromnym talentem. Nie da się ukryć, że jego droga była niełatwa. Strata rodziców, rozdzielenie z rodzeństwem, brak miłości przybranego ojca - mieszanka po prostu wybuchowa. A na szczycie wisienka - charakter! Charakter człowieka gotowego zostawić wszystko by tylko nie realizować oczekiwań przybranego ojca. Człowieka gotowego rzucić wszystko dla własnych wyobrażeń. Jeszcze trzeba by dodać czasy, w których przyszło mu żyć. Pełnych postępu, odkryć, a przy tym zacofania (ślub z 15-letnią kuzynką i szantaż samobójstwem, jeśli nie dostanie jej ręki), rasizmu i nagminnego wykorzystywania wszelkich znajomości. Aż głowa boli jak się o tym myśli.

Niejeden scenariusz serialowy dałoby się zbudować na tej historii. O jednej rzeczy nie można zapomnieć - o tłumaczeniu.
Trzeba tu oddać tłumaczce - perfekcyjna robota! Piękny, subtelny, a jednocześnie nie przesadnie poważny język. Wspaniale oddane subtelności, aż chce się sięgnąć po oryginał, by sprawdzić, czy autor również tak doskonale dał sobie radę. Czyta się tę książkę z nieukrywaną przyjemnością. Zwłaszcza gdy zmagamy się z myślową ekwilibrystyką głównego bohatera, czy jego analizami tego, co czytelnicy kupują i jak im najszybciej „opchnąć” co się da, bo w końcu jeść trzeba.

Nie ma sensu rozpisywać się nad fabułą - musicie przeczytać sami, bo to książka o wielu więcej rzeczach niż tylko o Allanie Poe. Nie zawiedziecie się.

PS. Dla wielbicieli faktów pozycja obowiązkowa!

[Robert Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell in love with the work of Edgar Allan Poe when I first read "The Tell-Tale Heart," which led me to get a collection of his stories and his poems. My love for Poe helped me come with my thesis for my B.A. in French from my undergraduate university as I connected the symbolism of the clock used in the French poet Charles Baudelaire's poem "L'horloge" and the clock used in Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death." Personally, I have always found Poe to be a stronger story teller than a poet, but I do enjoy his poems, too. So, going into this book, I was familiar enough with the general biography of Poe and what led to some of his written work. Thanks to this particular book, I want to explore some works that I have not read yet such as The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and Eureka: A Prose Poem, which I had not known before. I am also interested in looking at some of his critiques and hoaxes. When I have time, I’d like to reread Poe’s work using the lens shared with this book.

While I chose this book because Edgar Allan Poe was a part of the subject matter, I deeply appreciate the vast amount of historical and scientific context that John Tresch provided alongside filling in some of Poe's story that was not known to me prior to this book. Despite my appreciation for this context, I sometimes found it to be too much and veered away from Poe, but overall, it is fine and is also a main topic of this book.

I am forever thankful that Poe has been elevated to an American and global literary genius despite how he was seen and viewed after his death with a literary “enemy” defining who he was and thankful for how Charles Baudelaire introduced Poe to the French-speaking world.

Chaos. Darkness. Isolation. Anxiety. Collapse Within. Collapse Outside.

Shine light on the darkness because the darkness of life cannot and should not be ignored.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advanced copy of this new biography.

Edgar Allan Poe has been the subject of many articles, essays, studies, documentaries, movies, novels even a rock album. What could be left to write about after almost 175 years that hasn't been mined before. John Tresch in his new biography The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science shows that there is still much to learn about this doomed writer and his influences.

Discussing not only Poe's troubled life, an his literary aspirations, the book also covers Poe's scientific bent, started as a young child and one he carried on in his writings, an a later attempt on the lecture circuits. Mr. Tresch discusses and the growth of scientific literacy in America, the various factions who argued and feuded to control this burgeoning community and how Poe found himself in the middle, making enemies among men of science as easily as he did among editors of literary magazines.

Science and technology and their affect on Poe is interesting, and one I don't remember reading about. I know that some of his stories could be considered science fiction, or the science bunkum that was big among various newspapers for circulation numbers. I knew that Poe attended West Point, but I had no idea the lengths that he went to attend, I'll leave that to the reader to find out. And his attendance I thought was from his family attempting to make something of him, not that Poe himself wanted to go for West Point was considered one of the best places to learn engineering, which he hoped would secure him a future.

A very interesting incredibly well written and researched biography, that makes one look at Poe's works with new eyes and ideas. Highly recommended for both literary and scientific history fans, and for those who just enjoy a great read.

[Barbara Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of the writer since I first read his theory of unity in high school literature class, but there.is.so.much. more! Excellent, though dense, explanation of the rocky rise of science, the burgeoning America literati but mostly, a masterful, insightful, surprising portrait of Poe, the man I never knew. Bravo!

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful and empathetic study of Poe’s life and writing, showing how he was influenced by the scientific currents of his time, and how it informed his work. At a time when the lines between science, charlatanism, and entertainment were often blurry or even nonexistent, Poe’s critical thinking, technical knowledge, and creativity was not appreciated until long after his death—this biography goes a long way toward enhancing his legacy.

[James Greening · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating biography of Edgar Allan Poe written through a scientific filter. I truly appreciated the interesting biographical insights, as well as mentions of Poe's rare work, like "Eureka" and "The Light-House". The book provided a very well-rounded take on Poe's life, as well as what was going on in the United States at the time Poe was writing his amazing work. The only thing that kept it from being five-stars was the book seems to be clunky at times when trying to present its main argument. But a very worthwhile read if you are interested in Poe or scientific advances during this time period.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's probably safe to say most Americans are at least somewhat familiar with Edgar Allan Poe. Few writers are considered more quintessentially American. We all know Poe the dreamer, Poe the poet, Poe the fabulist, Poe the master of mood and meter. Some may also be familiar with Poe the mysterious, inventor of the modern detective story (The Murders in the Rue Morgue, 1841). This biography aims to show us a side of Poe we might be less familiar with – Poe the science communicator, who wrote and lectured on science and whose interest in science and rational inquiry fueled his creative side.

We lay our scene in early 19th century America, a maelstrom of rapid scientific advancement. It was also a sort of “wild west” for science because there were no governing bodies, reputable journals, or established methods of peer review yet. There was rampant experimentation to discover the limits of practical use for things like magnetism and radio waves. Naturalists were identifying new species around the globe at a frantic pace. Mesmerism, astrology, phrenology, and mysticism were all the rage and thrived alongside subjects like physics, astronomy, and biology. Attending lectures on scientific (or pseudo-scientific) topics and meeting in salons to discuss those topics were social activities perhaps akin to going to rock concerts and attending house parties today. The term “scientist” was coined in 1831, replacing the older term “natural philosopher,” with its nuance of the classical polymath who pursued science as one avocation among many.

Meanwhile, in Europe and America, Romanticism was at its height, and Romantic poets like Byron, Shelley and Keats were celebrated and popular figures. In literature, the roots of both modern horror and modern science fiction were being laid down, and perhaps no single book exemplifies the beginning of that flowering more than Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, published in 1818.

Into this fecund age of rational inquiry alongside feverish interest in the inexplicable came Edgar “Eddie” Poe – a bright, sensitive child exposed to early tragedy and an anxious, uncertain childhood. Eddie was possessed of a vivid imagination richly fed on the African ghost stories of the enslaved people who filled his foster father John Allan's Richmond household, building an early fascination with the weird and supernatural. And while exposed to the wealthy life of a Virginia tobacco baron and given a gentleman's education (at least up to a point), Eddie was constantly reminded of his outsider status as a ward but not an adopted son of the Allans. Given all these formative factors, it's not a huge surprise he might grow introspective, moody, and dark in outlook. Someone for whom fear and wonder, those two sensations that form the pillars of science fiction and horror, were inextricably intertwined.

In this biography, Tresch examines the interplay between Poe's interest in the rational/irrational divide and the turmoil of Poe's own life to create the tortured genius of his most famous works. We see this pattern more clearly when examining his less well-known writing as well. Prone to moods, fits of melancholy (some sources think he was probably bipolar), and drinking binges, Poe's already difficult circumstances were made grimmer when the young wife he doted on became ill with consumption. Ironically, (or perhaps not, considering how often artistic genius goes hand in hand with mental and emotional instability), as Poe's life and possibly his mind were falling apart, he was producing some of his greatest work and making a genuine name for himself.

The crux of this book really comes in the final 20%, with the discussion of the work that Poe personally considered his crowning achievement: Eureka: A Prose Poem. This was Poe's grand cosmology, his attempt to set forth a unified theory of the universe. And the very fact that he considered it the pinnacle of his life's work shows how much he considered himself a man of science, although he had no scientific bona fides by today's standards. As a work of science, it arguably fails, since he came at all his conclusions by pure intuition or what he called “ratiocination.” And as a work of literature, it also arguably fails and remains obscure to this day. Poe knew when he wrote and published it that it would not be widely accepted in either the scientific or literary community, and he defiantly thumbed his nose at both, arguing that a true understanding of the universe must be multi-disciplinary and must be more than a mere aggregation of facts.

But according to Tresch, Eureka is a work of genius in its way, though read by few and appreciated by even fewer. It's surprising how much Poe got more or less kind of right, according to over 150 years of subsequent science. Before people knew about protons and electrons and their opposing charges, and when even the atom itself was still poorly understood, Poe intuited that forces of attraction and repulsion in all matter govern the entire universe. And he came up with something that sort of resembles the big bang theory long before genuine “scientists” as we know them today did, positing a universe that is both finite and evolving.

Is it a GOOD biography of Poe, and does the science angle really add anything? I'm not a particular Poe aficionado, and this is the only Poe bio I've read, so I really have no idea. Other reviewers here have called it not the best Poe bio, and all I can say personally is that it's reasonably readable and not obviously incomplete.

Although he doesn't openly say this, Tresch positions Poe as the last of the amateur polymaths who could come up with ideas while sitting in their gardens, publish their scientific theories at will, and have any expectation they would be seriously considered and debated in the public discourse of the day. Science was in the process of becoming the insular, amoral, easily commodified edifice we know today, closely guarded by specialized university degrees, professional associations, and peer-reviewed journals, all in service to the juggernaut of “progress.” And people like Poe were clearly on the outside. And Tresch goes on to examine Poe's influence on later men of the new science, as well as of course, his large and acknowledged influence on several genres of fiction that flourished after his death.

Side Note: If you think the internet age has made people worse, it takes only a jaunt through a few history books to see that it isn't true. Politicians, scientists, and yes, authors and literary critics of the 19th century were incredibly vicious to each other in public forums, and they rarely bothered hiding behind pseudonyms. Considering the public vitriol directed at Poe by his enemies in his later life (and they were legion because he had a faculty for making enemies), it's tempting to think they drove him to his ignominious end. Some of the screeds are the 19th-century equivalent of, “Why don't you go kill yourself?” But to be fair, Poe gave as good as he got and was often the instigator in these pre-internet flame wars. The most heart-breaking part is the openly cruel, vicious, and at many points blatantly false obituary written by Poe's arch-enemy just days after his ignominious death in Baltimore. Well, Poe got the last laugh because 150 years later, Poe's legacy endures, but I had never heard of that other guy.

About the title: 19th-century thinkers struggled with the question of why the night sky is dark - if the universe is infinite, there should be an infinite number of stars, and therefore the sky should be one continuous blaze of light. Poe, in true scientific fashion, reasoned his way to a rational conclusion based on observation of empirical facts - the night sky is NOT a continuous blaze of light, and therefore the universe must be finite and there must be a finite number of stars, leaving room for darkness between those stars. This simple yet profound thought process exemplifies the kind of rational inquiry that this book is all about.

[Brian Gluckman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretentiously overwritten, this book fails completely in its two stated goals: to provide a new biography of Poe the writer, and to show him as a significant contributor to 19th century American scientific advancement.

[niepoczytalna .pl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do samounicestwienia

Edgar Allan Poe jest jednym z najpopularniejszych autorów szeroko rozumianej literatury grozy. Choć już za życia był postacią znaną, a jego losy są dość dobrze udokumentowane, wokół jego biografii narosło wiele kłamstw i zniekształceń (z książki Johna Trescha można dowiedzieć się dlaczego). "Ciemną stronę Księżyca" można zatem uznać za najpełniejszą i najrzetelniejszą dostępną biografię Poego.

Chociaż większość ludzi kojarzy Poego jako poetę i pisarza, to był on człowiekiem o bardzo rozległych zainteresowaniach (chyba mało kto wie, że napisał dość obszerną pracę z dziedziny konchiologii). Tresch ogromną część opowieści o Poem poświęcił jego pasjom i namiętnościom, co może być bardzo przydatne w analizowaniu jego twórczości, ale momentami dość skutecznie odciąga uwagę od głównego bohatera.

Od najwcześniejszych lat Poemu towarzyszył pewien tragizm, który odcisnął piętno również w jego dziełach. Śmierć najbliższych mu osób, długi, niepowodzenia, konflikty rodzinne ostatecznie doprowadziły go do choroby alkoholowej, która w bezpośredni sposób przyczyniła się do śmierci pisarza. Nie sposób jednak zauważyć, że Poe przejawiał wiele autodestrukcyjnych zachowań, które przełożyły się na jego tragiczną historię.

Wracając do książki Johna Trescha – czy "Ciemna strona Księżyca" to dobra biografia? Na pewno jest rzetelna – autor rozprawił się w niej z wieloma kłamliwymi opiniami na temat Poego. W biografii znajdziemy też całkiem sporo ilustracji i źródeł, które uzupełniają narrację Trescha. Czy biografia Poego mi się podobała? To zdecydowanie bardziej skomplikowane.

Z jednej strony w pełni doceniam ogrom pracy Trescha i cieszę się, że mogłam dowiedzieć się o Poem więcej niż popkulturowe klisze. Jest jednak coś, co bardzo zniechęcało mnie do lektury do tego stopnia, że w pewnym momencie chciałam ją porzucić. Każda dziedzina, którą zajmował się Poe, a którą Tresch chciał poruszyć, została opatrzona nieprzyzwoicie długim wprowadzeniem, w którym autor biografii kwiecistym językiem opisuje całe środowisko – czy to naukowe, czy literackie. Zanim dowiemy się, że Edgar Allan Poe interesował się mięczakami, serwuje się nam cały wykład o konchiologii. Wszystkie naukowe (i pseudonaukowe) pasje i fiksacje Poego są ciekawe, ale Tresch czasami tak bardzo stara się zarysować kontekst, że główny bohater całkowicie ginie w natłoku informacji.

Fani prozy Poego zdecydowanie powinni sięgnąć po "Ciemną stronę Księżyca" chociażby po to, by móc znaleźć w biografii elementy, które znalazły swoje ujście w jego twórczości. Niech moje zarzuty Was nie zniechęcą, bo to, co dla mnie w tej pozycji było wadą, dla innych może być ogromną zaletą, dającą ogląd na całą epokę. Potoczysty styl sam w sobie również nie jest defektem i może wynikać z tego, że Tresch bardzo intensywnie zaczytywał się w literaturze romantyzmu, a pisząc o Poem, chciał oddać ducha tej epoki. Podsumowując, nie zwracajcie uwagi na moje marudzenie i najlepiej oceńcie sami.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edgar Allan Poe was fascinated with science and philosophy. He sprinkled his stories and essays with references to scientific interests and fads of his day. Mesmerism (hypnotism), phrenology (head shapes are destiny), photography, transcendentalism, telescopes, hot air balloons, and polar expedition where all hot topics in the America of the 1830s and 40s and they all featured prominently in Poe's writing.

I always assumed that Poe had only an amateur's interest in that type of stuff but that he was a savvy commercial writer who knew he could sell stories and essays on those themes. John Tresch, in this new biography of Poe, argues that scientific interests where at the core of Poe's writings and thought. He argues that Poe was not a dabbler in science, he was a serious student.

I am not completely convinced. Tresch describes the scientific and philosophical world of early 19th century America in detail. Tresch shows that Poe read the new books and articles and frequently worked them into his writing. However, almost all of the examples Tresch points to show Poe dropping phrases or fancy sounding language. There is not much evidence of him being more than an interested amateur.

Tresch's big example is the oddest book written by Poe. Near the end of his short life he delivered a lecture and published a book entitled "Eureka: A Prose Poem". Most previous biographers have dismissed it as a confusing farrago of pseudo-philosophy.

Tresch disagrees. He argues that "Sharing divine thoughts, thinking of and with the cosmos, Poe realized that he, the universe and the deity must be one." and that "Eureka was one of the most creative, audacious and idiosyncratic syntheses of science and aesthetics in nineteenth-century America." ( Actually the second sentence may be technically correct since there was not much competition for that title.)

The two volume Library of America edition of Poe's work includes "Eureka". I dipped into it. It is tough going. I won't pile on with incomprehensible quotes, but it is so vague and abstract that a sympathetic reader could find support for almost any pet theory. Tresch argues that Poe foreshadowed Einstein's relativity and the big bang theory.

This is a solid biography. Tresch is very good on Poe's world. He gives us a feel for Poe in the army and at West Point. He shows the sharp elbows of Poe's literary world. Poe's personal and family life is a disaster. Poe was a classic binge drinking alcoholic. I was surprised that Tresch described the drinking problems in detail but never mentioned alcoholism. Perhaps he avoided it because it was not a word in use during Poe's lifetime.

Tresch is not a lively writer. He has a ponderous academic style which can be wearing.

This is a major Poe biography, but not my kettle of fish.

[katooola · Rating 4 out of 5]

#współpracabarterowa

Pierwsza przeczytana przeze mnie biografia Poego, i jestem zaskoczona tym, jak mało o nim wiedziałam!

Edgar był człowiekiem wszechstronnie utalentowanym, miał wiedzę techniczną, naukową i biegle władał piórem. W swych dociekaniach był nieustępliwy. Już od małego był zafascynowany naukami ścisłymi, zwłaszcza astronomią. Pragnął wyjaśnić tajemnice wszechświata.

W biografii pisarza, znajdziemy znacznie więcej niż suche fakty. To nie tylko informacje o jego dzieciństwie, śmierci jego matki, o przybranych rodzicach Allanach, ożenku z dużo młodszą kuzynką Rozalią. To wszystko się przeplata z omówieniem jego najważniejszych dzieł. Teraz, gdy wiem w jakich warunkach i czasach powstały, jestem przekonana, że inaczej bym je odebrała.

Życie go wielokrotnie doświadczyło, nie było usłane różami. Miał wiele marzeń, a ledwo był w stanie zaspokoić podstawowe potrzeby swej rodziny. Często przeprowadzał się w poszukiwaniu szczęścia, pragnąc odegnać biedę. Problemy z alkoholem nie ułatwiały mu sprawy.

To także wprowadzenie do tego jak wyglądała literatura w połowie XIX wieku. W tamtych czasach wykorzystywano w artykułach prasowych naiwność ludzi, trudno było odróżnić bzdury i szarlanterię naukową od prawdy. Poe wdawał się w dyskusje z czołowymi umysłami naukowymi ówczesnych czasów, demaskował oszustwa. Intrygującą rzeczą jest jego analiza mistyfikacji szachisty Maelzela. W tym świecie ludzi spragnionych nowinek technologicznych, sam Poe napisał kilka artykułów w tonie, jakby wydarzyły się naprawdę, choćby o podróży balonem.

Był nie tylko krytykiem literackim, genialnym poetą, mistrzem powieści detektywistycznych i horroru.
Zdobył uznanie dopiero po publikacji "Kruka", wtedy został zauważony, ale nie dało mu to sukcesu finansowego. To portret człowieka wraz z jego wszystkimi wadami i zaletami.

Momentami czułam wielki smutek, tak krótkie życie, osiągnął tak wiele, ale umarł bez niczego. Jego kreatywne, krytyczne myślenie, jego teoria kosmologiczna, wkład w literaturę amerykańską zostały docenione dopiero po śmierci. Można teraz jedynie tylko gdybać, czy jeśliby żył w innych czasach powiodłoby mu się lepiej?

Bardzo fascynująca biografia! O niezrozumianym geniuszu. Do tego w wydaniu okraszonym fotografiami i w prześwietnej, twardej oprawie. Warto, bardzo warto! Gorąco polecam i to nie tylko fanom Poego!

P.S. mam teraz wielką ochotę nadrobić "Eurekę. Esej o Wszechświecie materialnym i duchowym".

[Chad Alexander Guarino da Verona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Approaching a canonical, American titan of literature such as Edgar Allan Poe must seem incredibly daunting for a biographer. In Poe we have a man already the subject of countless articles, books, and films that, thanks in part to some cleverly placed slander after his death, carries with him the stigma of alcoholism and itinerant poverty to go along with his genius in letters. John Tresch's solution to that is to approach Poe from a novel angle, taking into account the burgeoning scientific scene of his time and the author's contributions to the cause as well as the inspirations he took into his writing.

The Reason for the Darkness of the Night paints Poe in a far different light from the other biographical accounts of his life that I have read. Rather than completely focusing on Poe's reputation as tortured and poverty stricken goth genius, Tresch shows Poe as actively engaged with, and often at odds with, the wider scientific community around him. Alternating between debunking hoaxes and perpetuating them himself as well as fraternizing and then later being at loggerheads with the premier scientific minds of the time, Tresch shows Poe as an often enigmatic figure who nevertheless added (and took inspiration from) scientific advancement far more than he is given lasting credit for.

Tresch also does a fantastic job showing the overarching sadness and tangle of contradictions that defined Poe's life. He achieved critical success with his writing and became a household name with the publication of the Raven, but was never able to turn this into any sort of lasting monetary success. Tresch juxtaposes glowing critical reviews of Poe's work with stark depictions of the author and his family engulfed in near starvation poverty made worse by his unpredictable bouts of drunken sickness. While Poe's struggles cannot be denied, Tresch ardently defends and debunks the image of the man dying "friendless and alone in a gutter" as the product of jealous posthumous revisionist history and proves Poe's undeniable contributions to both American literature and modern science.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux**

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since my mom quoted Edgar Allan Poe's poetry to me as a child, I was fascinated by the enigma and mystery which enshrouded him. He seemed almost otherworldly. But this book answered many questions as well as posed others. Poe is still mysterious but I know much more about him now than ever before. He accomplished so much by the time he died at 40...it makes me wonder what else he would have accomplished had he died at 75.

Most of us know Poe best by his powerful poems such as the dark and stark "The Raven" and short stories including The Pit and the Pendulum, The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart and his character Auguste Dupin in The Murders in the Rue Morgue and others. As a young man he wrote for and edited many newspapers, tantalizing with his cliffhangers and ongoing sagas. Poe's scientific slant was completely new to me, though unsurprising. He was also a brilliant lecturer and expounded upon religion, philosophy, astronomy and metaphysics. He believed "Eureka" to be his best work which I now long to read.

Poe married his young cousin, Virginia, who had chronic illnesses much of her life. At times he said he thought he was insane. He had been an orphan and had a cruel step father. Extreme poverty and homelessness were common to him. To me it seemed he was sorely misunderstood and in ways much ahead of his time. He liked Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde but disparaged Longfellow. Even after his death he was scorned, though also venerated.

Poe's quick intelligence and wit must have been truly fascinating. I would love to see him debate his contemporaries such as Wilde. Poe did enjoy spurts of fame now and then during his lifetime but as he was an orphan and not connected to wealth or position was not as known as he ought to have been.

My sincere thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this book about a writer I've held in esteem and admired for his unparalleled writing of his time.

[Katarzyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Ciemna strona księżyca", ✨️🌔✨️ to wspaniała biografia wybitnego Edgara Allana Poego! ✨️🖤✨️ Książkę tę z dumą objęłam swoim patronatem i dziś przychodzę do Was z moją opinią na jej temat.
Wszyscy znają Poego jako utalentowanego poetę, autora przerażających powieści grozy czy twórcę znakomitych historii detektywistycznych. 📚❤️ Jednak niewiele osób wie o jego ogromnej pasji - nauce, która zawsze była obecna w jego życiu i która była dla niego wielką inspiracją. To zainteresowanie, które zrodziło się we wczesnych latach jego młodości, rozwijało się coraz bardziej, aby w końcu znaleźć odzwierciedlenie w dziełach twórcy. 😌 John Tresch, autor "Ciemnej strony księżyca", przestawiając sylwetkę Edgara Allana Poego na tle epoki, w której żył, ujawnia również nieznaną dotąd twarz tego wyjątkowego pisarza. ✨️🖤✨️
Poe znakomicie radził sobie z przyswajaniem wiedzy, dobrze znał podstawy nauk ścisłych, przyrodniczych i matematyki. 🧐 Był myślicielem, interesowały go nowe technologie, posiadał umiejętność krytycznego myślenia, był też bardzo kreatywny. Był człowiekiem wybitnym, ale też postacią bardzo tragiczną. 😔 Jako sierota został przygarnięty przez pewne zamożne małżeństwo, ale nigdy nie był formalnie przyjęty do rodziny, ani też zaakceptowany przez przybranego ojca. 🙅‍♀️ W swoim dorosłym życiu Poe doświadczył wielu nieszczęść - ciągle brakowało mu pieniędzy, bardzo szybko stracił swoją żonę, która zmarła na gruźlicę, podpadł w alkoholizm. 😣
Uważam, że Tresch wnikliwie przeanalizował wszystkie aspekty dotyczące życia Poego i umiejętnie połączył je z informacjami na temat czasów, w których żył, tworząc w ten sposób znakomity portret tego pisarza. 😍 "Ciemna strona księżyca" to interesująca i wartościowa biografia człowieka o genialnym umyśle, który miał wielkie aspiracje i marzenia, ale którego doceniono dopiero długo po jego śmierci. 😔 Historia życia Edgara Allana Poego jest smutna, ale równocześnie pasjonująca. Trudno oderwać się od tej lektury. Gorąco polecam❗️😊

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must confess to some disappointment as I read this book, but much was resolved through the final chapters. It is a well-researched biography of a writer I knew only the sketchiest bit about. It is also a well-researched history of American science during the mid-1800s. Unlike what I was led to believe, these two tracks rarely intersected. Yes, Poe studied mathematics and some engineering at West Point, which shows from time to time in his stories. And yes, he reviewed scientific books and lectures for some of the magazines he wrote for, but so did editors of all of the major publications of the times.

The acme of his scientific endeavors is a lecture and book that he wrote and presented a year before his death. Tresch leads off with this and then expands on it later in his chronological treatment of Poe's life. And this is one danged impressive lecture for someone generally not considered a scientist. It is titles "Eureka: An Essay on the Material and Spiritual Universe." In it, he touches on the development of the solar system, presents what is essentially the big bang theory long before scientists developed computations to propose its existence, and even pre-dated Einstein with discussion of space-time. Now, of course, he had no data to back up any speculations, but even if these were a few lucky guesses, he had to have a basic understanding and appreciation of science to even write about these topics intelligently.

Much of his other writing related to science had more of a speculative, nature and art oriented feel to it. Still, while I think the author may have oversold Poe's contributions, there is no doubt that this is a side of Poe that most of us were not familiar with, and deserves to be known. Poe was a genius renaissance man, for sure.

[Meaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please read my full review here: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-reaso...

I found this book fascinating, enlightening, and intriguing, and not only because I am a Poe adherent. Author John Tresch delves into a short moment in the history of American science, one that is often only referenced. By focusing on the two decades around Poe’s most prolific years, readers can really get a sense of the disparate ideas and turbulent scene among scientific thinkers.

The book is primarily a biography, but views its subject through the lens of science and writing efforts. Clear lines are drawn between Poe’s life events, the scientific community’s academic conversation, and Poe’s literary output. When the world was enraptured by Arctic exploration, Poe was inspired to write The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. As scientists worked to collect, categorize, and classify the natural world, Poe was hired to write The Conchologist’s First Book, an illustrated guidebook to oceanic shells. When the theory of phrenology claimed to predict criminal behavior, Poe penned his tales of ratiocination.

As much as I’ve read Poe, read about Poe, and noticed Poe’s interest in the technical, I was unaware of how directly involved he was with the scientific discourse. He gave lectures and presented philosophical treatises on the origins of the Universe. Throughout his public life, he struggled to combine Man’s tendency to imagine and the rigorous discipline of science. From “Sonnet-To Science” to this cosmological treatise Eureka, Poe diligently worked to bring the ethereal nature of poetry and the tangible study of sciences.

[Mary Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Reason for the Darkness of the Night is a biography of Edgar Allan Poe that details, among other events of his life, his personal relationship with the science and scientists of the day.

Certainly, all Poe's writing is not about science, but he does blend much science, religion and philosophy into his stories and essays. In addition, he published two full length books. The first, the Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, was about the adventures of a stowaway teenager and the sea expeditions he joins. Poe’s only complete novel, the book is influenced by the “Hollow Earth Theory” and Poe’s own time at sea. His second, Eureka, was an explication of what we now recognize as the Big Bang Theory, and which Poe reconciles with the existence of an intelligent creator.

Though Poe’s most important works were his poems and his stories, he never lost his fascination with science, and often contends that poetry is a beautiful piece of, or perhaps adjunct to, science. He wrote a well-regarded scientific textbook about seashells (“The Conchologist’s First Book”),and dabbled in cryptology, publishing many puzzles much to the delight of many contemporary readers.
Many of his stories have scientific elements (e.g., Descent into the Maelstrom), as well as the use of “method” to solve mysteries (e.g. ,The Murder on the Rue Morgue series.)

A big obstacle for Poe and other authors of his day was scientific quackery and “humbug”. Unfortunately, without the benefit of 21st Century hindsight, it was impossible to always understand which new notions were serious science and which were quackery. For instance, Poe accepted phrenology, and in so doing accepted scientists who theorized that intelligence was measured by the shape of the head, thus proving the inferiority of the black man. Yet he fought with the leading scientific intellects of his day to keep American science (and of course poetry) “pure”.
I’ll give this book five stars because it is very enlightening. Though I have long admired Poe, I’ve begun to explore his writing again. I must say that before reading this book, I never realized the amount or variety of his writing.

[Herb Neumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The enemies of Poe fostered a dark version of Poe’s reputation and abilities after his early death. It is only within my lifetime that his true genius has been widely recognized. This biography is a rollercoaster ride through Poe’s life. The many endnotes are not indicated in the text; only those interested in the specific areas may be tempted by deeper reading. Tresch discusses the science of the day, stressing that the early 19th Century was a time when “science” as we know it was just becoming separated from the broader “philosophy.” Those wishing to identify as scientists were trying to delineate the several branches of science and to determine which persons could properly lay claim to being experts in each field. Poe had a more holistic view and emphasized the links he believed must exist. The theories that Poe had concerning astronomy and even cosmology were fascinating. As each of his various ideas was presented, I couldn’t help but be amazed by his prescience. The author ties many of these together with theories put forth by physicists of the 20th and 21st Centuries. Of course, the title of the book is itself a giveaway. Most readers are probably more interested in Poe's poetry and literature than in his science. There is much discussion of that in the book, but my comments cover only the areas in which I feel most comfortable. Incidentally, Naomi Oreskes’ recent Scientific American column discusses how scientists (and other professionals) need to leave their buzzwords home when speaking to general audiences. She would have gotten along famously with Poe. A fun read for those interested in the history of science.