Saturday, May 26, 2012

Ten of the best books inspired by Edgar Allan Poe

Matthew Pearl is the author of the novels The Dante Club, The Poe Shadow, The Last Dickens, and The Technologists. His books have been New York Times bestsellers and international bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, and Slate.com. He has been heard on shows including NPR's "All Things Considered" and "Weekend Edition Sunday," and his books have been featured on Good Morning America and CBS Sunday Morning.

In 2006 Pearl named a top ten list of books inspired by Edgar Allan Poe.

One title on the list:
The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard and The American Boy by Andrew Taylor

The Pale Blue Eye is a new novel from a talented Washington DC author who takes on Poe as a cadet at West Point military academy. Most people find it surprising that Poe was a military man (or quasi military man, since he never quite finished his training or service), and indeed he is the only major American writer to have attended West Point. Bayard cleverly matches up cadet Poe with a heinous outbreak of murders. To continue your fictional path through Poe's youth, read Taylor's American Boy, which treats Poe as a child living with his foster family in London, and there being mixed up in an appropriate amount of intrigue.
Read about the other books Pearl tagged at the Guardian.

Visit Matthew Pearl's website.

The Page 99 Test: The Poe Shadow.

The Page 99 Test: The Last Dickens.

The Page 69 Test: The Technologists.

--Marshal Zeringue