Helpful Score: 3
I thought this book was great - moody, gothic, and insightful. One of the main characters was Poe, himself, and the novel provided a lot of insights into Poe's tragic life. The atmosphere of the book invoked Poe's tales - I need to reread "The Fall of the House of Usher" which this book expands upon. When I first started reading the book, it was a little hard to get into but as it continues, you are really drawn into the strange story of the Ushers and their extended family. The Celtic aspects of the Usher history were fascinating and the story presentation in the 19th century was well done. The book was a little overly descriptive and some parts of the storyline could have been eliminated but overall, I found this to be very entertaining.
From the back of the book:
In this brilliant historical novel, Marie Kiraly takes us back in time - to a dark and lonely night when a writer named Edgar Allan Poe receives a mysterious visitor. Her name is Pamela, and her son has been stolen away by a memeber of her husband's family. They are descendants of the infamous Ushers, whose strange history inspired Poe's most chilling tale. Moved by the mother's loss, Poe agrees to help Pamela. Thus begins his own descent into the maelstrom, where the master storyteller comes face-to-face with the woman he immortalized...and learns that Madeline's secret is as dark and twisted as the House of Usher itself.
In this brilliant historical novel, Marie Kiraly takes us back in time - to a dark and lonely night when a writer named Edgar Allan Poe receives a mysterious visitor. Her name is Pamela, and her son has been stolen away by a memeber of her husband's family. They are descendants of the infamous Ushers, whose strange history inspired Poe's most chilling tale. Moved by the mother's loss, Poe agrees to help Pamela. Thus begins his own descent into the maelstrom, where the master storyteller comes face-to-face with the woman he immortalized...and learns that Madeline's secret is as dark and twisted as the House of Usher itself.
This was one I just came by by chance and picked it up at the Goodwill. It was really good. It takes up after Poes Fall of Usher. Its fast moving and keeps your interest. Sometimes unknown book can be a winner and this one is.
