Lynn Cullen grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and is the bestselling author of The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain’s End, and Mrs. Poe, which was named an NPR 2013 Great Read and an Indie Next List selection. She lives in Atlanta.
"When struggling poet and betrayed wife Frances Osgood meets Edgar
Allen Poe, she is hoping only for a boost in her literary
career—certainly not what came next. Swept into an illicit love
affair with the complicated, magnetic, and married Poe, Osgood and
Poe must together face the consequences, which are no less horrific
or revenge-filled than his best loved horror stories—and quite
possibly as deadly. Mrs. Poe had my heart racing...Don't miss
it!"
*Sara Gruen, New York Times bestselling author of Water for
Elephants and Ape House*
"Mrs. Poe is a compelling tale of ill-fated love, passion, and the
writing life in antebellum New York, rich with period detail and
suspense."
*Jennifer Chiaverini, New York Times bestselling author of Mrs.
Lincoln's Dressmaker*
"Layered with the atmosphere and intensity of Poe's prose, Cullen's
Mrs. Poe infuses a tale of tragedy and loss with a spirit of
passion and vitality. Fans of historical fiction and Poe will
devour this novel."
*Erika Robuck, bestselling author of Call Me Zelda*
“Readers can expect a page-turning tale exposing the
transgressions, antics, and heroics behind a literary icon.
Literary fiction fans and readers who loved Paula McLain’s The
Paris Wife will relish another novel based on historical scandal
and romance.”
*Library Journal (starred review)*
“Part romance, part mystery, part biography, this fictional
reenactment of the mistress of Edgar Allan Poe escorts you into the
glittering world of New York in the 1840s, when poets were
celebrities and the admission of emotions—like silk gowns and
glossy beaver hats—were a luxury...A bewitching, vivid trip into
the heyday of American literary society."
*Oprah.com*
"A vivid portrait of New York's cultural life in the mid-1800s,
when writers like Poe were practically rock stars. Don't miss
it."
*People*
“Is it true that Edgar Allen Poe cheated on his tubercular, insipid
young wife with a lady poet he’d met at a literary salon? Cullen
makes you hope so.”
*New York Times*
"Mrs. Poe is such a compelling novel, bringing history to vivid
life. Danger, sensuality, mystery and passion fill the pages of
this bewitching story set in the crowded cobbled streets,
alleyways,cheap boardinghouses and literary gatherings of
mid-nineteenth century New York City. Everyone warns the lovely,
near penniless poet Mrs. Osgood, a deserted wife with two young
children, to stay away from the dark-eyed writer Edgar Allen Poe
who has fallen in love with her. She writes tender verses; he
creates blood-curdling tales but he is darker than his writing,
carrying secrets of his frail much younger wife and his heinous
past. Even when Mrs. Osgood understands that someone is trying to
kill her because of him, she cannot put aside her passion until it
is almost too late."
*Stephanie Cowell, author of Claude and Camille*
"Lynn Cullen seems to have transported herself to Old New York—Mrs.
Poe feels that authentic. Without a doubt, this is one of the best
historical fiction novels I've read in a long time. Evocative,
compassionate, intelligent, sexy and utterly addictive. The passion
between Frances Osgood and Edgar Allen Poe burns up the pages while
at the same time her relationship with Mrs. Poe makes your heart
ache. Truly a book to savor!"
*M.J. Rose, International Bestselling Author*
“At once beautiful and heartbreaking, Lynn Cullen has woven
together a tapestry of fact and rumor to give us an intimate view
into the forbidden love between two complicated, creative lives.
Historical fictions fans, you’re in for a treat.”
*Susan Crandall, bestselling author of Whistling Past the
Graveyard*
"In Mrs. Poe, Lynn Cullen conjures a darkly atmospheric 19th
century New York with a masterful hand. Rich with period detail and
compelling characters, Mrs. Poe weaves a thread of creeping menace
into the true story of Edgar Allan Poe’s obsessive liaison with
Frances Osgood for a thoroughly unforgettable and chilling read.
Enthralling."
*Deanna Raybourn, author of A Spear of Summer Grass*
"The fierce ambitions and dangerous rivalries of literary New York
in the 1840s come vividly alive in Lynn Cullen's riveting novel
Mrs.Poe. With masterful skill, Cullen tells the story of the
real-life fatal attraction between the toast-of-the-town Gothic
storyteller Edgar Allan Poe and vulnerable poet Frances Sargent
Osgood.The fact that both are unhappily married did not sanction
any sort of romance in this judgmental society, and Cullen
skillfully charts the course of a fraught and forbidden love
affair. As the lonely Mrs. Osgood is pulled further and further
into Mr. Poe's dark world, the tensions in the Poes' bizarre
marriage explode. Full of longing, this is a story both poignant
and shocking—and not easily forgotten."
*Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Chalice*
“Clearly composed and carefully researched the book’s vivid prose
accentuates the passion, jealousy and hatred that evolve from a
tangled three-way relationship that could easily have come straight
from the pages of Poe’s stories. A must-read for those intrigued by
Poe, poetry and the latter half of 19th-century America.”
*RT Book Reviews (four stars)*
“Taking advantage of letters and published poems, imaginative
historical novelist Cullen cleverly spins a mysterious, dark tale
told by Mrs. Osgood about the long-ago intrigue, with just enough
facts to make it believable.”
*Booklist*
“Lynn Cullen weaves a dark, sensuous love triangle between three
real people, and in the midst of many real historical details, she
creates something truly and wonderfully surprising...Devotees of
dark historical fiction will devour Mrs. Poe, but so too will fans
of Gothic romance and forbidden love stories. This is an
invigoratingly creepy historical novel propelled by brilliant
pacing. If you like books that send a little shiver up your spine,
don’t miss it.”
*Book Page*
"Mrs. Poe is an entertaining tale with interesting characters, a
vibrant locale, a good dose of romance, and even some intrigue,
which is what an historical novel should be."
*The Copperfield Review*
"Cullen creates a delicious sense of suspense and impending doom;
antebellum Manhattan and the ruling literati cast an irresistible
spell."
*Atlanta Magazine*
“Brilliant…a wonderful and fascinating novel… Poe absolutely comes
to life in Cullen's novel…Mrs. Poe is truly one of the best
historical fiction novels of 2013 and possibly ever.”
*Examiner.com*
"With obvious love and admiration for Edgar Allan Poe and his
works, the author writes her dialogue scenes with such authenticity
you swear you are in the parlor of one of Poe’s closest friends
[and have] somehow received an invitation to one of these private
gatherings where Mr. Poe will arrive with his ailing younger wife,
Virginia, to read his latest published poem."
*Musings of a Writer*
"If you want to lose yourself in another time and place and become
wrapped up in the drama of the life of literary New York and the
characters who populated it then look no further. Mrs. Poe is a
treasure and one you'll want to reread and research and
remember."
*The Militant Recommender*
"Lynn Cullen's Mrs. Poe delivers the passion for characters that I
had found in Anna Karenina, the tragedy that I discovered in
Splendor In the Grass, and the thrill ride that I experienced in
Poe's eerily written stories."
*Dilettantish Reader*
"I'm already a fan of Poe's work. To see another side to him, a
softer side to his tormented soul, was refreshing and wonderful.
There is no way I can give this novel any less than 5 stars."
*Literary R&R Book Blog*
"I absolutely loved everything about this book, starting with the
literary references right down to the forbidden romance. Cullen
took all the pieces, fact and rumors, about Edgar Allen Poe and the
characters around him and wrote a beautiful story that delves into
feminism, technological progress, NYC literary society, and so much
more."
*ShelfNotes.com*
"Coupled with lyrical prose and a fascinatingly complicated love
triangle, the book held my attention from start to finish,giving me
an insight into the tumultuous life of not only the characters, but
of writers and the struggles they faced."
*GreatHistoricals.com*
“This is one of the best books that I have EVER read and I strongly
encourage you to check it out, Poe fan or not, the writing is just
that good.”
*Readful Things*
"Mrs. Poe is a captivating novel. Cullen’s attention to historical
detail, lush prose and enlightening evocation of an interesting
moment in American literary history make this story a fascinating
read.”
*Arts ATL*
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