Displaying scant interest in native scenes or materials, Edgar Allan Poe seems the most un-American of American writers during the era of literary nationalism; yet he was at the same time a pragmatic magazinist, fully engaged in popular culture and intensely concerned with the "republic of letters" in the United States. This Historical Guide contains an introduction that considers the tensions between Poe's "otherwordly" settings and his historically marked representations of violence, as well as a capsule biography situating Poe in his historical context. The subsequent essays in this book cover such topics as Poe and the American Publishing Industry, Poe's Sensationalism, his relationships to gender constructions, and Poe and American Privacy.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-231) and index.

Introduction: Poe in Our time / J. Gerald Kennedy Edgar Allan Poe, 1809-1849: A Brief Biography / J. Gerald Kennedy Poe and the American Publishing Industry / Terence Whalen Spanking the Master: Mind-Body Crossings in Poe's Sensationalism / David Leverenz

Poe and Nineteenth-Century Gender Constructions / Leland S. Person Poe and the Issue of American Privacy / Louis A. Renza Bibliographical Essay: Major Editions and Landmarks of Poe Scholarship / Scott Peeples.