Twain introduced Americans to life on the Mississippi. Thomas Hardy wrote on his
pessimistic views of the Victorian Age. Another author that influenced
literature is Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is known as the father of the American short
story and father of the detective story. To understand the literary
contributions of Edgar Allan Poe, one must look at his early life, his literary
life, and a summary of two of his famous works. "Edgar Allan Poe was born
in Boston'' (Inglis 505) "on January 19, 1809'' (Asselineau 409). He was
born to a southern family that were in a traveling company of actors (Inglis
505). His father, David Poe, was from a Baltimore family. He was an actor by
profession and a heavy drinker. Soon after Edgar Allan Poe was born, he left his
family. Poe's mother, Elizabeth Arnold Poe, was a widow at the age of eighteen.
Two years after his birth, she died of tuberculosis (Asselineau 409). When his
mother died, Poe was adopted by John Allan (Perry XI) at the......
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