Darkness Becomes Bright: The Haunted Life (and Afterlife) of Edgar Allan Poe

'A wonderfully engaging account of Poe’s troubled life . . . Nimble, generous, brimming with insight' — Sarah Waters

'Emily Ogden does not flinch from the obscure and sometimes horrifying recesses of Poe’s psychosis' — Sue Prideaux

Are you brave enough to step into the darkness?

Edgar Allan Poe did not truly die. In the years since his mysterious demise, his works have captivated millions and spawned the genres of horror and the detective story. His masterpieces — filled with talking ravens and buried women, haunted houses and beating hearts — live on in our imaginations and our nightmares. They are endlessly adapted, parodied and obsessed over.

But who was Edgar Allan Poe? And why does he haunt us still?

Following the course of Poe’s fascinating, short and tragic life — from his fame as the poet of 'The Raven' to his tortured romances and literary feuds — Emily Ogden dives deep into the mind of a man whose darkness has shaped our world, and interweaves his story with those of the devoted readers who have found solace in his work.

'Spellbinding . . . This portrait of Poe will haunt you to the grave and beyond' — Christine Smallwood

'Emily Ogden brilliantly exhumes the beating heart of America's darkest poet' — Orlando Reade