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New Lead on Poe's Death Excites Buffs

Accounts of Poe's brain may solve 'biggest literary mystery'

By Lise Colyer,  Newser User

Posted Oct 21, 2007 4:25 PM CDT

(Newser) – Accounts of Edgar Allan Poe's exhumed brain may prove how he died, says Matthew Pearl, author of The Poe Shadow. He found reports of Poe's "dried and hardened" brain, "diminished in size," in old newspapers—and confirmed them as signs of a tumor. One Poe descendant says that Pearl has “stumbled onto something quite important," perhaps solving a great Poe puzzle, the New York Observer reports.

Some theories have him dying of rabies and drink, both on display at Poe's museum in Richmond, Virginia. Scholars do know that Poe vanished in 1849 before a man took him to hospital, where he "ranted and raved," Pearl says, and died at age 40. Now they have "some evidence" to work with, adds Pearl. "It’s not just throwing the word ‘rabies’ out there and thinking, ‘That sounds good!’"

Edgar Allan Poe is shown in this undated photo. A professor believes he has solved the 146-year-old mystery of the death of Poe -thanks to the tell-tale medical records. R. Michael Benitez, who practices medicine a mere block from the writer's grave, says in the September 1996 issue of the...
Edgar Allan Poe is shown in this undated photo. A professor believes he has solved the 146-year-old mystery of the death of Poe -thanks to the tell-tale medical records. R. Michael Benitez, who practices...   (Associated Press)
Three white roses and a half bottle of cognac lie at the base of Edgar Allan Poe's tombstone in Baltimore, Md.,  Jan. 19, 1995. Sam Popora, who led the fight to preserve the historic site, said in August 2007,  that he created the legend about a cloaked figure who leaves...
Three white roses and a half bottle of cognac lie at the base of Edgar Allan Poe's tombstone in Baltimore, Md., Jan. 19, 1995. Sam Popora, who led the fight to preserve the historic site, said in August...   (Associated Press)
Three white roses and a half bottle of cognac lie at the base of Edgar Allan Poe's tombstone in Baltimore, Md.,  Jan. 19, 1995. Sam Popora, who led the fight to preserve the historic site, said in August 2007,  that he created the legend about a cloaked figure who leaves...
Three white roses and a half bottle of cognac lie at the base of Edgar Allan Poe's tombstone in Baltimore, Md., Jan. 19, 1995. Sam Popora, who led the fight to preserve the historic site, said in August...   (Associated Press)
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Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe Museum
Edgar Allan Poe Museum

Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore

Author Matthew Pearl's website
Matthew Pearl website

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