The Storyteller

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, in the United States. When he was only two, he lost his parents, who were both theatre actors. So he was brought up by John Allan and his wife. He was a well-off businessman from Richmond. Poe, together with the Allans, were living for five years in the United Kingdom, where he began his education. Back in the United States, he kept studying at private schools, and then he enrolled at Virginia University. Unfortunately for him, his fondness for gambling and his alcohol problems resulted in his being expelled from the university. After this he worked for several companies, without much success, and joined the army, where he served for two years. During these years he published some books, the last of them was entitled "Poems". After the publication of this book he moved to Baltimore, where he married his cousin. His wife, named Virginia Clemm, was only fourteen at the time. Poe then started to work for a newspaper and turned it into a very important one. Also he was a literary critic and his opinions were highly controversial. When his wife died after a long illness in 1847, his alcohol problems and consumption of drugs got worst. Both addictions were probably the cause of his death, which took place in 1849. He was found unconscious on a Baltimore's street and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died a few days later.
He is considered one of the best storytellers of all time, and some of his most famous works are The Raven and The Black Cat, among others. He is mostly associated with horror literature, although he wrote about other topics as well.