Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder, I was expecting something more along the line of The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl; that is historical fiction — fictional characters set against the backdrop of an historical story and setting. However, as evidence was discovered that Rogers may have instead died of a botched abortion, he had to amend his final installment to keep his reputation from being tarnished. Certainly had she been a he, her death would not have caused the stir it did, the story reaching as far as Philadelphia and Baltimore — both cities in which Poe resided.
Stashower shows Poe as his own worst enemy. Despite his genius and a literary legacy that would go unrecognized until after his death at the age of 40, Poe forever portrayed himself a victim of lesser talents and those unable to recognize talent even as he continually sabotaged his own career.
Conrad Guest for The Smoking Poet Sep 03, Dakota Rain rated it really liked it. This book was really something. It was information overload in both a good, and slightly bad, way for me. With that, I am thankful the author wrote this book and really thankful I came across it! Mary Rogers unsolved murder — Edgar Allan Poe bio — and the Newspapers frenzy feeding over Mary Rogers — The Beautiful Cigar Girl - and flipping the switch from facts in print to speculation in order to help fuel the fire to get information, any information, into the hands of the consumer.
Everyone was hungry for daily information. I basically knew nothing of the history of newspapers.
- Mary Rogers - Wikipedia.
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I was quite fascinated with this book but I had bumps in the road with the newspaper collisions information overload. Press on, if you get discouraged like me, as you really do want to finish this book. In the end, I want to know what happened to Mary Rogers. I was one of the frenzied consumers. Give me information and give it to me now!
Oh, and any information will do under duress, right? Jan 30, Ashley rated it it was ok. There are several things I liked about this book, and several that I did not like. I liked the vast amounts of information about life in s New York City. This helped me to envision how the area may have looked as well as the cultural norms. I felt the inclusion of all the newspaper clippings helped to explain how things were reported and why not everything could be taken at face value.
The first two-thirds of the book held my attention with the mystery of the death of Mary Rogers, the theori There are several things I liked about this book, and several that I did not like. The first two-thirds of the book held my attention with the mystery of the death of Mary Rogers, the theories involving her death, and how and why Poe wrote "The Mystery of Marie Roget".
The author obviously conducted much research as evidenced by the bibliography at the end of the book. However, there were some points I found lacking. I would have really liked the inclusion of the sources throughout the book instead of just at the end. I also felt that the author did not do much to address the fact that many of the stories of Poe being drunk were told after his death by those who wished to discredit him.
The way these instances are presented lend to the picture of Poe being a drunkard, when really Poe became sick after a drink or two.
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I feel the author could have done a better job of explaining this, and of explaining that the instances of being intoxicated would have been few and far between. This was my first true crime story. For me, the book had a good pace and was building up to a big reveal that culminated in nothing. The crime was never solved. The last third of the book did not hold my attention as much and became jumbled with what-ifs and might-haves.
The author seems to tentatively offer his theory in the last pages, but even this is not clear. Sep 14, Donna rated it really liked it Shelves: This famous crime was the subject of many newspaper stories covered extensively by the rabid press of the time. For a long time the resolution of the crime was unsatisfactory. Several years later Poe chronically short of money comes along and writes his story proposing to solve the crime.
His account is published in three installments. Just days before the third installment is to be published, new facts in the case come to light. How will Poe respond The book weaves between the literary life of Poe and the actual crime. I believe it is best to read Poe's story first to see how well you think his detective, Dupin, identifies the clues and deduces the nature and cause of the murder. I found this book a lively addition to my reading of Poe's detective stories. It shows that in some ways Poe was ahead of the police work and certainly the newspapers in understanding the clues and in which direction they pointed.
The story of the "story" is almost as interesting as the story of the crime. Jun 14, Caroline rated it really liked it Shelves: There have been a spate of historical true crime books written and published in recent years, largely in the wake of the success of Kate Summerscale's The Suspicions of Mr. All of them seem to claim to be telling the story of 'the murder of the age', 'the most sensational case of its time'; all of them herald the rise of the yellow press, the tabloid sensation, the trial by press.
So in light of that, The Beautiful Cigar Girl brings little new to what is rapidly becoming a rather crowded There have been a spate of historical true crime books written and published in recent years, largely in the wake of the success of Kate Summerscale's The Suspicions of Mr. So in light of that, The Beautiful Cigar Girl brings little new to what is rapidly becoming a rather crowded genre.
The addition of Edgar Allan Poe brings a little bit of added interest, but the link is somewhat tenuous, since in reality his sole connection is that he wrote a short story about the murder in question. That said, I really enjoyed this book. As a device to hang a tale on, you could do a lot worse than the life of Edgar Allan Poe and an unsolved murder of a beautiful young girl. It's well-written and moves along at a brisk pace, indicated by the fact that I read all pages in little more than a day.
I did find the end somewhat anti-climatic, but Daniel Stashower is no Edgar Allan Poe, and if he couldn't finger the culprit at the time, I can hardly blame the author for not succeeding in unveiling the murderer after more than years! Aug 18, Susanne rated it liked it Recommends it for: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here. As has been said before, this book has a fantastic but misleading title. It's not about the invention of murder because: This book is about how Poe wrote The Mystery of Marie Roget based on the real life case of Mary Rogers, the "be As has been said before, this book has a fantastic but misleading title. Back in the day, the "solution" to the case was believed to be that Mary Rogers had been the victim of a botched abortion. I'm thinking "botched" is an understatement, since the person was at the wrong end of her body she was strangled so tightly the cord embedded in her neck, and her face beaten.
I would have liked more theories as to what really happened, but the book is more about the literary and journalistic response of the time, and in that it does an excellent job. Nov 01, Djrmel rated it liked it Shelves: Shashower attempts to make a personal link between Poe and Mary Rogers, but within the first pages he admits there's nothing to back up that idea: Link aside, he can prove that Poe's sequal to "The Murder in the Rue Morge", "The Murder of Marie Roget", was based on a true crime, because there are documents that prove he was writing his story in an attempt to prove that his detective could sol Shashower attempts to make a personal link between Poe and Mary Rogers, but within the first pages he admits there's nothing to back up that idea: Link aside, he can prove that Poe's sequal to "The Murder in the Rue Morge", "The Murder of Marie Roget", was based on a true crime, because there are documents that prove he was writing his story in an attempt to prove that his detective could solve the crime when the real police could not.
That aspect of the story is quite interesting, even allowing the Stashower is guessing at Poe's thought process. However, the book is written in such a chunky manner, divided between the real crime and investigation and Poe's life and writing that it's a dull, almost academic read. Readers not familiar with Poe's life will probably get more out of the story than someone who's read a few of the many biographies out there, although the lack of footnotes makes for a questionable biography. Aug 29, Babs rated it really liked it.
I liked this book a lot. First of all, I gained a sincere appreciation for Edgar Allan Poe as a writer. I had always been a bit put off by the subject matter of his stories, so I hadn't had a chance to appreciate his skill as a writer and his intelligence as a person. Secondly, I greatly enjoy reading about historical events as they connect to other persons or events that I may not previously have realized.
Sort of like a non visual timeline: I wasn't that impressed with the "mystery of the b I liked this book a lot. I wasn't that impressed with the "mystery of the beautiful cigar girl" in it's own right, however the links to the beginning of sensationalist journalism as we know it today, and the vigninettes of New York City in the mid 's more than made up for my lack of interest in the cigar girl. I enjoyed this book not so much as a murder mystery attempting to be solved, but as a history of our country and it's people.
Fascinating and well written. Recommend reading, with a copy of Edgar Allan Poe's writing at your side. May 17, Cat rated it really liked it. This book was addictive. A very enjoyable interweaving of Edgar Allan Poe's biography and literary accomplishments with the journalistic accounts of a murder that he adapted into fiction. Stashower creates incredible momentum, as he builds the story of Poe's overweening arrogance, imaginative brilliance, and crippling alcoholism while all the time tantalizing his reader with the clues and controversies surrounding the Mary Rogers murder case that captured the imagination of Poe, the newspapers, This book was addictive.
Stashower creates incredible momentum, as he builds the story of Poe's overweening arrogance, imaginative brilliance, and crippling alcoholism while all the time tantalizing his reader with the clues and controversies surrounding the Mary Rogers murder case that captured the imagination of Poe, the newspapers, and the public. The structure of Stashower's book is so effective, in fact, that it inspired this reader with mild skepticism about his accuracy.
How could the facts of history be rallied with such aesthetically pleasing results? Stashower has a healthy sense of irony and an obvious and contagious relish for Poe's aesthetic and humbuggery. A most pleasurable read. Jan 30, April rated it it was ok. There is a lot of information in this book, but sadly it read like a far too long article that you want to skim instead of read thoroughly. Not many people write nonfiction in a compelling way to make it compete with fiction, and this author is no different.
Sadly, though, he takes a fascinating story and bogs it down with so much erroneous information and antiquated language that it loses its excitement. Jul 22, Janet rated it really liked it Shelves: This book explores how the unsolved murder of the "Beautiful Cigar Girl", Mary Rogers, was handled in the newspapers, and how Poe used the murder to help his struggling literary career. Very well researched, a little slow at times, but overall I learned a lot about Poe's life and life in s New York. Mar 22, Jenna Ann rated it liked it. This was a good book. I was intrigued by the murder of Mary Rogers and how investigations worked back then.
I was less intrigued by the parts about Edgar Allan Poe, but the story came together nicely. Jul 04, Bill Tyroler rated it really liked it Shelves: Young, beguiling Mary Rogers left her home in Manhattan one otherwise ordinary day in Several days later her disfigured, trussed body surfaced in the Hudson River near the New Jersey shore. Her murder roiled the city for weeks, months, even years. Her death was consequential as few are — the criminalization of abortion, rise of the penny-press, advent of the modern detective story, even professionalization of the police: Her end remains an enduring mystery.
Lot there to chew on, but Daniel Stashower wisely takes more of a micro approach, fastening onto the impact of her death on Edgar Allan Poe. And an even closer fit given that Poe saw in her death a means to rescue his flagging career with a thinly fictionalized account that brazenly claimed to have solved the murder.
Mary Rogers
The best that can be said is that Poe was dealt a difficult but far from impossible hand early in life and then proceeded to play it as poorly as possible. Why, is necessarily inexplicable. Well, then, is this a biography of Poe; or of the otherwise-obscure Mary Rogers? A history of the detective novel? A bit of each, really, and in less-capable hands the tale could easily have turned incoherent. But Stashower is nothing if not capable.
Rogers, for better or worse, is just a prop for the real star, Poe.
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Despite a bit of misdirection by Stashower, Poe no more solved the murder then did the police or what at the time passed for police. Nor does Stashower himself go farther than suggesting that the ultimately derived conventional wisdom — she was the victim of a botched abortion — is correct. Why would it have been necessary to have bound and strangled her? As Poe wrote in a letter: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other people named Mary Rogers, see Mary Rogers disambiguation. Lyme, Connecticut , USA. The Beautiful Cigar Girl. A to Z Paperback ed.
True Tales of Murder, Mystery, Mayhem. The Murder of the Century. Archived from the original on July 30, A City and Its Police. A History of New York City. Mournful and Never-Ending Remembrance Paperback ed. The Almanac of American Letters. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us.
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