The Research Behind And Poe Said
And Poe Said is historical fiction, but the world surrounding Edgar Allan Poe has been carefully reconstructed from the historical record.
The research draws upon Poe’s correspondence, contemporary newspapers, historical publications, literature, dictionaries, music, legislation, municipal records, maps, and other primary and period sources to recreate the people, places, language, and circumstances of Baltimore in Poe’s era.
The evidence falls into three categories:
DOCUMENTED
Historical people, places, events, publications, correspondence, language, legislation, and other details supported by surviving records.
RECONSTRUCTED
Scenes, circumstances, settings, and connections developed from documented evidence to create a believable historical world.
FICTIONAL
Dialogue, private conversations, thoughts, motivations, and interactions created by the author as part of the novel.
The historical record provides the foundation. The novel brings that world to life.
This historical research infographic presents the sources and evidence used in the reconstruction of Edgar Allan Poe’s world in And Poe Said. It highlights Poe’s own words and correspondence, 1840s Baltimore, contemporary newspapers and accounts, the literary works and language of Poe’s era, popular music and culture, and historical records. The research distinguishes between documented historical facts, scenes reconstructed from historical evidence, and fictional dialogue or interactions created for the novel.
Historical Evidence, Reconstruction & Literary Interpretation
Where the Evidence Ends
What can be documented is treated as HISTORY
And Poe Said begins with the historical record—but the record is not complete.
What can be reasonably reconstructed from the evidence is treated as RECONSTRUCTION.
Poe's final days are surrounded by gaps, conflicting accounts, uncertain movements, and questions that surviving documents cannot fully answer.
Where the record falls silent, the novel enters the space of fiction.
The novel works within those boundaries.
DOCUMENTED
What the record tells us
Contemporary newspapers
Letters and correspondence
Known people and places
Maps and municipal records
Transportation routes and schedules
Period publications and language
Music and popular culture
FICTIONAL
Where the novel must imagine
Private conversations
Thoughts and motivations
Unrecorded encounters
Dialogue
Events for which no historical record survives
UNCERTAIN
What the record cannot fully establish
Conflicting accounts
Missing information
Uncertain movements
Unresolved questions surrounding Poe's final days
RECONSTRUCTED
What can be built from the evidence
Settings
Routes
Circumstances
Historical connections
The social and physical world surrounding Poe
The historical record provides the foundation. The novel brings that world to life.
DOCUMENTED
What the record tells us
Contemporary newspapers
Letters and correspondence
Known people and places
Maps and municipal records
Transportation routes and schedules
Period publications and language
Music and popular culture