The Raven's Tale

"Brooding, macabre, romantic, and surprisingly whimsical . . . a must-read for Poe fans and Poe newcomers alike." ―Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series"Winters's smart, silvery, slithering prose finds beauty in the grotesque―and what is art if not that?" ―Daniel Kraus, co-author of the New York Times bestseller The Shape of Water"A darkly delicious tale that's sure to haunt readers forevermore." ―Kerri Maniscalco, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Stalking Jack the Ripper seriesSeventeen-year-old Edgar Poe counts down the days until he can escape his foster family―the wealthy Allans of Richmond, Virginia. He hungers for his upcoming life as a student at the prestigious new university, almost as much as he longs to marry his beloved Elmira Royster. However, on the brink of his departure, all his plans go awry when a macabre Muse named Lenore appears to him. Muses are frightful creatures that lead Artists down a path of ruin and disgrace, and no respectable person could possibly understand or accept them. But Lenore steps out of the shadows with one request: "Let them see me!"

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Seventeen-year-old Edgar Allan Poe is ready to go to college to escape his overbearing foster father, who believes poetry is a waste of time. Although Poe admires Byron and love poems, he secretly yearns to tell tales of death and darkness. While he is daydreaming in church about 72 people who died in a theater fire, his Muse manifests into a raven-haired girl. Muses of art are frowned upon because they lead to debauchery, and Edgar tries hard to abandon his Muse, Lenore, but it becomes too late as the town and his father have encountered her. Hoping to escape Lenore at the University of Virginia, Poe finds himself in deeper trouble as he is penniless and cannot afford to pay his college debts. This work reimagines Poe as a teen and the circumstances that may have led to his macabre poetry and his untimely death. Winters strategically creates a physical being, Lenore the Muse, as a metaphor for passion or dreams, a theme that rings true as Poe tries to ignore and escape his gothic poetry until it nearly kills him. Although the plot moves slowly, teen fans of Poe's poetry will learn about his life and the included verses will create new fans. VERDICT Purchase where Edgar Allan Poe and Winters's books are popular.-Dawn Abron, Zion-Benton Public Library, ILα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A.G. Howard, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Splintered Series

"A captivating and intensively researched tribute to the famous poet and his Gothic muse."

Kirkus Reviews

"Several of Poe's most well-known works enhance the narrative, complemented by the author's own finely crafted writing that flows with gorgeous, Poe-inspired phrases . . . A labor of literary love that will appeal to fans of Gothic horror and anyone who has ever had to assuage a determined muse."

Publishers Weekly

"Winters (Odd & True) delves into the life of young Edgar Allan Poe in this elegantly scripted, detailed exploration of a world in which muses take corporeal form . . . This well-researched and darkly entertaining tale serves as an excellent introduction to Poe and his classic works."

Booklist

" . . . a probing, fictional glimpse into the early life and career of one of the world's most notable writers. Eerie, macabre, and appropriately esoteric, Winters' (Odd and True, 2017) story of a mysterious soul will speak to literary teens."

Dwight L. MacPherson, author of The Imaginary Voyages of Edgar Allan Poe, co-host of The Raven Lunatics

"Spellbinding, imaginative, whimsical, and unforgettable. A rattling good tale that is worthy of the master poet himself."

School Library Journal

". . . teen fans of Poe's poetry will learn about his life and the included verses will create new fans."

About the Author

Cat Winters is the author of the critically acclaimed young adult novels Odd & True, The Steep and Thorny Way, The Cure for Dreaming, and In the Shadow of Blackbirds, which collected three starred reviews and was a finalist for the William C. Morris Award for debut YA fiction. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

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