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"In the year 1811 in the city of Richmond, Virginia,"

"Mrs Frances Allan..."

"the beautiful and childless wife of the town's most prosperous merchant"

"had been giving little gifts of food and money to a young actress"

"who is now penniless, and very ill."

"Often, Mrs Allan had watched the young woman as she passed the Allan mansion"

"on her way to the theatre, leading her little son by the hand."

"The sight of the child had touched Mrs Allan's heart."

"And when the poor young mother took to her bed in her final illness..."

"the merchant's wife, like an angel of mercy .."

"did what she could to ease her last hours."

"After the mother had gone to her rest, Mrs Allan took the boy home with her."

"She planned to add his name to her own."

"Thus, the author of The Raven, The Bells and Annabel Lee"

"is known to the world as..."

"Edgar Allan Poe."

Who is the lad? What do we know about him?

Except that he's the offspring of player folk.

Poor little fellow.

He has no kin of his own, and he has come to stay with us.

At your invitation, I suppose?

Yes.

Please let me keep him.

He'll be just like our own child.

The child of actors... our own?

Well, what difference does that make? - You have great faith, Frances.

Yes. Faith in what our love can do for a child, John.

See how beautiful he is?

He is... pretty, no doubt.

What's your name, boy?

What's your name? - My name is

Edgar Poe!

See how he answers? Unafraid.

He likes you already, John. - We'll, keep him if you like.

For the present.

Oh, you'll never let him go, John. I know you won't.

"Mrs Allan loved the boy as if he'd been her own."

"But that love had a strange effect upon her husband."

"The narrow-minded man resented the time and attention his wife gave to Edgar."

"And as the boy grew older .."

"Allan's attitude began to shape his habits and his thoughts."

"More and more, he wandered alone into the woods near Richmond."

"The sombre silences appealed to his imagination."

"And his young mind was tuned to the sights and sounds of nature."

"In her darker moods."

I assume that you have studied your lessons carefully.

Well, then. Who can tell me the last state to be admitted into the union?

Yes, Miss Stollmeier?

The last state to be admitted into the union is Maine, sir.

Correct.

Now then, we will proceed with our lesson on the classics.

Minerva was the Goddess of .. what?

Master Poe?

Master Poe.

Master Poe.

Yes, Mr Burke?

What are you hiding? - Nothing, sir.

Come. Give it to me.

"A poem to Elmira Royster."

Mind you, Master Poe, I'm not opposed to the scribbling of verse on occasion.

But everything in its season.

You know, your foster-father asked me to report any such occurrence.

Please, Mr Burke. I didn't mean to be inattentive.

Mr Burke.

I wouldn't like Mr Allan to know of this.

It would upset him.

You should have thought of that before.

You sent for me, sir? - Come here.

You have been warned repeatedly to stop your wasting of valuable time.

There is an end to patience. - I promise to change, sir.

I'll hear no more of your promises. - But I mean to keep them, sir.

And I mean to see that you do. Come with me.

John.

This is not the way. - We shall see.

I'll not be beaten. I promise to correct my ways.

If you insist on beating me, I shall run away.

You'll what? - John, please.

I told you .. the apple has not fallen far from the tree.

The parents were no good. And the boy follows in their steps.

That's not true! My parents were good. - Of course, darling .. of course.

"In that way, the years passed."

"As Poe grew into manhood, his childhood romance with Elmira ripened into love."

"In their hearts was an understanding that one day they would be married."

Look this way a moment, will you, Mira?

Hold it.

Beautiful. - The music?

No. The nose.

Thank you, sir. - You are welcome, ma'am.

Now if you could stop keeping time with your chin.

Is this a music recital or an art exhibit?

It is an exhibition of beauty, real beauty. That is sufficient.

Do you like drawing better than you do poetry, Eddie?

Drawing you is poetry, Mira. - Eddie ..

Keep your chin just like that! One minute .. don't move.

There.

Elmira .. Royster.

By .. Edgar .. Allan .. Poe.

What a name to go with a sketch of the best-looking girl in Virginia.

Lovely .. but the speech is old.

Of course, I've never heard it better spoken before.

Nor will I ever say it again. - To any other girl in Virginia?

In the whole world.

I wish old Mr Thomas Jefferson had something better to do than ..

Run about starting universities.

He wants to keep young men like me from girls like you.

Am I so dangerous?

You grow more dangerous all the time, my love.

How long will you be away, Eddie? - I don't know.

Virginia is a new university.

With other colleges it takes three or four years to get a diploma.

It depends upon Pa really. He's been talking already about the expense.

Eddie, you haven't had another quarrel with him, have you?

No more than usual.

Let's not talk about that, Mira.

Excuse me, Miss Mira.

Your Ma said if you going to Master Edgar's party,

you had better get dressed. - Coming, Mose.

Yes, ma'am.

I wish Ma weren't giving this party for me tonight.

I'd much rather spend my last night in Richmond alone with you.

Wouldn't you, Mira?

Yes, Eddie.

You are the most beautiful dancer in the room, Ma'am. Light as a feather.

Oh, Eddie. You flatter me.

Like Psyche, you are always young and always beautiful.

Who was Psyche? I'm sure I've heard of her, but I've forgotten.

In ancient Greece, she was the Goddess of the soul.

In modern Richmond, her name is "Mrs Frances Allan".

Mother, if ever there was one, to that good-for-nothing Edgar Poe.

Oh, Eddie.

Ladies and gentlemen.

If I may have your kind attention for a moment, please.

I wish to propose the health of our up and coming scholar and poet.

A gentleman and a good fellow. Mr Edgar Allan Poe.

And we might as well include our gracious hostess.

And also, a charming young lady who is going to miss him very much.

Remember Allan, we Virginians marry young.

Unless I've forgotten the look of the thing, this is love.

Marriage? I hope he's not thinking of that, the fool.

And you're an older fool that I thought, Royster if you want him as a son-in-law.

But I don't quite understand you. Isn't Edgar your legal heir?

He is not. And I don't intend to make him my heir.

Well, I'm glad you told me this. It puts the matter in a different light.

I will speak to Mrs Royster about it.

So here you are.

You had better come in now, John. Our guests are leaving.

Coming, Frances.

Eben was right, Eddie.

I will miss you.

And I you, Mira.

We'll see each other in our letters, though.

Write me all you do. The least thing, the least thought.

I will. I'll write to you every day.

I love you so much, Mira.

And I love you.

Goodbye, Eddie.

"Goodnight", Mira. We'll never say goodbye.

No.

Goodnight.

Hmm .. you'll need money.

You know nothing about spending of it. And even less about the saving of it.

But I'm forced to trust you. Here.

Here is one hundred dollars. Make it last.

But sir.

I am sure I'll need more. There will be tuition fees and board.

The University knows who I am.

They'll notify me about the fees as they become due.

I can't go like a beggar, sir. After all, I am a gentleman.

That I doubt.

You are an idler. - I'm not an idler!

I'm a good student. I've worked hard and my reports prove it.

You're wasting your time with trash. I've seen the books you've read.

Don Quixote .. pagan foolishness!

And Byron .. I'll not hear that man's name in my house!

If a man must read poetry, there is Robbie Burns. If he has the time for it.

You are an ingrate. I've wasted my care and money on you.

I didn't ask you to take me into your house.

You prevented my family in Baltimore from taking me when they wanted me.

Why aren't you asking them for money to pay for your foolishness? Why?

Because I wouldn't know what to do .. - Edgar, my dear!

Without her.

John.

Have you been quarrelling with him on his last night?

I do not quarrel with those that owe me obligations and respect.

Oh, John, please .. - Ma ..

It's my fault.

I'm sorry, sir. - Ha.

What you didn't hear, Ma ..

He hasn't given me enough, even for my board.

He'll send more, Eddie.

I'll speak to him in a few days. He'll have forgotten his anger.

Is there ever a time when he's not angry?

But he does love you, Eddie. - He has a strange way of showing it.

Eddie.

Sit down, Eddie.

You do want to go to the university, don't you?

Of course I do, Ma.

And you want to become the great man I know you are going to be.

Be patient.

And tolerant and understanding.

For the sake of your goal.

I'm going to like him, Ma. For your sake.

"So Poe went to the university which Thomas Jefferson founded a year before."

"He had very little money, but he burned with ambition."

"The love of his foster-mother and his sweetheart Elmira made life worthwhile."

The post, Mr Poe. - Thank you, Jasper.

Anything for me? - No sir, not a thing, Mr Burling.

Good.

The fear of mail hangs over my head like a Sheriff's warrant.

Ahh ..

What's the matter? Bad news from home? - No.

Well, as Plato says: "No news is good news".

Editors are idiots. - Are they? I never met one.

You never wrote a poem you thought might be worth printing.

No, not even one worthy of being sent on St Valentine's day.

An idiot of an editor returned a poem he'll regret he didn't publish someday.

Cheer up. You have many words left.

Something is wrong with Elmira.

Not with Mira there isn't.

She's nobody an editor would send back.

Something is wrong, or she would have written.

Oh, don't worry about a letter from a woman.

Eben, you are a fool. - Me, a fool?

Mooning about a love letter.

You ought to be more practical.

A letter from old man Allan with money in it, is worth a hundred from a woman.

You owe half the tradesmen in Charlottesville.

And the other half won't trust you. - Pa will pay them.

That miser? - Alright, I'll pay them myself.

How? - By my pen.

Does that pen drip golden pennies?

The pen didn't lay those golden eggs this time.

Well, here is forgetfulness for a while.

There is nothing better on a cold December day or any other day.

That's real poetry. Popular.

You don't ever taste it, do you Eddie?

I hate the taste. It is the effect I want.

If I could get as much out of one drink as you do.

It would save a lot of wear on my Adam's apple.

How about another fling at cards?

Maybe your luck will change before Christmas.

Bring on the pigeons.

I'll ask Turner Dixon. - And Hugh Pleasants.

Excellent targets. Better than the Bank of England.

The tradesmen will be paid in full. - But not by the pen.

Run along, Eben.

I'll make a roaring fire while you are gone.

Two tricks. - One for me.

I've had enough.

Well, you owe me $180, Poe. - And me $75.

Yes, you'll be paid gentlemen in full. As soon as I get home. My guardian.

Of course we'll be paid. We didn't question it, did we gentlemen?

The sooner the better. I've run up some bills I don't want the governor to see.

I'm in the same fix.

Say, Poe. You couldn't let me have some of it now, could you?

I would like to pay a few debts before I leave.

That is, before my father finds out. - Well, I've got to pack.

Wait a minute.

I have something that is worth what I owe you. Three times over.

It's impossible to value its worth now, but ..

Here, look at it, Dixon. - Hmm, what's this?

Can't you read? Has the university left you where it found you, ignorant?

It's a poem. One of many that will make me famous and rich.

None of your insults, Poe.

Insults? You've insulted me. That's a poem .. a great poem.

Poem.

Not even great poems pay gambling debts!

Dixon, I'm sorry. I didn't mean this.

Stop it, Dixon.

Just a minute, just a minute!

One moment, please.

Mr Poe, the President wishes to see you.

Old "Independence" himself.

I'll be there directly.

Come in.

Good afternoon, Mr Poe. - Good afternoon, Mr Jefferson.

Ah, the trouble you young men are giving me.

I find it almost more difficult running a University than running a nation.

Sit down .. pull up the chair. - Thank you, sir.

Mr Boltman did me an ill-service, making me read this fantastic tale of yours.

The "Gold Bug" you call it.

I say "ill-service" because it kept me awake last night.

I couldn't go to sleep until I'd finished it.

I'm sorry, sir.

I'm not .. not a bit.

I think you have hit upon something new in storytelling.

Tell me.

How did you ever go about writing a tale that kept me in such a stew?

The recipe is simple, Mr Jefferson.

You take three ingredients: the bizarre, the romantic and the analytical.

Put them all together, shake well and you have it. The reader stews.

I see.

What are your plans for the future, sir?

I intend to be an author. - So, you should.

I am honored sir, that you approve.

Mr Poe.

When I founded this institution, I provided very few disciplinary measures.

Yes.

I have always believed that a Virginian was a gentleman by instinct.

I hope we haven't failed you, sir.

Not at all. You have behaved like gentlemen.

You have gambled and fought duels and got drunk ..

And attended weddings for thirty miles around whether you were invited or not.

And you've gone deep into debt in the most gentlemanly fashion.

Yes, sir, but .. - I haven't complained, have I?

No, sir. - Come along.

Poe, what sort of man is this foster-parent of yours, John Allan?

He's a practical man, sir. - So I can imagine.

This is a letter from him, in which he insists you should return to Richmond.

You may read it.

He thinks that you are disgracing yourself here.

Wasting your time on literature.

He has The Law in mind for you.

You think you would like that, Mr Poe? - No, sir.

I thought you mightn't.

What do you intend to do about this?

I intend Mr Jefferson, to return to Richmond ..

And suggest to my foster parent that he leap into the middle of the James river.

Very spirited sir, but not very practical.

Why not appeal to the human side of Mr Allan?

I should greatly regret to see you leave here.

Thank you, sir.

But I'm afraid convincing Mr Allan will be difficult.

Try being a different man.

I once sent an ambassador to the court of St James.

What I said to him wasn't exactly original, but he found it very useful.

I shall give you the same instructions.

After every question that Mr Allan puts to you, smile.

Nod your head a bit this way, and then a bit that way.

Never raise your voice.

And before losing your temper.

Count to ten in Latin. - I'll try it, sir.

Good afternoon, Mr Poe.

Good afternoon, Mr Jefferson. And thank you, sir.

$2,500 in debts! It's outrageous.

You are nothing but a spendthrift and a gambler.

I won't pay one penny of them. Not one penny.

But you forced me to gamble, sir. I didn't have enough to get along on.

If you please sir, at least pay my debts of honor to my classmates.

And encourage these scoundrels in their wickedness? I will not!

Nor your University fees neither.

I'll not support a gambler, nor a waster ..

Nor a writer!

You will prepare yourself for The Law. - I am not fitted for The Law, sir.

Then you're not fitted to eat my bread.

I'll give you until tomorrow morning. To Decide.

Eddie.

Where are you going? - To the Roysters.

Don't go.

Why not?

Because Elmira isn't there. - Well, where is she?

She's visiting the Sheltons in the country.

Sheltons?

What is it you have to tell me?

Elmira is going to marry Mr Shelton.

Marry?

Why, how can she? I don't understand. She ..

That's why she never wrote me.

I know now what to do.

Sir.

You gave me until tomorrow morning to decide. Well, I have decided.

Very well.

Think before you speak, Edgar. - I have thought.

Writing is my life. The only life I have and I'm not going to give it up.

You have made your decision. - John.

Leave my house .. at once.

I must leave Richmond, mother .. and you.

That's the most difficult step of all. Leaving you.

I have faith in you, Eddie.

And everything you do.

Goodbye, mother.

I'll always love you.

"Poe knew that he had lost Elmira for ever."

"Bitterly disillusioned, and broken in spirit, he became a wanderer."

"In Boston, he found a friend in a job printer."

"A man who printed a copy of his first book of poems."

"But had no means of publishing it."

"One day, hungry and desperate."

"He passed a recruiting station."

"And on the spur of the moment, he enlisted in the army."

"Assigned to a regiment of cavalry."

"He tried to submerge his tempestuous spirit in army discipline."

"Then began a correspondence with Mr Allan."

"Would the merchant use his influence in Washington to obtain for Poe .."

"A place more in keeping with his qualifications?"

"Seeing a chance to get rid of him forever .."

"Allan got him an appointment as a West Point cadet."

"But Poe was unhappy at West Point."

"And at last, secured his own dismissal."

"By deliberately failing to attend classes and parades."

"Because of this, Allan decreed he shall never see his foster-mother again."

"And he faced the world penniless and alone."

"He had no-one to turn to. Until he remembered his aunt."

"A Mrs Clemm, who lived in Baltimore."

Don't you be hounding me for money at this time of night, Mr Stevens.

I haven't got a penny in the world, and you know it.

But I'm an honest woman, and I'll pay you when I can.

The Lord will punish you for cancelling our provisions and letting us starve.

Is that you, auntie?

Who is it?

It's Edgar, your nephew. Edgar Poe.

Why, Eddie Poe!

I thought you were the greengrocer. Come in.

Well .. where have you been for the past three years?

Well, we didn't know whether you were dead or alive.

And never a word from your Ma and Pa Allan.

So we used to write to ask about you.

Why, you're the spitting image of my brother, David.

Just as handsome and just as worn-out looking.

Oh, good heavens. Why, you're a soldier!

Sit down dear here. You must be half frozen.

Sit down by the fire.

Warm yourself. - Thank you, auntie.

I'll make you a cup of tea.

But we've haven't got very much to eat in the house.

But I'll pour a cup of water in the soup that's left, and heat it for you.

Don't trouble, auntie. I'm not hungry.

Oh, rubbish. Your branch of the Poes is always hungry, and with good reason.

My, you're an officer, aren't you? - I've been at West Point.

Ah. Well you've come a long way on foot. - Yes.

Well, I'll hurry with the tea.

Cousin Eddie.

Virginia. My, but you've grown.

You're a cadet, aren't you?

You are a very pretty young lady, Virginia.

Thank you.

Stop fussing over your cousin, and help me. Go and fetch the bread.

Aunt Maria, permit me.

Oh, Eddie.

You did say that so nice and gallant.

Now, sit down. Eat your soup.

What about you, and Virginia? - Oh, we've had ours.

Are you going to stay here now, cousin Eddie?

I'm not going back to West Point. I was court-martialled. Dismissed.

Dismissed? A nice boy like you?

I went there because I had no choice.

It was the last thing Mr Allan did for me .. and it was the wrong thing.

Well, this is your home, Eddie. As long as you want.

We haven't much. You can see that.

But you're welcome to what there is.

Cousin Eddie can have my attic. - Oh, we'll get along somehow.

There is no better seamstress in Baltimore and what with my sewing ..

Auntie.

Do you think I'm going to accept your hospitality for nothing?

Why, I've already made arrangements that may bring me in 15-20 dollars a month.

And that's only a beginning.

Wait .. I've got a present for you.

My first book, Virginia.

"Tamerlane And Other Poems. By A Bostonian."

You must be famous.

My .. aren't they pretty.

Oh, I wish I hadn't gone and lost my spectacles again.

Here, Virginia. Read a little to me.

"I have no words, alas, to tell, the loveliness of loving well."

"Nor would I now attempt to trace, the more than beauty of a face."

"Whose lineaments upon my mind."

"Are shadows on the unstable wind."

Oh, Eddie. I think it's wonderful.

Kind of sad and comforting.

I don't know where you get such thoughts, Eddie.

Oh well, they'll do for a beginning.

Some of them were written when I was only 14 years old.

I've got much better poems in my trunk .. stories too.

They'll make your hair stand right on end, Virginia.

By the way, I sent my trunk on here. Of course I had no right to intrude.

This is more your home than that other place ever was.

Virginia, get a candle. Show him up to his room.

You must be worn out, poor child. - Oh, I'm alright, auntie.

But where will you sleep? - With Muddy.

I'd rather, really. Because I've been kind-of scared up there.

I hope you won't be. - On the contrary.

You see, Virginia.

I won't be alone.

You won't? - No.

Ghosts, dreams. - Oh, Eddie.

Don't worry. I know what to do with ghosts and dreams.

Snare them. Put them in a bottle like this.

And sell them for money and fame.

You frighten me.

I frighten myself sometimes. The world frightens me.

I'm going to enjoy frightening it back.

I think I'd better show you your room.

"From now on, Poe spends endless hours at his table in the attic .."

"Writing his poems and stories."

"The second volume of his poems was published in Baltimore."

"And that gave him some favorable reviews, but very little money."

"Then came a day of triumph."

"Three men came to see Poe."

"They were Mr White, Mr Graham and Mr Kennedy."

"Kennedy presented him with a check for fifty dollars."

"First prize in a short-story contest."

"For the story which Poe called: 'The Manuscript Found In A Bottle'."

"Mr White wanted him to become editor of his magazine."

"The Southern Literary Messenger."

"Published in Richmond. The home of the Allans and Elmira."

"Mr Graham wanted him as editor of Graham's Magazine in Philadelphia."

"Poe, overwhelmed by these offers, asked them to wait."

"He wanted to consult his aunt and Virginia."

Virginia. Come here.

Lazarus come forth. - Oh.

Oh Muddy, look!

Look at the canary! I've wanted another one for such long time.

Oh Eddie, you are the most thoughtful person.

Ha! Don't carry on that way, Virginia. He'll sit down and write another poem.

As for you. - Spectacles!

So you can recognize true genius when you see it.

Perfect. Now I can see the thread of my needles.

Well ladies, have you decided where we are to go?

Eddie, if it were me, I'd take Philadelphia.

Mr Graham has offered you more money, and heaven knows we need it.

I'd like to live in Philadelphia anyhow. They say it's lively.

I don't know. The offer tempts me but so does Richmond. What you say, Virginia?

Anything you decide, Eddie.

Mr Graham's offer is tempting. The north is the center of the publishing world.

We can leave tomorrow. - Eddie is going to Richmond, mother.

Why do you say that, Virginia?

I don't know. I just feel it. I know it, Eddie and I fear it.

Nonsense, Virginia. Nothing to fear. Richmond is the capital of my heart.

I'm drawn to it as the murderer is drawn to the scene of his crime.

Can't you ever forget those ghosts and murderers?

To show Pa Allan that I'm independent of his money.

The editor of The Messenger would be a person of great importance in Richmond.

Are you still thinking of that Royster girl, Edgar?

I have no feeling for her but one of contempt.

I shall inform Mr White at once that we've accepted his offer.

There are only two opinions in this house. Edgar's and none.

Goodnight, Muddy. - Goodnight, dear.

Virginia.

Virginia .. you know that I love you.

Will you go to Richmond with me as my wife?

Your wife?

The wife of "Edgar Allan Poe"?

Author and editor. - I need you.

Will you marry me? - Oh, Eddie.

Mr Edgar A Poe? - Yes.

By special messenger. - Thank you.

It's from Mr Allan.

Mom's very ill.

We must leave for Richmond at once.

"But Poe had been notified too late."

"When he arrived in Richmond he found his beloved foster-mother was gone."

"Only her memory was alive."

"The memory of the woman who had taken him, an orphan .."

"Into her heart so many years before."

"Soon, the flowers on her snow-covered grave would wither and die."

"But to the end of his life, Poe's love for Frances Allan .."

"Would remain green and everlasting."

"Though urged to leave by his wife, Virginia."

"Poe remained in Richmond as editor of the Southern Literary Messenger."

"He achieved a certain amount of success."

"But constantly fought for a revision of the copyright laws."

"And this got him into trouble with his employer."

Mr Poe, I believe you've gone too far, here.

Too far, Mr White?

When you attack the existing conditions of copyright sir, you attack me.

From whom you derive your living.

I derive my living from no man sir, but from my own labors.

Your labors were not profitable Mr Poe, before you became editor of my magazine.

They have been equally profitable to you, Mr White.

I've increased the circulation of The Literary Messenger by 3,000 copies.

I don't question that or your abilities. But there is such a thing as loyalty.

To whom shall a man be loyal, if not to his own kind?

The writers of America have been sorely wronged by the lack of a copyright law.

You sir. You and your fellow publishers are thereby able to pirate.

To pirate, sir!

The work of foreign authors without the payment of one penny!

And so commit our own writers to starve.

I was not aware that Mr Longfellow, Mr Cooper ..

And other literary gentlemen whom I could mention .. are starving.

They are only the exceptions that prove the rule.

For every one that you can mention, I'll name you a dozen!

Very well, very well. I'll not make an issue of it.

As long as you are satisfactory on other accounts, Mr Poe.

It may be well for you to remember our bread is buttered from the same plate.

Don't let me disturb you further.

Now.

You better hurry up, dear. Or you won't be ready by the time Eddie gets here.

Oh, Muddy.

Oh, isn't it beautiful?

And isn't everything romantic?

Plenty to eat, chicken on Sundays, and no debts.

Everything is very romantic.

Oh, Muddy, I do so love this dress.

Still, I think I've been extravagant. - Oh, nonsense.

Eddie isn't a man to think of the cost ..

To make his wife look the most beautiful woman in Richmond.

Muddy, do I really look like the wife of a great editor?

You look like an Eddie Allan Poe creation.

May I come in?

Hurry, Muddy, hurry. Come in.

I've never dreamed of writing a poem as lovely as you, madam.

Why, Mr Poe .. thank you, sir.

I must be a genius, too. I just said the same thing.

How does it feel to be going to your first ball with your husband?

Oh Eddie, it feels like heaven to go anywhere with you.

Virginia.

Walk into that ballroom as becomes the family of "Edgar Allan Poe".

Aristocratic-like.

But if there is word against Eddie.

Forget you are an aristocrat and remember your Irish ancestry.

People in Richmond, like Gaul, are divided into three parts.

Those that like you for yourself, those that like you for your ancestors.

And those that do not like you like for your success.

Goodnight, Muddy. - Nighty-night, darling.

Goodnight.

There goes that Mr Poe and his wife. - Why do you say that Mr Poe?

Well, he is a notorious character. Isn't he Genevieve?

They say his family were gypsies or acrobats or something.

Think. Marrying his own cousin.

What difference does that make? - James!

Shush.

Oh Eddie, you look so handsome.

Thank you, darling.

But it's only a reflected glory. I shine in your light.

No, it's the other way round. I can feel everybody looking at you.

You are too modest, as usual.

Eben.

Eben!

Please ask Mr Poe to step out on the terrace, Eben.

May I have this dance please, Mrs Poe?

No sooner said than done, Mira.

I'm counting on your discretion. - I understand.

Hello, Eben.

Elmira's out on the terrace. She wants to talk to you.

You wanted to see me?

Yes.

I .. I wanted to explain.

There's no occasion for any explanation. - Oh, but there is.

It's about your letters. I never received them.

I thought you'd forgotten me.

I don't understand, Mira.

My father intercepted them, Eddie. Every one of them.

I found out afterwards. Too late.

You did love me, then?

Yes.

Why did you marry Shelton?

I couldn't help myself.

Did you love him?

Not as I loved you.

Why didn't you write me?

I did, Eddie.

Father stopped them, too.

Thank you Mira, for telling me.

It's good to know the truth.

Now I must go back to my wife.

Mr Poe, your wife has been looking for you.

Elmira, I told you, you were never to see, nor hear from this man.

Didn't I?

Didn't I?

Yes.

Mrs Poe, I presume you know that your husband was once in love with my wife.

I had hoped that he was cured of this uninvited affection for her.

I can't stand any more.

Let's got in, dear.

Darling. Will you wait there for me a moment?

I warn you, Poe. I shall beat within an inch of ..

Muddy.

I've been to every tavern in Richmond. They haven't seen him.

Now, now, now dear.

If that Shelton woman hadn't been there.

It was the fight with her husband that made him go on this spree.

For three days? - There, there, there.

There is nothing to worry about.

Nothing to worry about?

Nothing to worry about, when he might be lying somewhere, dead.

Darling, the good Lord takes care of fools and drunkards.

He's not a drunkard. It's just that ..

Excuse ma'am. - Mr White?

Where is he? - Why, he's at your office, Mr White?

He is not. He's in some tavern. Drunk.

I looked everywhere for him, Mr White. - So have I.

Mrs Poe, your husband is not to be trusted.

Oh but he is, Mr White.

Edgar is a very sensitive man. - So am I.

I'm sensitive about my business. About my duties to my subscribers.

And above all, I'm sensitive about being taken for a fool.

My husband has the greatest regard for you.

Then let him show it by attending to his work.

I'm tired of excusing him, as you must be, Mrs Poe.

If Edgar doesn't appear at work, and sober ..

He'll be without employment.

Good day.

Muddy, where can he be?

What can he be thinking to do such a thing to us?

He's sleeping it off somewhere. He isn't even thinking about us.

If he loses his position, what are we going to do?

Starve.

No-one will employ him. He'll lose faith in himself.

He'll destroy his whole future. I've got to go and find him.

Don't be a fool.

No man wants his wife kicking him out of the saloon.

I'll go nevertheless. - Alright.

You play the beaten drunkard's wife.

Plead for him: "father oh father, come home with me now".

And you'll lose him forever.

Muddy, I can't just sit around and wait, not knowing what's happening to him.

I can tell you what's happening to him.

He's standing up at the bar, if he can still stand.

Dedicating his poem to the beautiful moon.

"Oh silver orb .."

Muddy, stop. Stop making fun of him.

I love him, whatever he does.

To me, he's the greatest husband a woman ever had.

He's mine!

All yours, dear.

Oh, good morning ..

I'll return this to you, later. - Later.

Well Poe, how do you feel?

Excellent. Never felt better in my life. - That's good.

A good night's sleep, a cold bath in the morning, and a brisk walk to work.

Poe, you're a liar.

Sir .. you have insulted me.

I'll not permit you to insult my intelligence.

You've not been home in days. Your wife is distracted.

And I'm tired of your drinking.

I'm leading my own life I'll have you understand.

And I'll let you understand I'll not pay for your worthless life with my money.

Money, money. That's all you ever think about.

I'm sick of your insults and the crumbs you throw to your betters.

Try running The Messenger without me. - You are discharged!

No!

You are too late. I discharged you first!

"After his downfall in Richmond .."

"Poe, Virginia and Mrs Clemm set out for Philadelphia."

"Then, an important artistic center."

"After some struggle for recognition, he became editor of Graham's Magazine."

"Then followed a period of literary and social success."

"A time of domestic happiness."

What are you doing out here in the garden, darling?

Picking a flower for my husband.

But the doctor said that you must rest. - Nonsense.

There you are. Now you're the best-dressed editor in Philadelphia.

Are you sure you'll be well enough to come to the office this afternoon?

Of course. I won't miss the opportunity of meeting the great Charles Dickens.

You must ask him about Oliver. - His son?

No, you goose.

Oh, you mean Oliver Twist, the boy who asked for more?

That's right.

I shall tell Mr Dickens he will meet the most beautiful woman in America.

Just the happiest wife in the world.

If you don't go to work ..

We'll be the best starved-poet's family in Philadelphia.

Goodbye, darling. - Goodbye, Eddie.

He's here, Mr Poe. Coming up the stairs, now.

He is? - Yes, sir.

Remember, you promised me his autograph. - Yes, yes. I know.

Come in, Mr Dickens. Welcome. I'm ..

I know .. "Edgar Allan Poe".

The greatest writer in America.

You are too generous, sir. - Not at all.

I've spoken to literary men all over Europe.

They know of Irving and Cooper only slightly. But Poe ..

It's a great honor to have you say that, sir.

I wish my wife were here to share it with me.

She shall share many honors with you, Poe .. many.

Thank you, sir. She's coming in later especially to meet you.

She can quote whole passages from Oliver Twist.

You should have her quote from your excellent ending of my Barnaby Rudge.

I was sorry about that, sir. I've often thought of writing you an apology.

What for? For splendid writing? Why, you finished Barnaby for me.

Frankly, I was a little hard-pressed for an ending.

But Mr Dickens.

Taking a man's work without paying for it .. is robbery.

That is the practice that brought me here.

Oh, not my personal grievance.

But the cause of every writer.

The copyright law.

You've been an invaluable aid, Poe. Invaluable.

That article which appeared in The Messenger.

You expressed it beautifully. - Thank you, sir.

Now, let's see how it goes.

The work of a man's hands is his sacred possession that no-one can deny him.

Yet the divine inspiration of a man's soul and his mind ..

Editors and publishers steal with no qualm of conscience.

As if a man's brain is an international playground for literary pirates.

It is extraordinary. You know it by heart.

I've quoted it at copyright meetings from London to Geneva.

Really?

And yet we writers in Europe are a little disappointed in your ..

Shall we say, lack of enthusiasm recently.

I know it's not lack of courage.

It is not, sir. Believe me. But, I have a family.

My wife doesn't complain. I don't mean that. But ..

Well, she has suffered for my so-called courage.

She'll suffer more if your work goes unprotected and unpaid for.

Here comes Mr Graham. He'll need some convincing on that point.

Mr Dickens.

This is a very great honor, sir. - Mr Graham.

I'm sorry to be delayed, gentlemen.

Your Mr Poe has been very entertaining. We were discussing the copyright law.

That's not very entertaining or profitable, Mr Poe.

It is to us who write, Mr Graham.

I don't think you have any grievance against us publishers.

Except the grievance that any writer has ..

Against those who use the work of his brain without paying for them.

Well said. Well said.

You have scruples about stealing my watch.

And yet have no scruples about stealing my work.

That is an impertinence, sir.

It is a just deduction, is it not, Mr Poe?

Of course it is, Mr Dickens. And I believe ..

Keep out of this, Poe! - I will not keep out!

Since you assume a high-handed attitude ..

I shall write for the cause of the copyright law ..

In the very next issue of Graham's Magazine.

There will be no "next issue" of my magazine for you, sir.

Nor will there ever be a Graham's Magazine for my writings.

And your magazine? Why yours? Because you can't read? Because you can't write?

Because you know how to steal the work of writers without even a by-your-leave?

Because he's an unscrupulous pirate of men's minds.

Like yours, Mr Poe. Fine minds. Good day.

I trust I will see your good wife later. - Thank you, sir.

And now, Mr Poe. You're through. And good riddance.

I'm delighted to be through, Mr Graham.

Through helping you with your literary piracy.

Free to tell the world what I .. - Free to starve!

I pity your family. - And I pity you, as a thief.

Turn round and let me see how you look.

Ah .. pretty as a picture.

Tell Mr Dickens if he doesn't like this dress I'll stop reading Oliver Twist.

Oh, he'll like it, Muddy. And so will Eddie. Goodbye.

Goodbye.

I can't tolerate such an attitude.

Where he is and what he does is not my affair.

I am sorry for you, Mrs Poe.

I wish no sympathy from you, sir.

If Edgar was rude to you, you deserved it. He is a man of opinions.

He wishes to be free, madam. Free to drink.

You will undoubtedly find him in some tavern .. drunk!

Good day, sir.

A gentleman brought him in two days ago.

He paid his lodgings in advance.

He's resting now.

But when he's awake, he sure carries on considerably.

He keeps calling for somebody named "Virginia".

Would that be you, ma'am?

Well.

You call me if you want anything. - Yes, thank you.

Eddie.

Eddie.

Virginia.

What place is this?

I've come to take you home, dear.

Haven't I been home?

No, dear. - Dear?

How can you call me that?

I've done nothing for you, and what I have done I've destroyed now.

Darling.

This is the last time.

I hope so. It seems such a waste. - I swear it's the last time.

I know dear. You'll try.

You'll try because I love you and you love me.

I do, Virginia.

Eddie, we could be so happy. There's nothing to stop us. Nothing.

You're the most brilliant man in this country.

Mr Dickens says so, and I know it.

That scoundrel, Graham.

Pitying me. Patronizing me before Dickens.

Oh, darling.

They who create have always been treated like that by those who don't understand.

Oh Eddie, let's go away somewhere. Away from Philadelphia.

Haven't I led you from place to place enough? Like some fugitive.

Oh what of it? I've told you that just being with you is heaven.

We'll go to New York. They'll understand better there.

Yes, Eddie.

"In New York, Poe's wife was stricken with a serious illness."

"To provide for her care .."

"He wrote unceasingly for the journals of that day."

"His pen, it seemed, was never idle."

"But although his fame increased, his fortunes remained at a low ebb."

"His reputation as a troublemaker had preceded him."

"Because of his unceasing fight against unfair copyright laws .."

"No editor would hire him."

"And few would give his writings the attention they deserved."

"Then, in a little cottage in Fordham .."

"Poe and his family made their last stand against destiny."

"Unable to buy proper food for his frail, childlike wife .."

"He watched her health steadily decline."

Hear him, Muddy?

Hear him walking back and forward like a man possessed?

He's working.

Then we'll be able to get some groceries.

And if it's real good, maybe we can get some parsley, too.

You're always thinking of things like that, Muddy.

Of course.

It can't do the poetry any harm to listen to it with a full stomach.

Now come on. Take some broth.

I don't want any. I'm not hungry.

Oh come now, dear. It will do you good.

It's dandelion broth.

Fresh dandelion.

I picked the field clean today.

Just as I picked the neighbors clean.

We mustn't lose our courage, Muddy.

Eddie has trouble enough.

No thanks. I don't want any more.

I saw a sheep in the field today.

But I couldn't lift it.

Oh, if the Lord would only send one leg of a sheep my way.

Eddie.

How are you, my darling? - Much better.

That's good. I've wonderful news for you.

It's done. I've finished it and it's the best thing I've ever written.

Really, darling?

Muddy, didn't I tell you?

I'll take it to Mr Griswold for The Broadway Journal. I know he'll like it.

You know Muddy, I think he'll pay as much as $25 for it.

And then food and medicine and a warm blanket for Virginia.

And a new coat for you, dear.

And a porterhouse steak for me.

What's the name of your poem? - The Raven.

The Raven? Why, you think they'll be interested in birds, these hard times?

Eddie.

Is it .. to me?

Everything I write, everything I hope to write.

Is to you, and because of you.

And because I love you.

"And my soul, from out of that shadow."

"That lies floating on the floor."

"Shall be lifted .. nevermore."

Hmm.

I'm sorry, Mr Poe.

I don't think it would appeal to my readers.

Mr Griswold, I know they'd like it. It's the best thing I've ever written.

Perhaps $25 is too much. I could let you have it for $20.

I must have money. My wife is ..

I've got an idea.

I'll call in the printers, and you shall read your poem to them.

Call in the printers? - Why not?

They represent the average man, the reader.

Yes. Yes, call them in. They'll give you an honest opinion.

I shall abide by their judgment.

Now cheer up, dear.

He'll sell that bird for a golden egg.

He says himself The Raven is the best thing he's ever written.

I know he will.

Now, don't excite yourself.

Everything is going to be alright.

Gentleman, you are all acquainted with Mr Edgar Allan Poe and his work.

Mr Poe has written a new poem, called ..

The Raven. - Yes, yes. The Raven.

He will read it to you.

I want your candid opinion of it.

Please begin, Mr Poe.

"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary."

"Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore."

"While I nodded, nearly napping."

"Suddenly there came a-tapping."

"As if someone gently rapping, rapping, at my chamber door."

"Tis some visitor, I muttered. Tapping at my chamber door."

"Only this and nothing more."

"How distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December."

"And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor."

"Eagerly I wished the morrow."

"Vainly I had sought to borrow, from my books surcease of sorrow."

"Sorrow for the lost Lenore."

"For a rare and radiant maiden."

"Whom the angels named Lenore."

"Nameless here, for evermore."

Sorry. I knocked but you didn't hear me.

I hope you don't mind my coming, but I heard you were ill.

Not at all. It was nice of you to come.

I had hoped that Eddie ..

That Mr Poe was home.

I'm sure he'll be sorry to have missed you.

Mrs Poe, I've heard that things have not been going well with him, lately.

He's never written more beautiful things. Never.

I'm glad. Very glad.

Eddie has a great talent.

He dedicates his poems to me.

Before my husband died.

I am so sorry.

Why are you here?

I thought I might help.

Thanks, Mrs Shelton, but ..

He doesn't need your help.

We're doing very well.

He's famous.

Even a genius needs help sometimes, Mrs Poe.

Mrs Shelton.

You belong to Eddie's past.

I'm his present .. and his future.

I mustn't distress you further.

And I hope you are better soon.

If there is anything I can do. - Thank you, Mrs Shelton.

Goodbye.

Goodbye.

Who was that woman? - Elmira Shelton.

What does she want? What's she doing here?

Oh Muddy, don't let her take him away from me.

Don't let her.

I love him.

"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend, I shrieked, upstarting."

"Get thee back into the tempest, and the night's Plutonian shore!"

"Leave no black plume as a token, of that lie thy soul hath spoken."

"Leave my loneliness unbroken!"

"Quit the bust above my door!"

"Take thy beak from out my heart."

"And take thy form from off my door."

"Quoth The Raven."

"Nevermore."

"And The Raven never flitting."

"Still is sitting."

"Still is sitting on the pallid bust of Pallas, just above my chamber door."

"And his eyes .."

"Have all the seeming of a demon's .. that is gleaming."

"And the lamplight o'er him streaming."

"Casts his shadow on the floor."

"And my soul, from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor."

"Shall be lifted .."

"Nevermore."

Well, gentlemen?

Angus?

I'm very sorry, sir.

But I just don't care for any part of it.

Thomas?

A raven?

Sitting on the bust of a Grecian Goddess?

And over a door?

And you others?

That will do, gentlemen.

Excuse me, sir.

I thought it was wonderful.

Run along. Run along.

I'm very sorry.

Mr Poe.

Your manuscript.

A dollar? Thanks.

They say his wife is very ill.

Poor Mr Poe.

Here's my five cents. - Thanks, Timothy.

Hurry up. Hurry now. Hurry.

Mr Poe.

Here .. from the printers.

Hello, darling. - Eddie.

Did they like it? - Like it?

Virginia, it was wonderful.

Just think of it. They've given me $15 in advance.

And promised me $25 more on publication.

Just wait until you see the food I've brought.

Eddie.

Eddie .. I'm afraid.

Afraid of what?

That we are beginning to have good luck?

That the doctor says you are improving so rapidly?

Eddie is not only going to sell The Raven.

But his whole menagerie of poems.

Oh, Muddy .. you are so funny.

Look Muddy, she's smiling.

Now I'm going to fix some good, hot, chicken broth for you.

Eddie.

Mrs Shelton was here.

Elmira?

Oh, Eddie.

Do you love her?

How could you ask me that?

What would I be without you?

A wandering minstrel without a reason for his rhymes.

You are the meaning in my words.

The singing in my songs.

You are my life.

I love you and only you.

Now and forever.

"We loved with a love that was more than love."

"I and my Annabel Lee."

"The angels, not half so happy in heaven, went envying her and me."

"Yes, that was the reason, as all men know, in this kingdom by the sea."

"That a wind came out of the cloud by night."

"Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee."

"After Virginia's death, Poe wandered back to Baltimore, a broken man."

"There, he sank lower and lower, trying to forget."

"But his heartbreak was one that could never be forgotten."

"Destroyed in body and spirit,"

"he was picked up by a gang of vote fixers and with other outcasts .."

"Dragged from polling place to polling place"

"to make his mark on ballots he could not even see."

"0ne day, in a low tavern, surrounded by dock-rats and thieves,"

"Poe was recognized by a stranger who had admired some of his works."

"The man and his friends took him to a Baltimore hospital."

"There, under the care of kind Dr Moran, and nursed by the good doctor's wife,"

"he lay for three days in a delirium."

"Everything possible was done for him."

"Every effort made to revive that last feeble, thread of willpower."

"But his will to live and to create had gone."

"The flame had burned too low."

I have genius, Virginia.

Sometimes, a man must...

shout it out.

So that the world will hear him.

Virginia.

Dearer to me than life.

You are not wrong who deem, that my days have been a dream.

All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream.

"Little did the people of that time realize"

"that one day the statue of Edgar Allan Poe"

"would stand in the Hall of Fame."

"And little did they know, that the manuscript of The Raven,"

"which he tried in vain to sell for $25"

"would years later bring the price of $17,000 from a collector."

"The Gods laugh."

"And Poe laughs with them."

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