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Cat Winters’s
Te Raven’s ale
is a well-researched, historically accurate portrayal of Edgar Allan Poe’s adolescent years. Students may be surprised to learn that while Poe is most often cited as the great Gothic writer of mystery and horror, he was a typical teenager! His youth, marked by tragedy and conflict, likely influenced his writing, but he was an athlete, a satirist, and a risk-taker, too.While Winters has thoroughly researched Poe’s childhood and adolescence, this isn’t a biography. She has woven in scenes of Gothic fantasy to pay homage to the creative muses who inspired Poe and stoked his talent.
Te Raven’s ale
will transport students to antebellum Richmond, the University of Virginia, and finally a booming Boston while introducing them to one of America’s greatest writers during the turbulence of adolescence.
INTRODUCTIONMAIN CHARACTERS
Real
EDGAR ALLAN POE
was orphaned before he turned three and taken in by the Allan family of Richmond, Virginia. Poe is particularly well known for his macabre poems and short stories. In
Te Raven’s ale
he often goes by his nickname, Eddie.
ROSALIE POE
is Poe’s younger biological sister. She lived with the Mackenzie family in Richmond after the death of her parents.
SARAH ELMIRA ROYSTER
is Poe’s neighbor and secret fiancée. He proposes to her before leaving for Richmond. Her father intercepts the letters they send each other and arranges for her engagement to another young man before Poe returns to Richmond.
FRANCES KEELING VALENTINE ALLAN (MA)
is Poe’s foster mother. She loves Poe and encourages his writing, despite her husband’s protest. She is often unwell.
JOHN ALLAN (PA)
is Poe’s foster father. He forbids Poe to write poems and stories and threatens to cut him off if he succumbs to the temptation of his muse. He sends Poe to the University of Virginia but fails to provide enough money to cover the required fees. When Poe can’t cover the cost of his schooling, he is forced to return to Richmond and work in the counting room of his foster father’s tobacco company.
JUDITH, DABNEY, AND JIM
were the slaves that worked in the Allan household. Judith is often credited with inspiring Poe’s interest in the supernatural.
JANE STITH CRAIG STANARD
is the mother of Poe’s friend Robert Stanard. She encouraged Poe’s creativity and emboldened him to write. His poem “o Helen” is inspired by her.
MILES GEORGE, WILLIAM BURWELL, UPTON BEALL
are friends that Poe met at the University of Virginia.
AMULET BOOKS
TEACHING GUIDE
BY CAT WINTERS
AMULET BOOKS
TEACHING GUIDE
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THE RAVEN’S TALE
Cat Winters
MAIN CHARACTERS
Supernatural
LENORE
is Poe’s first muse. She is first described as a girl with gray skin and long, hooked nails; she must feed on his writing to evolve and survive. She encourages him to write his poems and share his talent even when others forbid it or are horrified by his words. She eventually begins to evolve into a raven as Poe writes and shares his poems.
GARLAND O’PEALE
is Poe’s second muse that he meets at UVA. Garland O’Peale (an anagram of Edgar Allan Poe) is focused on encouraging Poe’s talent in satire and literary criticism instead of the macabre. He finds himself in direct conflict with Lenore and eventually leaves Poe for one of his friends. He returns to Poe when he realizes he cannot thrive as someone else’s muse.
MORELLA
is Judith’s muse. Morella takes the form of a screech owl and advises Lenore at Moldavia.
SETTINGS
RICHMOND, VA
Edgar Allan Poe grew up in antebellum Richmond, Virginia, after the death of his parents. During the nineteenth century the city evolved and grew; it was built by the slaves who were brought there. Poe lived in a home called Moldavia before enrolling at the University of Virginia in 1826. According to records, Moldavia was built at Fifth and Main Streets in Richmond and was directly across the street from the Royster home.
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Founded in 1819 by Tomas Jefferson, the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville, welcomed its first class in 1825. Poe enrolled in 1826 and pursued a study of languages. Te university was unlike others at the time because it was secular and allowed students to pursue a variety of courses. Poe’s classmates were a mix of aristo-cratic young men and students like Poe, who struggled to pay his fees. Te students regularly defied the rules, drinking and brawling on the lawn and even gambling.
BOSTON
A newly chartered city in the 1820s, Boston was a bustling place full of ideas and innovation when Poe returned in 1827. He began his career as a published author at age eighteen when his debut book of poetry,
amerlane and Other Poems
, was published by eighteen-year-old printer Calvin F.S. Tomas.
• dark, gloomy setting • supernatural creatures like ghosts or vampires• curses/prophecies• damsels in distress• heroes• romance
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Introduce students to some of the elements of Gothic literature:Ask students why humanity has often been fascinated by horror stories. What elements of Gothic stories do they find most terrifying? What television shows and books might be considered Gothic today?2. Poe’s biological parents both died before he turned three years old, leaving him to be raised by the Allan family. How might losing his parents at such an early age have influenced Poe and his writing? After reading
Te Raven’s ale
, have students look back at this list of Gothic elements and discuss how his early life might have influenced his interest in the macabre.
PRE-READING IDEAS
AMULET BOOKS
TEACHING GUIDE
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THE RAVEN’S TALE
Cat Winters
1. In chapters two and three, Poe learns that his “artistic aspirations might not simply stop Pa from sending me to the university next week, but they might also impede me from both marriage and heaven (p. 18).” Ask students to think about a time when their future plans and aspirations might have been judged by others. Have students share their experiences in writing or in a class discussion. 2. John Allan tells Poe that he won’t pay for Poe’s university schooling if he continues writing poems. He says that his son must pursue his studies with the goal of finding a job that can pay the bills, and writing poems will only lead him to life as a pauper. Why do you think he feels so strongly about this? Why do you think Poe feels so strongly about pursuing his artistic aspirations? 3. Te nine muses of Greek mythology, deities who inspired creativity, were often described as having divine beauty. When she is introduced, Lenore is described as having “a dress made of soot and black feathers. . . . Her narrow sleeves and dress drip with shadows that plunk against the floorboards to the same anxious rhythms as the rain’s tap, tap, tapping. Her eyes glimmer with firelight, her maroon lips match my wallpaper; her hair hangs to her waist in tangles of inky black curls. Her skin is the dismal grey of ashes, and I gulp in response to her nails—long, and hooked and metallic (p. 26).” Why do you think his muse isn’t described as having divine beauty? What would your muse look like? 4.
Te Raven’s ale
is full of macabre characters, including spirits, muses, and ghosts. Poe’s most famous poems and stories often focus on death and spirits. Have you ever experienced something supernatural? Do you believe in supernatural beings? Why or why not? 5. Most people know Poe from his writing. What many people don’t realize is that he was also a typical teenage boy. Using details from the book, compare Poe to a modern teen. What might he have in common with you and your classmates? 6. How would you describe the relationship between Poe and Lenore? Use details from the book to support your thinking. 7. In chapters nineteen through twenty-one, Poe is introduced to Garland O’Peale, a second muse. Why does this second muse appear? 8. Garland promises to be a better muse than Lenore by helping Poe write satire and literary criticism. While Poe is best known for his macabre writing today, he was a gifted satirist and literary critic in his time. Why do you think his poems and short stories receive the most attention today? Do you think most artists are gifted in more than one type of art or more than one genre? 9. What is the symbolism of Poe having two muses?10. Poe tells Mr. Wertenbaker, the librarian, that his mother died in the Richmond Teater Fire of 1811. Why does he tell this lie?11. In chapter forty-four, Poe arrives home and immediately goes across the street to see his beloved Elmira. What does he discover when he arrives at her home? How does he react?
GUIDED READING IDEAS