Edgar Allan Poe
The American author Edgar Allan Poe, the son of a Scottish-Irish
actor and English actress, was born in Boston in 1809. By the age
of two, both his parents were dead and young Edgar and his brother
and sister were left in the care of family friends, John and
Frances Allan. John Allan was a wealthy Virginia businessman who
had been born in Irvine. In 1815, he and his new family returned to
the town on business. Edgar was sent to the old Burgh School at
Kirkgatehead, where his studies included visits to the nearby
churchyard to copy the inscriptions from the tombs.
After spending some time in London, the Allans returned to America
in 1820. Although Edgar attended various schools, he found it
difficult to settle and began to lead an increasingly dissolute
life. He found work as the editor of various periodicals, but his
increasing addiction to drink and drugs made it difficult for his
to hold a job for long. His short stories and poems - such as 'The
Raven' and 'The Pit and the Pendulum' - became an instant hit, but
he did not live long to enjoy his success, dying at the age of 40
in 1849.
One local story about Poe in Ayrshire was that he had gained his
inspiration to write 'The Fall of the House of Usher', after
visiting the ruin of Dean Castle which had been destroyed
by fire in 1735, and being told a witness's account of the blaze.
The fire split the castle keep apart (It is now fully restored)
down one side with a huge crack and the flames were reflected in a
body of nearby water, according to witnesses and contemporary
etchings. This was exactly the same fate that befell the castle in
his novel at the climax of the story.
