Hartmann, an independent New York City writer and literary scholar, was commissioned by the editors of Routledge's Studies in American Popular History and Culture series to write this book on
the relative difficulties in conveying the appeal of Edgar Allan Poe to contemporary publishers and readers of the time. Poe challenged his audiences by introducing the concept of an unreliable
narrative structure, which led to a wave of criticism that hampered the writer's success. This brief book, aimed at literature scholars and students, documents the eventual changes in critical
perception by showing how Poe finally found his audience. Annotation 穢2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
