The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American author, poet and literary critic who's tales of the macabre have terrified and inspired millions. A pioneer of the short story and detective fiction, Edgar Allan Poe is often viewed as a tragic figure in his own right.

Poe was one of the first American writers to find great success in Europe than he would at home, initially. It was with the help of translations by Baudelaire that Poe found fame in France. These translations became the definitive texts across Europe. Poe's poignant, gloomy and sometimes terrifying tales have gone on to inspire countless other fiction writers such as Jules Verne and H.P. Lovecraft.

True to fashion, Poe's death is as mysterious as his stories. Found wandering the streets of Baltimore, completely disoriented and wearing another man's clothing, the author died shortly after his discovery.

The Valdeman Edition gets its name from The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. The short story centres around a hypnotist who places a man in a suspended hypnotic state right at the moment of his death. This case blends Poe's in-depth medical study with the experience of the death of his wife from tuberculosis. The story itself was quickly labelled as a "hoax", as it was not explicitly labelled as fiction. At the time of its publication (1845), the narrative was taken to be fact until Poe confirmed its fictitious nature.