Poe by Candlelight is the final "Tales of the Victorians" performance for 2018. Like other "Tales" that take place at different venues throughout the summer, this features light refreshments and stories read by ELTC actors. This year, aside from reading stories by the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe, there will also be a selection from Frankenstein to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley's famous novel. Refreshments will be served in the hospitality room before the hour-long performance, and the actors are Lee O'Connor and Gayle Stahlhuth.
O'Connor, also ELTC's technical director, is a favorite reader for "Tales," and has portrayed Sherlock Holmes since ELTC began producing radio-style Holmes' adventures in 2002. Stahlhuth, who has been ELTC's artistic director since 1999, was recently highly complimented for her directing and portrayal of Martha in ELTC's Arsenic and old Lace in Terry Teachout's review in "The Wall Street Journal." She's also performing in O. Henry's Christmas Tales for the holidays.
O'Connor, also ELTC's technical director, is a favorite reader for "Tales," and has portrayed Sherlock Holmes since ELTC began producing radio-style Holmes' adventures in 2002. Stahlhuth, who has been ELTC's artistic director since 1999, was recently highly complimented for her directing and portrayal of Martha in ELTC's Arsenic and old Lace in Terry Teachout's review in "The Wall Street Journal." She's also performing in O. Henry's Christmas Tales for the holidays.
Photo left is from ELTC's world premiere The Poe Mysteries with Shelly McPherson, Mark Edward Lang, James Rana, Grace Wright, Fred Velde and Thomas Raniszewski. It was adapted by James Rana from three stories by A. E. Poe.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809 -1849) – the name alone conjures up mysteries, murder, madmen, and mayhem. He is considered the creator of the modern detective story, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle credits him with influencing his own Sherlock Holmes creation. His works, in print since 1827, include poetry, stories, a novel, essays, and book reviews. His idol was Lord Byron, and by age thirteen, Poe had written enough poetry to publish a book. His teacher and guardian prevented such a publication.
Born in Boston, Poe was the second of three children. His parents, both actors, were dead by the time he was three. The siblings were sent to different homes, with Poe ending up with John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant, and his wife, Frances, in Richmond, Virginia.
In 1826, Poe attended the University of Virginia, even though Allan didn’t give him enough money to cover expenses. He was an excellent student, but turned to gambling to pay for his needs. During his first term, he burned his furniture to keep warm. Poe returned to Richmond to seek financial help from Allan. Not only did he not receive it, but he also learned his fiancée Elmira Royster, was engaged to another man. Eighteen years old, poor and broken-hearted, he was determined to make his own way in the world. He then published his first volume of poetry, Tamerlane, and joined the army.
When Poe was twenty-one, he returned to Richmond upon learning that Frances Allan was dying of tuberculosis. By the time he arrived, the only mother he had really ever known was already in her grave. Although the relationship between Poe and Allan was strained, Allan helped him to get into the United States Military Academy of West Point. Soon after, Allan remarried, and Poe wasn’t invited to the wedding. Once more feeling betrayed, Poe wrote a letter outlining all of Allan’s wrong-doings towards him, and threatened to get himself expelled from West Point. Eight months later, he was expelled.
Fortunately, an aunt, Maria Clemm, and her young daughter, Virginia, invited him in to their Baltimore home. One of his short stories won a contest and he became an editor at the Southern Literary Messenger. Within a year Poe was gaining a reputation as a book critic, which helped to make the Messenger the most popular magazine in the south. Poe married Virginia, who was not yet fourteen.
Meanwhile, Allan died, leaving Poe out of his will. He did, however, provide for an illegitimate child whom Allan had never met. The Allan’s had never legally adopted Poe.
In 1837, believing he had outgrown the Messenger, Poe, Virginia and Maria moved to New York City, but it was difficult to find work at a magazine. Here he wrote his only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. The family moved to Philadelphia a year later where he wrote and edited for several different magazines, and was building a reputation. Still, it was difficult for him to make a living. His only “payment” for the publication of Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, was twenty-five free copies of his book. In 1842, Virginia contracted tuberculosis, the disease that had killed his mother, brother, and Frances Allan.
The family moved back to New York City in 1844, where he became an editor for The Evening Mirror. When this magazine published “The Raven” a year later, finally, Poe received the fame he’d been seeking. He could now demand more pay for his work and his lectures became exceedingly popular. Two more books were published and finally he was running his own magazine, the Broadway Journal. By 1846, the magazine proved unsuccessful, Virginia was very ill, and rumors spread about Poe having a relationship with a married woman. He moved his family to a small cottage outside the city. Here, in the winter of 1847, at only twenty-four years of age, Virginia died. Poe was devastated and couldn’t write for months.
For the next two years, he traveled from one city to another, giving lectures and seeking backers for another magazine, The Stylus. He met several women along the way. Nancy Richmond in Massachusetts inspired some of his greatest poetry, including “For Annie.” He was engaged to the poet Sarah Helen Whitman in Providence, for a few months. He courted Elmira Royster Shelton when he learned she was a widow, and the two became engaged before he left Richmond for Philadelphia.
Poe stopped in Baltimore on his way to Philadelphia, and disappeared for five days. He was discovered in the bar room of a public house that was being used as a polling station for a local election. Joseph Snodgrass, a magazine editor, had Poe taken to a hospital where he died on October 7, 1849. He never regained consciousness and the cause of his death remains a mystery. Neither Poe’s mother-in-law nor his fiancée knew what had become of him until they read about it in the newspapers.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809 -1849) – the name alone conjures up mysteries, murder, madmen, and mayhem. He is considered the creator of the modern detective story, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle credits him with influencing his own Sherlock Holmes creation. His works, in print since 1827, include poetry, stories, a novel, essays, and book reviews. His idol was Lord Byron, and by age thirteen, Poe had written enough poetry to publish a book. His teacher and guardian prevented such a publication.
Born in Boston, Poe was the second of three children. His parents, both actors, were dead by the time he was three. The siblings were sent to different homes, with Poe ending up with John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant, and his wife, Frances, in Richmond, Virginia.
In 1826, Poe attended the University of Virginia, even though Allan didn’t give him enough money to cover expenses. He was an excellent student, but turned to gambling to pay for his needs. During his first term, he burned his furniture to keep warm. Poe returned to Richmond to seek financial help from Allan. Not only did he not receive it, but he also learned his fiancée Elmira Royster, was engaged to another man. Eighteen years old, poor and broken-hearted, he was determined to make his own way in the world. He then published his first volume of poetry, Tamerlane, and joined the army.
When Poe was twenty-one, he returned to Richmond upon learning that Frances Allan was dying of tuberculosis. By the time he arrived, the only mother he had really ever known was already in her grave. Although the relationship between Poe and Allan was strained, Allan helped him to get into the United States Military Academy of West Point. Soon after, Allan remarried, and Poe wasn’t invited to the wedding. Once more feeling betrayed, Poe wrote a letter outlining all of Allan’s wrong-doings towards him, and threatened to get himself expelled from West Point. Eight months later, he was expelled.
Fortunately, an aunt, Maria Clemm, and her young daughter, Virginia, invited him in to their Baltimore home. One of his short stories won a contest and he became an editor at the Southern Literary Messenger. Within a year Poe was gaining a reputation as a book critic, which helped to make the Messenger the most popular magazine in the south. Poe married Virginia, who was not yet fourteen.
Meanwhile, Allan died, leaving Poe out of his will. He did, however, provide for an illegitimate child whom Allan had never met. The Allan’s had never legally adopted Poe.
In 1837, believing he had outgrown the Messenger, Poe, Virginia and Maria moved to New York City, but it was difficult to find work at a magazine. Here he wrote his only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. The family moved to Philadelphia a year later where he wrote and edited for several different magazines, and was building a reputation. Still, it was difficult for him to make a living. His only “payment” for the publication of Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, was twenty-five free copies of his book. In 1842, Virginia contracted tuberculosis, the disease that had killed his mother, brother, and Frances Allan.
The family moved back to New York City in 1844, where he became an editor for The Evening Mirror. When this magazine published “The Raven” a year later, finally, Poe received the fame he’d been seeking. He could now demand more pay for his work and his lectures became exceedingly popular. Two more books were published and finally he was running his own magazine, the Broadway Journal. By 1846, the magazine proved unsuccessful, Virginia was very ill, and rumors spread about Poe having a relationship with a married woman. He moved his family to a small cottage outside the city. Here, in the winter of 1847, at only twenty-four years of age, Virginia died. Poe was devastated and couldn’t write for months.
For the next two years, he traveled from one city to another, giving lectures and seeking backers for another magazine, The Stylus. He met several women along the way. Nancy Richmond in Massachusetts inspired some of his greatest poetry, including “For Annie.” He was engaged to the poet Sarah Helen Whitman in Providence, for a few months. He courted Elmira Royster Shelton when he learned she was a widow, and the two became engaged before he left Richmond for Philadelphia.
Poe stopped in Baltimore on his way to Philadelphia, and disappeared for five days. He was discovered in the bar room of a public house that was being used as a polling station for a local election. Joseph Snodgrass, a magazine editor, had Poe taken to a hospital where he died on October 7, 1849. He never regained consciousness and the cause of his death remains a mystery. Neither Poe’s mother-in-law nor his fiancée knew what had become of him until they read about it in the newspapers.
