Edgar Allan Poe born Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 - October 7, 1849) was an American writer, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and American literature as a whole, and he was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story. Poe is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre and is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the CONTENTS. The Gold-Bug 1 The Black Cat 37 Mesmeric Revelation 47 Lionizing 58 The Fall of the House of Usher 64 A Descent into the Maelström 83 The Colloquy of Monos and Una 100 The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion 110 The Murders in the Rue Morgue 119 The Mystery of Marie Roget 151 The Purloined Letter 200 The Man in the Crowd 219