MRS. POE

Cullen's novel about Edgar Allan Poe is worth a listen, if only for narrator Eliza Foss's exquisite dramatic reading of Poe's "The Raven," which opens the story. Foss's narration continues strongly as she explores Poe's time in New York and his relationship with his wife through the eyes of the woman Cullen names as his mistress, the poet Frances Sargent Osgood. Foss captures not only Frances's desperation as she tries to support her children while her painter husband dallies with his portrait subjects but also her immense intelligence and the almost magnetic pull between her and Edgar. Cullen may be playing with history a bit, but Foss's narration entices listeners to play along. J.L.K. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2014]