Update October 23: The Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site remains closed for a utilities improvement project. Continue to check back for a late Spring 2025 reopening date.
Poe was not the first to write mysteries, but he inspired later writers by introducing aspects that are now considered classic elements of detective fiction.
Edgar Allan Poe first gained recognition for his witty literary reviews. He constructed his own set of standards for American writers and was an early adopter of the belief that the quality of work should speak for itself without taking into account the writer's background.
