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People often refer to Edgar Allan Poe as the father of the detective story–and to "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" as the first of that genre–so it may seem appropriate that much of Poe's life story remains mired in mystery. Rufus Griswold, his literary executor, wrote a scathing obituary of Poe, depicting him as a sadistic drug addict and alcoholic. This has lead many to falsely consider Poe as the origin of his own dark characters. Upon his birth in Boston on January 19, 1809, his parents– regular members of the troupe then performing at the Federal Street Theater–named him Edgar Poe. Shortly before his mother's death in Richmond, Virginia on December 8, 1811, his father abandoned the family. John Allan–a wealthy tobacco merchant in Richmond–brought Poe into the family (at his wife's request), and gave him the middle name Allan as a baptismal name, though he never formally adopted him. Allan's treatment of Poe remains controversial. Some view him as abusive, while others view him as merely authoritarian, which would, however, prove severely detrimental to anyone with a poet's sensitivity; still another, smaller group of biographers view him as the ideal guardian for a poet. Clearly, though, Allan never treated Poe with sensitivity. In 1815, the Allan family moved to England on business. There, Poe entered the Manor-House School in Stoke-Newington, a London suburb. This school taught him Latin and French, but more importantly, the gothic architecture and historical landscape of the region made a deep imprint on his youthful imagination, which would effect his adult writings. The Allans left England in June 1820, and arrived in Richmond on August 2. Here, Poe entered the English and Classical School of Joseph H. Clarke, a graduate of Trinity College in Dublin. His studies in French and Latin continued, and though he lacked diligence in studying, he distinguished himself as an "excellent classicist" and "the best reader of Latin verse". He wrote a volume of verse to the little girls of Richmond, joined the Thespian Society, engaged prominently in debate, and earned the rank of Lieutenant of the Richmond Junior Volunteers, who acted as a body guard during Lafayette's October 1824 visit. Despite this, he never gained popularity among his schoolmates–perhaps his impoverished roots abraded the aristocrats–but rather he found his friends among the younger set, whom he could easily entertain with wild tales. On February 14, 1826, Poe (then 17) entered the University of Virginia, taking classes in Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, and Italian. Though he spent more time gambling and drinking than studying and often arrived to class unprepared, he won top honors in French and Latin. On June 17, 1826, he was elected to the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, but he rarely presented his original works, preferring to give private readings in his room. He successfully painted himself as an aristocrat–even fighting a duel with his former roommate–but at the end of the year left the university in disgrace, because Allan refused to pay his $2,000 gambling debt (not due to expulsion as Griswold claimed).
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