...Other than Quentin, most of
the book's characters in this
1849 setting do not appreciate
or read Edgar Allan Poe's works,
and this is part of what
provokes Quentin to try to
rescue Poe's name. Why do you
think Poe means so much to
Quentin?
...(follow up) If you have read
Poe in the past, what is your
own history of reading Poe? Is
there any author, from past or
present, whom you would "fight"
for as much as Quentin does for
Poe?
...In addition to serving as
physical locales, Baltimore and
Paris may be said to serve as
"characters" in the book. What
do the cities add to the novel,
and what kinds of details bring
alive their histories?
...As the historical note at the
back of the novel explains, the
book uses authentic details
about Poe's strange death. Had
you heard anything about Poe's
death before reading The Poe
Shadow? After reading the
evidence and theories throughout
the novel, do you agree with all
of the conclusions presented by
the characters in the final
chapters, or do you have other
theories?
...(follow up) If you had been
in Quentin's position at the end
of the novel, would you have
made the information on Poe's
death public, or kept it
private?
...Auguste Duponte and Baron
Claude Dupin can be seen as
doubles or doppelgangers, and
the book discusses Poe's use of
doubles in works such as
"William Wilson," a tale that
features two identical
characters with the same names.
Discuss the use of doubles and
doubling in The Poe Shadow. Are
there any other doubles besides
Duponte and Dupin? Does Quentin
have any doubles? Does Edgar
Allan Poe?
...The word "shadow" is used in
many different ways in the
novel. Quentin tells us, "Poe
once wrote in a tale about the
conflict between the substance
and the shadow inside of us. The
substance, what we know we
should do, and the shadow, the
dangerous and giggling Imp of
the Perverse, the dark knowledge
of what we must or will do or
secretly want. The shadow always
prevails." What are possible
meanings of the title "The Poe
Shadow"?
...What if Quentin had met Poe
before Poe died? Do you think
this would have made his
personal quest more or less
important to him?
