Document: The Defamation of Edgar Allen Poe

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Are the popular conceptions of Poe's last years merely the product of a vindictive critics baseless postmortem attacks?

Research shows allegations of opium abuse, as well as other
charges to be without evidence. Dr. Thomas Dunn English, a
Philadelphia physician and poet, said several years after Poe's
death, "Had Poe the opium habit...' should both as a
physician and a man of observation have discovered it
during his frequent visits to my rooms, my visits at his house,
and our meetings elsewhere. I saw no signs of it and believe it
to be a baseless slander."