1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson and Tracy. 4 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: I don't think it's any secret that Edgar Allen Poe remains, 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,159 Speaker 1: almost a hundred and seventy years after his death a 6 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:26,800 Speaker 1: figure of fascination and intrigue. Yeah, it's definitely true. One 7 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: of the names that often comes up as part of 8 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:33,279 Speaker 1: post story is his friend of me, Rufus Griswald. If 9 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: you watch the recent PBS documentary Edgar Ellen po Buried Alive, 10 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:39,319 Speaker 1: you would have heard some of the story of their 11 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: contentious relationship and how today Griswald is largely blamed for 12 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: a degree of character assassination that took place after post death. 13 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 1: Griswald is also mentioned briefly in a previous episode of 14 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: Stuff You misson History Class that was hosted by Sarah 15 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:59,320 Speaker 1: and DUBLINO that is specifically um about post death. But 16 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: we want to dig a little bit deeper into who 17 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 1: exactly Griswold was and how his story gets tangled up 18 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: with pose and why his name did not have the 19 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: same staying power of his rival. We are also coming 20 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: up on Griswold's birthday, so it seems like kind of 21 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: a good time to tackle this story. The date of 22 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,839 Speaker 1: Rufus Wilmot Griswold's birth is reported differently depending on which 23 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: source you look at. His Encyclopedia Britannica entry lists it 24 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: is February fifteenth of eighteen fifteen, but Joy Bayliss, who 25 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: wrote the only comprehensive biography of Griswold in ninety three, 26 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 1: sites February of eighteen twelve. Both of these dates are 27 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 1: found in various other publications, so you might see it 28 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 1: either way depending on where you look. Sources do agree 29 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 1: that he was born in Benson, Vermont, to a Calvinist family. 30 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: His father had a farm and also worked as a shoemaker, 31 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: and there have, i should note, been other people who 32 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: have written about Griswold's biography, but that Bayliss one is 33 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 1: really like the most detailed at least that I've ound. 34 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 1: And Rufus was from a very large family. His parents 35 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: had fourteen children in all. Rufus was the twelfth, and 36 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 1: when he was still young, somewhere between seven and ten, 37 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:13,640 Speaker 1: his parents sold their farm and they moved to Hubbardton, 38 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: to the east of Benson, and as a child, his 39 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:21,919 Speaker 1: personality is described as unruly, reckless, and restless. In eighteen thirty, 40 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:26,519 Speaker 1: Griswold briefly enrolled in school at the Rensseler School in Troy, 41 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: New York, but he was barred from the institution after 42 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: playing a prank on one of the professors. His brother, Heman, 43 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: who was a successful businessman in Troy, helped Rufus get 44 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: into the school, and then after this failure, Rufus was 45 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: to move into his brother's counting room and then work 46 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: for him. Rufus was not really enthusiastic about this arrangement. 47 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: Given this whole series of events, it's not a specially 48 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: surprising that he left his family behind at the age 49 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:56,519 Speaker 1: of fifteen to make his own way in the world. 50 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: So he set out, describing himself later in his writing 51 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 1: as quote a solitary soul wandering through the world, a homeless, 52 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: joyless outcast. Even though he had painted himself as an outcast, 53 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: he soon moved in with a friend, writer George D. Foster, 54 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: in Albany, New York. He had made George's acquaintance while 55 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 1: he was in Troy. Griswold lived with Foster, who was 56 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: seven years his senior, for two years. There has been 57 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: some speculation that their relationship might have had a romantic 58 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: aspect to it, but that really remains unclear. The primary 59 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: evidence is a letter that Foster wrote to Griswold after 60 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: Rufus had moved away, which read quote, I have loved 61 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 1: often and deeply. My heart has burned itself almost to 62 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: a charred cinder, by the flames of passion which have 63 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: glown within it. And yet I have never felt towards 64 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: any human being, man or woman so strong and absorbing 65 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: affection as I bear you. Farewell, farewell, Come to me 66 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: if you love me. I feel like this tells us 67 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: a lot more about how Foster felt than how Griswold felt. 68 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: That is exactly the thing. Uh. We we really don't, 69 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: you know. I mean, you never know what happens between 70 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: two people when they are away from the rest of us. 71 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: But clearly Foster felt very strongly for him. We do 72 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: not know if that was reciprocated. Uh. Foster would later 73 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: go on to a claim for his series about life 74 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: in New York, which was titled New York and Slices, 75 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,599 Speaker 1: in which he published in the New York Tribune. His 76 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: most well known work, though, is in a similar vein. 77 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: It's a series of literary snapshots of New York titled 78 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: New York by Gaslight. At this point, Griswold's story gets 79 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:34,600 Speaker 1: really hazy. He wandered around for a bit, But while 80 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: his late teens had for a long time been described 81 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 1: as a period where he traveled the world, it's more 82 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: likely that he merely traveled the southern US and then 83 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: back north. He Yeah, some of that is probably him 84 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: building up his own story in his own mythos. But 85 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 1: Grizzwold was a journalist from early on in his life, 86 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: and after a short apprenticeship with a printer, he actually 87 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 1: started his own paper, The Porcupine in Syracuse, New York, 88 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: and this publication was perhaps named as a warning because 89 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: he used it as a platform to write criticisms of 90 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: the residents of Syracuse. Starting in late eighteen thirty four, 91 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: he worked at another Syracuse paper, The Constitutionalist, but soon 92 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 1: moved on to an editing position at The Choccaco Wig. 93 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: He also started editing for other papers, including The Western 94 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: Democrat and The Literary Enquirer. In early nineteen thirty six, 95 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: Rufus moved to New York City and met Caroline Searles 96 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: shortly after he arrived. And the story goes that he 97 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 1: and a friend named Butler had been out walking when 98 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 1: a rainstorm hit, and Butler had a friend who lived nearby, 99 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 1: and so the two men sought shelter from this storm there, 100 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: and that was where he met Caroline. It was in fact, 101 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: her family's home, and the two fell instantly in love. 102 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,280 Speaker 1: Griswold and the nineteen year old Searles were soon engaged, 103 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:56,160 Speaker 1: and they married the following year. During Griswold's early time 104 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: in New York, he dabbled in multiple possible career paths. 105 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: He worked as an editor at multiple publications to make money. 106 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: He also considered entering politics, but his chosen party, the Whigs, 107 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 1: didn't support his ambitions in this arena, and he abandoned 108 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: the idea. He became a Baptist clergyman in in eighteen 109 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:20,599 Speaker 1: thirty seven, but he never really got into regular religious work. Yeah, 110 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 1: there's some theorizing that perhaps Caroline had kind of pushed 111 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,719 Speaker 1: him into that avenue, but then that he kind of 112 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:28,680 Speaker 1: did it to appease her, but it wasn't really something 113 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:32,919 Speaker 1: he cared a great deal about. In eighteen thirty nine, Griswald, 114 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,719 Speaker 1: along with Park Benjamin Sr. Founded a newspaper called Brother 115 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: Jonathan and this paper, and we have to use the 116 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: air quotes. There was really just a means to reprint 117 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: existing British novels, which they were doing without permission. Griswold 118 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,720 Speaker 1: and Benjamin called their project a newspaper so that they 119 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,480 Speaker 1: could take advantage of reduced postal rates that newspapers were given. 120 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: Brother Jonathan ended up having something of a coup and 121 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,720 Speaker 1: Benjamin and Griswold lost control of their paper, so they 122 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,600 Speaker 1: started a new one that functioned on the same business 123 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:08,600 Speaker 1: model of pirating published novels putting them out in installments. 124 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: Their new venture was called The New World, and it 125 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: positioned itself from the beginning as Brother Jonathan's rival publication. 126 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 1: And you'll actually sometimes see Brother Jonathan's founding listed as 127 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 1: eight forty two, and that actually marks its relaunched under 128 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: Benjamin Day, who took over from them and reset the 129 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: publication number to volume one, number one. At that time, 130 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 1: both of these newspapers had to compete with the very 131 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: source material that they were they were cribbing. Many readers 132 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 1: were happy to just buy the published novels so that 133 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: they could have the whole thing in its entirety and 134 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: not have to wait for multiple installments to come out 135 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: to finish the story. And so to try to snatch 136 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: a little bit more of the market, the New World 137 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: began printing entire novels in a single issue of the 138 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: paper and issuing them as extras to the paper, charging 139 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: fifties ends a copy. And this was a really successful move, 140 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 1: and one that Brother Jonathan and other similar papers immediately 141 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 1: started to copy. But those other papers glutted the market, 142 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: and the competition drove the prices down to less than 143 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: ten cents a copy. Not long after, the US Postal 144 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: Service more or less ended this entire niche of US 145 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: publishing when it declared that these periodicals could no longer 146 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: take advantage of the newspaper rate to publish pirated works. Eventually, 147 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: Brother Jonathan was actually absorbed by the New World in 148 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:35,200 Speaker 1: eighteen forty four, so that was some years down the road, 149 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: but the New World only existed for another year even 150 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: after that that takeover. We're going to talk more about 151 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:45,559 Speaker 1: the relationship between Caroline and Rufus and a somewhat unusual 152 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: living situation after we pause for a quick spotsor break. 153 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 1: Rufus and Caroline had two children, both daughters, early in 154 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 1: their marriage. Their first child, Emily Elizabeth, was born in 155 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: early eighteen thirty eight, just as Rufus was starting a 156 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: new job in Vermont. Caroline stayed in New York until 157 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,080 Speaker 1: the baby was born, and then moved to Vermont several 158 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,960 Speaker 1: months later, but they moved to New York again in 159 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:16,880 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty nine so that Rufus could work for Horace 160 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,320 Speaker 1: Greeley at the Daily Wig. He also became friends with 161 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 1: Park Benjamin during this time before their venture and brother Jonathan. 162 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:25,960 Speaker 1: The two of them had worked together on a paper 163 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,040 Speaker 1: called The Evening Tatler. Greeley thought this effort, which included 164 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:32,960 Speaker 1: some barbs aimed at Edgar Allan Poe, was not very 165 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: worthwhile as an endeavor, so he tried to find other 166 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: jobs for Griswold, including a failed attempt to have him 167 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: employed by the Southern Literary Messenger. He instead got a 168 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: job as an assistant editor at The New Yorker. Yeah, 169 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:51,320 Speaker 1: I like that in kind of a mentor position. Horace 170 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:53,959 Speaker 1: Greeley was like, no, no, no, no, please don't please, 171 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: don't work on that garbage. Do something better with yourself. Also, 172 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: I'm struck throughout griswold story, and if you look at 173 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: any stories of people that worked in journalism during this time, 174 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 1: of just how much they were all kind of shifting 175 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: around from publication to publication. But not long after their 176 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:14,360 Speaker 1: second daughter, who was named Caroline after her mother, was born, 177 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:18,320 Speaker 1: Rufus moved away from the family, first to Philadelphia to 178 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 1: shop an anthology project around, and then to Boston to 179 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 1: work on Boston Notion, and eventually to Philadelphia again to 180 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:28,800 Speaker 1: work at the Philadelphia Daily Standard in November of nineteen 181 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: forty and this was all sort of rather sudden move. 182 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: He had abandoned his work in New York and his 183 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: family just stayed behind. He did make regular trips to 184 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:40,080 Speaker 1: New York to visit with Caroline and the girls, but 185 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,600 Speaker 1: he lived primarily in Boston and then Philadelphia. Throughout all this, 186 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 1: he published the book The Biographical Annual, containing memoirs of 187 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: eminent persons recently deceased, in eighteen forty one, but who 188 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:54,679 Speaker 1: was dismay It did not do very well when he 189 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:58,120 Speaker 1: later published the anthology The Poets and Poetry of America 190 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 1: in April of eighteen forty two, he on a lot 191 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: more success, and this is kind of the project that 192 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:08,200 Speaker 1: he is often most famously linked to. Po for this 193 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: volume featured ninety one writers with a brief biography and 194 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 1: some work from each of them. And while Poe was featured, 195 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: his biography was inaccurate. There were only a few of 196 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 1: his poems in the book, which included The Sleeper, The 197 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 1: Haunted Palace, and the Coliseum, and he was kind of 198 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 1: shoved at the back, and by comparison, other poets who 199 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:31,400 Speaker 1: today are scarce remembered, had far more of their work included. 200 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:35,200 Speaker 1: The main criticism of Griswold's anthology, though, was that it 201 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: favored New England poets and it snubbed those from the South. 202 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 1: Griswold had made Poe's acquaintance in eighteen forty one. Griswold's 203 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:45,840 Speaker 1: version of events was that Poe had come to visit 204 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: him when he was not at home in May of 205 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:51,679 Speaker 1: that year and left behind two letters of introduction. They 206 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 1: met the next day and discussed the anthology project that 207 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 1: Grizzwold was working on, which became Poets and Poetry of America. 208 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: Poe was paid by Griswold to review the anthology, and 209 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:06,480 Speaker 1: the review was overall pretty kind, but did not offer 210 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:11,360 Speaker 1: the level of praise that that Griswold had been expecting. Yeah, 211 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:14,680 Speaker 1: Poe at this time was working as a literary critic 212 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:19,000 Speaker 1: among other endeavors, and he was known for being you know, 213 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:24,480 Speaker 1: pretty Uh. I guess harsh is a good word. He 214 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:29,160 Speaker 1: was just very direct. He didn't really cut anybody any slack. Uh. 215 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 1: He had a high standard that people had to meet 216 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:36,760 Speaker 1: before he would really offer praise. Uh. This whole weird 217 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:39,160 Speaker 1: interaction between the two of them where he was supposed 218 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:41,840 Speaker 1: to write this review and Griswold wasn't happy, and it 219 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 1: really became something of a cat and mouse game between 220 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,480 Speaker 1: these two men. So Poe thought that Griswold would have 221 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:53,599 Speaker 1: the review suppressed and because it wasn't you know, especially 222 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 1: like crazy And it allegedly delighted Poe to think that 223 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 1: he had been paid to write a puff piece and 224 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,440 Speaker 1: that he instead gave a review that would never be 225 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,640 Speaker 1: seen because of its depth of honesty. But Griswold had 226 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 1: the review printed because he didn't want to give Poe 227 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: the satisfaction of thinking that he had somehow bested Griswold 228 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 1: or in any way offended his ego. Two years into 229 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,680 Speaker 1: Griswold living separately from his family while he chased jobs 230 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:23,040 Speaker 1: all over the Northeastern United States, the Griswold's had a 231 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:27,480 Speaker 1: third child in early November. Rufus went to New York 232 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 1: to visit his wife in New York and newborn son, 233 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: and then three days after he returned to Philadelphia, he 234 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 1: received terrible news. Both Caroline and the baby had died 235 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:43,440 Speaker 1: from an unknown cause. This sudden loss was naturally, really 236 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,359 Speaker 1: intense and quite harrowing for Rufus Griswold. He returned immediately 237 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 1: to New York, and he wouldn't leave Caroline's coffin for 238 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: thirty hours. When his friends and family begged him to 239 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,600 Speaker 1: rest and move away from the coffin just to get 240 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:59,959 Speaker 1: a break, he instead insisted on embracing his dead wife, 241 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:02,960 Speaker 1: and his two young daughters at this point were on 242 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:06,200 Speaker 1: hand to witness all of this extreme exhibition of grief. 243 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:09,480 Speaker 1: He wrote in a letter to family friend James T. 244 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:13,280 Speaker 1: Field's quote, you knew her, my friend. She was my 245 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 1: good angel. She was the first to lead me from 246 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 1: a cheerless, lonely life to society. She was not only 247 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 1: the best of wives, but the best of mothers. Alas 248 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: for me, I shall I shall never more have a 249 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 1: home to fly to you in my sorrows, never more 250 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,200 Speaker 1: a comforter of my afflictions, never more a partner to 251 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 1: share in all my woes, or to be a source 252 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:37,040 Speaker 1: and author of all my pleasures. May God forever keep 253 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 1: you from all such sorrow. On November eleven, Caroline was 254 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:46,360 Speaker 1: buried in Brooklyn at Greenwood Cemetery, but Rufus cried and 255 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 1: fell across the coffin in its tomb so that the 256 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,960 Speaker 1: ceremony couldn't be concluded, and eventually Caroline's uncle had to 257 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 1: pull Griswold away. On November six, an anonymously written poem 258 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,600 Speaker 1: titled five Days appeared in the New York Tribune. This 259 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 1: was Griswold's work, and it walks the reader through a 260 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: series of events in his life just prior to and 261 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:09,640 Speaker 1: after the death of his wife and child, and his 262 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 1: difficulty coming to terms with the loss. Griswold's grief continued 263 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 1: to consume him. He continued to dream that Caroline was 264 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 1: alive and that they were reunited, and forty days after 265 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: the funeral, according to his own account, Rufus returned to 266 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 1: the tomb and had the sexton open it, and then 267 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 1: went down into it and opened Caroline's coffin. Uh. He 268 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 1: was with Caroline's remains a long while. He actually allegedly 269 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: fell asleep embracing the body before a friend came and 270 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 1: retrieved him. It does seem as though seeing Caroline's decaying 271 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:49,600 Speaker 1: body helped Griswold to finally process her death to a 272 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: point that he could move on. He wrote of the experience, 273 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: quote in all this, I know I have acted against reason, 274 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,040 Speaker 1: but as I look back upon it, it seems that 275 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 1: I have been influenced by some power to you strong 276 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:04,520 Speaker 1: to be opposed. The same account continues, quote, I go 277 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:07,920 Speaker 1: forth today a changed man. I realized at length that 278 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: she is dead. I turned my gaze from the past 279 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 1: to the future, and rufus. Griswold still had two daughters 280 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 1: to provide for, so he eventually he went back to 281 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: his work. His turn at the Philadelphia Daily Standard marks 282 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: Griswold's transition into literary crisis criticism, and that's something that 283 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: he would actually do for the rest of his life. 284 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: In eighteen forty two, Griswold became assistant editor on Graham's 285 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: magazine after the post was left by his predecessor, Poe. 286 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 1: Griswold stayed at the job for a year, and he 287 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 1: ended up leaving the position as his animosity between him 288 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: and Poe started to escalate. A new review of the 289 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:50,440 Speaker 1: Poets and Poetry of America had appeared in the Philadelphia 290 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 1: based literary journal Saturday Museum, and it was scathing. Griswold 291 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:01,080 Speaker 1: believed Poe had written it, although it was in fact 292 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:04,840 Speaker 1: one of Poe's friends. This caused ongoing friction between the 293 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 1: two men until it finally reached this point where Griswold 294 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,800 Speaker 1: wanted to get some distance from his rival. The eighteen forties, though, 295 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 1: did end up being really quite productive for Griswold. In 296 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:18,359 Speaker 1: something of a surprising twist, giving his ventures in publishing 297 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:22,639 Speaker 1: novels in Brother Jonathan without permission, Griswald, along with a 298 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: number of other figures from his literary circles, started the 299 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:30,160 Speaker 1: American Copyright Club, which was designed to promote copyright law 300 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,400 Speaker 1: and the protection of creators from doing exactly the sorts 301 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,200 Speaker 1: of things that he had been doing just a few 302 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:39,719 Speaker 1: years earlier. He also continued to publish anthologies. In eighteen 303 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 1: forty five, Griswold edited a collection of John Milton's prose, 304 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,240 Speaker 1: and this was the first United States edition of that work. 305 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:51,320 Speaker 1: And we're about to get into Rufus Griswold's brief second marriage, 306 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,600 Speaker 1: but first we will take a quick break and have 307 00:17:53,680 --> 00:18:01,640 Speaker 1: a word from one of our fantastic sponsors. So another 308 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:05,160 Speaker 1: major event happened in Griswold's life in eighteen forty five. 309 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:09,119 Speaker 1: He got married again, and this time his bride was 310 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: a Southern woman more than a decade older than him, 311 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 1: named Charlotte Myers, and they said their marriage vows on 312 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 1: August eighty five. But Rufus almost immediately left. Charlotte allegedly 313 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: there was some physical condition which rendered her quote incapable 314 00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:30,160 Speaker 1: of being a wife. I am needlessly curious about what 315 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: that was about. There's a lot of speculation about it, 316 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: whether this was some physical abnormality that could have probably 317 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 1: easily been corrected, or if there was some other issue 318 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:42,720 Speaker 1: with it. But basically it appears that the marriage was 319 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: never consummated, and once it was apparent that it never 320 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:51,480 Speaker 1: would be, uh Rufus was out all right. Then the 321 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:53,919 Speaker 1: two of them separated, and as part of the terms, 322 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,719 Speaker 1: Charlotte kept one of Griswold's daughters, Caroline, who she had 323 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:00,960 Speaker 1: grown very fond of. His other daughter, Emily, was dropped 324 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:04,080 Speaker 1: off with relatives in New York, and Griswald threw himself 325 00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 1: into his work once more. I'm not a parent, but 326 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:11,920 Speaker 1: that still sounds sort of horrifying. That doesn't seem a 327 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:15,119 Speaker 1: little odd. There's going to be some more horrifying follow 328 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:19,399 Speaker 1: up on that um. His next project was The Prose 329 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,119 Speaker 1: Writers of America, and this offered something of a tense 330 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:26,560 Speaker 1: scenario for the editor because at this point Edgar Allan 331 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:29,720 Speaker 1: Poe was a celebrated writer and there was absolutely no 332 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: way that Rufus Griswald could exclude him from such a 333 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 1: compilation without inviting some pretty harsh criticism and a dismissal 334 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,879 Speaker 1: of the works validity. So he wrote the Poe and 335 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 1: asked him to submit some prose for the anthology, including 336 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:47,399 Speaker 1: in his letter quote, although I have some cause of 337 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 1: personal quarrel with you, which you will easily enough remember, 338 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 1: I do not, under any circumstances permit as you have 339 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 1: repeatedly charged my private griefs to influence my judgment as 340 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:02,679 Speaker 1: a critic or its expressions. I retain therefore the early 341 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 1: formed and well founded favorable opinions of your works. This 342 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:12,960 Speaker 1: publication ended up earning Poe a great deal of praise. Poul, 343 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,359 Speaker 1: we should point out, was not the only rival in 344 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: Griswold's career. In eighteen forty seven, he published a book 345 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:23,359 Speaker 1: titled Washington and the Generals of the Revolution, and at 346 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 1: around the same time, the Reverend jewelt He Headley also 347 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:31,040 Speaker 1: published a book about George Washington titled Washington and His Generals. 348 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:35,080 Speaker 1: The parallel publications led to tension between the two men, 349 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,439 Speaker 1: with Headley casting a shadow over Griswold's work by insinuating 350 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: that even his closest friends called Rufus a liar. Later 351 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,719 Speaker 1: that same year, Griswold also got into a rivalry with 352 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,679 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Ellett, who wrote a book on women of the 353 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: American Revolution using materials from Griswold's personal library. When she 354 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,640 Speaker 1: neglected to thank him in the book, he was offended. 355 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 1: He later wrote a note of about her in an 356 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,560 Speaker 1: anthology of Women Poets that basically stated that she made 357 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 1: quote valuable and interesting work, but that she used men 358 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:12,800 Speaker 1: to do so. Yeah again that that the nineteenth century 359 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:17,800 Speaker 1: literary circle drama is unsurpassed. UH When Edgar Allen Poe 360 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:23,200 Speaker 1: died on October seven, nine, Griswold became his literary executor. 361 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,439 Speaker 1: He claimed that Poe had requested this and that Poe's 362 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:30,639 Speaker 1: relatives had supported the decision, but it seems that he 363 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,439 Speaker 1: may have forged some of the documentation that backed up 364 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:39,240 Speaker 1: this claim. On October nine, a lengthy obituary titled simply 365 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:42,440 Speaker 1: Death of Edgar A. Poe ran in the New York 366 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: Daily Tribune. It began Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He 367 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: died in Baltimore the day before yesterday. This announcement will 368 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:53,480 Speaker 1: startle many, but few will be grieved by it. The 369 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 1: poet was well known personally or by reputation in all 370 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 1: this country. He had readers in England and in several 371 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: of the states of Hotinental Europe, but he had few 372 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:05,200 Speaker 1: or no friends. And the regrets for his death will 373 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:10,160 Speaker 1: be suggested principally by the consideration that in him literary 374 00:22:10,359 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 1: art has lost one of its most brilliant but erratic stars. 375 00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:20,000 Speaker 1: That is just unnecessary, And that's only the beginning the 376 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:22,680 Speaker 1: rest of this very long obituary. It's not like an 377 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,040 Speaker 1: o bit that we would see today, where it's a 378 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:28,320 Speaker 1: few paragraphs. It's really quite lengthy. Uh. It walks through 379 00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:31,680 Speaker 1: pose life. It outlines and details his many faults as 380 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:35,119 Speaker 1: a man and his gifts as a writer. Uh. It 381 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:38,120 Speaker 1: talks about, you know, some problems with drink and potential 382 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,159 Speaker 1: other substances, and near the end it reads quote, we 383 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:45,480 Speaker 1: must omit any particular criticism of Mr Poe's works. As 384 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:48,320 Speaker 1: a writer of tales, it will be admitted generally that 385 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: he was scarcely surpassed in ingenuity of construction or effective painting. 386 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,400 Speaker 1: As a critic, he was more remarkable as a dissector 387 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: of sentences than as a commentator upon ideas. He would 388 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 1: is little better than a carping grammarian. As a poet, 389 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,600 Speaker 1: he will retain a most honorable rank in This obituary, 390 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: which praises post writing but pretty much takes him down 391 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,399 Speaker 1: in every other way, was signed Ludwig, but it was 392 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 1: eventually revealed that it was in fact Griswold that wrote it. 393 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:22,439 Speaker 1: In eighteen fifty, Griswold's dearest friend, poet Francis Sergeant Osgood, died. 394 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:25,840 Speaker 1: She had been a piece of this whole feud between 395 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,720 Speaker 1: Griswold and Poe. It seems like for a time, even 396 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:31,879 Speaker 1: though he was married. Poe had entertained the notion of 397 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,040 Speaker 1: having a relationship with Fanny Osgood in a romantic way, 398 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:39,119 Speaker 1: but he felt that Griswold's interest in her got in 399 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:43,639 Speaker 1: the way of that. In any case, Griswold once again 400 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:47,120 Speaker 1: grieve deeply, but he seemed to deal with his feelings 401 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,959 Speaker 1: of loss around Fanny Osgood by working through them. He 402 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,520 Speaker 1: worked on Fanny's memorial with writer Mary Hewitt. He worked 403 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: on several books, and he started working at International Magazine 404 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,560 Speaker 1: two years into his time there. That publication actually merged 405 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 1: with Harper's Magazine. That same year, he edited a compiled 406 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:08,199 Speaker 1: works of Edgar Allan Poe, which he worked on with 407 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 1: James R. Lowell and MP Willis. The book included a 408 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 1: biography of Poe titled Memoir of the Author, which has 409 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 1: been a source of a lot of fallacies about Poe 410 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 1: that have persisted for decades. Griswold took the opportunity to 411 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,760 Speaker 1: basically write a fictitious account of his rival's life, painting 412 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 1: him as an utter mess and even substantiating his claims 413 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:36,840 Speaker 1: with falsified documents. Unfortunately, because Griswold's version of post biography 414 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,520 Speaker 1: was sourced by other writers over the time. A lot 415 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:43,960 Speaker 1: of these falsehoods that he published have persisted. By eighteen 416 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 1: fifty two, Griswold had a new dilemma. As part of 417 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,520 Speaker 1: his settlement with Charlotte Myers, he was sworn to never 418 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:53,879 Speaker 1: marry again, and in fact they were not legally divorced, 419 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,359 Speaker 1: but he was contemplating a third marriage, this time to 420 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,879 Speaker 1: the poet Alice Carey, and there romance, which had been 421 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 1: conducted via letters, had been intense, but it in fact 422 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:07,240 Speaker 1: did not stand the test of time. Griswold actually found 423 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,840 Speaker 1: another woman that he felt he'd rather marry, Harriet Macrillis, 424 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,320 Speaker 1: who was wealthy in addition to being a woman of 425 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: good social standing. Charlotte had no interest in legally divorcing Rufus, 426 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,760 Speaker 1: although she eventually acquiesced on the condition that Caroline would 427 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:25,840 Speaker 1: become solely her child and a move that may be 428 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:29,040 Speaker 1: difficult for listeners who are parents to really comprehend. Griswold 429 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:32,199 Speaker 1: agree with this, and he never saw Caroline again. He 430 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,119 Speaker 1: was granted a divorce and he married Harriet Macrillis on 431 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: in December of eighteen fifty two. The two of them 432 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:43,159 Speaker 1: had a son named William the following year. But even 433 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: though it seemed like, despite your feelings about his decisions 434 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:50,400 Speaker 1: regarding his daughter's he had gotten his life kind of settled, 435 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:54,240 Speaker 1: he really did not achieve a level of happiness or bliss. 436 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:58,120 Speaker 1: His marriage was soured before long when Elizabeth Ellott, who 437 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,440 Speaker 1: you remember he had that bit of a tangle with, 438 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,119 Speaker 1: convinced Charlotte Meyer that she should contest the divorce she 439 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 1: had agreed to and have it vacated. And the scandal 440 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,600 Speaker 1: of all of this led Harriet to leave, taking Griswold's 441 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:16,640 Speaker 1: daughter Emily with her. Uh their train was in an accident, 442 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: and Emily was briefly pronounced dead, but was revived soon after. 443 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 1: In fall of eighteen fifty three, Griswold was badly burned 444 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,359 Speaker 1: when his home caught fire. In eighteen fifty five, Griswold 445 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,800 Speaker 1: wrote The Republican Court or American Society in the Days 446 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:35,399 Speaker 1: of Washington. This is generally considered to be his best work. 447 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,280 Speaker 1: It's a portrait of high society in the early days 448 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,119 Speaker 1: of the United States, and it draws parallels between the 449 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:44,000 Speaker 1: royal courts of Europe and the social structure that formed 450 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,160 Speaker 1: around George Washington is the first president of the United States. 451 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:52,240 Speaker 1: The Republican Court is available to read on archive dot org. Yeah, 452 00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:54,439 Speaker 1: we'll link to that in the show notes. Uh. And 453 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:58,439 Speaker 1: after his third marriage ended, Griswold moved into a rented 454 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 1: room in New York City. His health declined due to tuberculosis. 455 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,600 Speaker 1: In an eighteen fifty seven he really became very ill. 456 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: Alice carry, the poet woman that he had pushed aside 457 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:13,280 Speaker 1: in favor of Harriet McCrillis, actually took care of him 458 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,040 Speaker 1: in his final days. But when he sent word to 459 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:18,679 Speaker 1: Harriet asking to see her and their son William one 460 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,879 Speaker 1: last time, she traveled immediately to his bedside, and she 461 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: remained there until he died. Griswold died just short of 462 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:30,199 Speaker 1: eight years after Edgar Allen Poe on August eighteen fifty seven. 463 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 1: A death announcement for Griswold was included in Emerson's Magazine. 464 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:38,840 Speaker 1: In Putnam's Monthly volume five, published in eighteen fifty seven, 465 00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:43,280 Speaker 1: Here's what it's said. Quote, the earthly career of this 466 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:47,440 Speaker 1: man has terminated, and as public journalists, it is needful 467 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: that we should have something to say of one who 468 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 1: has been more widely associated with the literature of the country. 469 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 1: And with literary persons than anyone left to us, we 470 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:01,440 Speaker 1: shall say little of the experience of Mr Griswold, painful 471 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:04,760 Speaker 1: as it is, and as full of sorrow to himself 472 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 1: as to others. No one is evil without knowing pain. 473 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:11,119 Speaker 1: No one is weak without the pangs of weakness. That 474 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:14,320 Speaker 1: rufus W Griswold was a weak and ill judging man, 475 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:17,400 Speaker 1: no one will deny. As a man there was much 476 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:20,280 Speaker 1: in him to regret. But those who knew something of 477 00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 1: his last lonely years, his bed of solitary and unsheared suffering, 478 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:27,600 Speaker 1: will feel for him only pity, as one who was 479 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:30,040 Speaker 1: made to a tone deeply for all the mistakes of 480 00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:36,640 Speaker 1: his life. Yeah, after his uh obituary of Poe, Yeah, 481 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:39,520 Speaker 1: it seems fitting that someone thought that that's maybe how 482 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:41,960 Speaker 1: they should write about him at the end. Yeah, but 483 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 1: it is quite sad, and it is generally accepted that, 484 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 1: like once Caroline died, he became very conflicted about a 485 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:54,120 Speaker 1: great many things and really couldn't quite ever get away 486 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:56,560 Speaker 1: from the path of growing kind of more bitter as 487 00:28:56,600 --> 00:29:00,680 Speaker 1: he went, right, which is terribly sad. But yeah, he's 488 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 1: an interesting figure in and we don't hear much about 489 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 1: him outside of just being the guy that hated Poe 490 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:10,560 Speaker 1: when really he had this, you know, a rich life 491 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:12,560 Speaker 1: all his own. Is pretty much anyone we would ever 492 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:17,720 Speaker 1: talk about. Does uh So? That is Rufus Griswald. Do 493 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,240 Speaker 1: you have some listener mail for us as well? I do, 494 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:24,880 Speaker 1: and it's peppy. It is another wonderful holiday card that 495 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,800 Speaker 1: we received. We've gotten so many beautiful ones. This one 496 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:30,240 Speaker 1: is from our listener Chip and he writes, Dear Holly 497 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 1: and Tracy, I cannot tell you how much I have 498 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,360 Speaker 1: enjoyed stuff he missed in history class, in the car 499 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,240 Speaker 1: at home while cooking, you name it. Your Your work 500 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,400 Speaker 1: is always something I look forward to hearing. I know 501 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: you hear this all the time, but truly you do 502 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:44,080 Speaker 1: excellent work as conveyors of information, and you're very entertaining 503 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 1: as well. The podcast of the Devil's Footprints of Devonshire 504 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,160 Speaker 1: and It's fabled Kangaroo was so funny. I dropped a 505 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,800 Speaker 1: bowl of cheesecake better and I didn't even stop laughing 506 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: to clean it up for a good five minutes. I'm 507 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 1: still imagining a band of villagers trekking across the countryside 508 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,880 Speaker 1: following the prince in the snow also the podcast concerning 509 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:04,400 Speaker 1: the Green Children of Wolpit and the Count of Saint Germain. 510 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:06,920 Speaker 1: We're very amusing. Thank you so much for what you do. 511 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:09,920 Speaker 1: Thank you, Chip. I mostly wanted to read it because 512 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:11,960 Speaker 1: I want to have a moment of silence for his 513 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:16,560 Speaker 1: cheesecake batter. I'm very sad. But also it's just a 514 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:18,600 Speaker 1: lovely card. And Chip did a thing that I wanted 515 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:20,640 Speaker 1: to mention because I keep seeing people do it lately, 516 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:22,880 Speaker 1: and I love it because it's a nice hearkening back 517 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:26,920 Speaker 1: to um kind of an old fashioned form of correspondence, 518 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:29,800 Speaker 1: which is that he used a wax seal lovely with 519 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 1: his monogram. And those are like becoming vogue again and 520 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:35,160 Speaker 1: I love it. I'm glad they were coming vogue again 521 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,200 Speaker 1: because I've had one for like twenty years. Yeah, I 522 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: mean I in this year in particular, we've gotten, you know, 523 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:45,040 Speaker 1: a lovely raft of holiday cards every year that we've 524 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:47,040 Speaker 1: been on the show, and this year in particular, I 525 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: noticed a massive uptick in the use of those. So 526 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:54,600 Speaker 1: I'm glad that those are are back in the public consciousness. Uh. 527 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:56,040 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 528 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 1: do so at History Podcast at House Stop works dot com. 529 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:01,640 Speaker 1: You can also find as that missed in History dot com, 530 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 1: where every episode of the show that has ever been 531 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:07,520 Speaker 1: done is still there archived uh and every episode that 532 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:09,720 Speaker 1: Tracy and I have worked on includes show notes. So 533 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:11,959 Speaker 1: come and visit us at Missed in History. You can 534 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,920 Speaker 1: also visit us on social media. We are Missed in 535 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,240 Speaker 1: History pretty much anywhere that you would encounter social media, 536 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:20,600 Speaker 1: and we hope you come and visit us at missed 537 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:30,000 Speaker 1: in History dot com for more on this and thousands 538 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:38,719 Speaker 1: of other topics. Because it has to Works dot com.