In the Shadow of the Master (36 page)

The one which we had the good fortune to bring up from the storeroom was not of a large size, weighing probably sixty-five or seventy pounds. It was a female, and in excellent condition, being exceedingly fat, and having more than a quart of limpid and sweet water in its bag. This was indeed a treasure; and, falling on our knees with one accord, we returned fervent thanks to God for so seasonable a relief.

We had great difficulty in getting the animal up through the opening, as its struggles were fierce and its strength prodigious. It was upon the point of making its escape from Peter’s grasp, and slipping back into the water, when Augustus, throwing a rope with a slipknot around its throat, held it up in this manner until I jumped into the hole by the side of Peters, and assisted him in lifting it out.

The water we drew carefully from the bag into the jug; which, it will be remembered, had been brought up before from the cabin. Having done this, we broke off the neck of a bottle so as to form, with the cork, a kind of glass, holding not quite half a gill. We then each drank one of these measures full, and resolved to limit ourselves to this quantity per day as long as it should hold out.

During the last two or three days, the weather having been dry and pleasant, the bedding we had obtained from the cabin, as well as our clothing, had become thoroughly dry, so that we passed this night (that of the twenty-third) in comparative comfort, enjoying a tranquil repose, after having supped plentifully on olives and ham, with a small allowance of the wine. Being afraid of losing some of our stores overboard during the night, in the event of a breeze springing up, we secured them as well as possible with cordage to the fragments of the windlass. Our tortoise, which we were anxious to preserve alive as long as we could, we threw on its back, and otherwise carefully fastened.

I hadn’t had occasion to read Edgar Allan Poe since high school, so when Michael Connelly asked me to contribute a few laudatory words to this anthology commemorating Poe’s two hundredth birthday, I said I’d consider his request. Please note: I didn’t actually
commit
myself, but I did experience a mild surge of interest and told Michael Connelly I’d do what I could. After all, why not? This was late October 2007, and my comments wouldn’t be due until the end of February 2008-a lead time of three months during which I might very well be killed.

Aside from the fact that I seldom agree to write anything “offgrid,” my reservations were twofold:

1. I’m not a scholar by any stretch, and I generally refuse to hold forth on any subject except, possibly, cats.

2. I’d recently started work on
“U” Is for…
, and I knew I needed to focus on the task at hand.

Nonetheless, being a fan of Michael Connelly’s (especially since, heretofore, he’d never asked me for anything), I bought a paperback edition of
Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
to refresh my memory. I sailed through the introduction and the section called “Chronology of Edgar Allan Poe’s Life and Work.” So far, so good. I did question the wisdom of his marrying his thirteen-year-old tubercular cousin, but boys will be boys, and poor Poe was known as a falling-down drunk.

In rapid succession, I read “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Purloined Letter,” “Manuscript Found in a Bottle,” and “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Oh, dear. That “Ourang-Outang” business really didn’t fly as far as I was concerned. Let’s not even talk about “The Gold-Bug,” which left me cranky and out of sorts. I found Poe profligate with his exclamation points, and his overheated prose was larded with inexplicable French phrases. Not only that, he was much too fond of adverbs, and his dialogue fairly cried out for the stern admonitions of a good editor. Mon Dieu!! These are all writerly habits of which I thoroughly disapprove!!! Further reading of his work did nothing to soften my views. What was I to do? I had nothing nice to say about the man and no hope of faking it.

I wrote to Michael Connelly, begging to be relieved of my responsibilities. He wrote back and most graciously excused me.
Quel joie!!
I returned to
“U…”
and thought no more about the Poe anthology. Then, two months later, just when my guilt was beginning to subside, Michael wrote again on “the long shot of all long shots” that I might relent. In the unlikely event that I’d say yes, he cautioned that my term paper would be due, not the middle of February as originally thought, but closer to February 1.

I felt myself waver and wondered if there was any way I might be of help. I decided to renew my efforts before closing the door on him once and for all. Given the accelerated deadline, I took the only sensible action that crossed my mind. I turned to the Internet and Googled Edgar Allan Poe in hopes of cribbing an academic paper I could pass off as my own.

In the course of this random research, I came across a reference to a Poe story called
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket,
which wasn’t included in the collected works I’d bought. What caught my attention were comments I unearthed from the archives of Cornell University:
The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe; with a Memoir by Rufus Wilmot Griswold, and Notices of His Life and Genius by N. P. Willis and J. R Lowell,
4 vols. (New York: Redfield, 1856). On page 434 of one of these volumes (alas, I know not which), either Mr. Griswold, N. P. Willis, or J. R. Lowell wrote the following: “Had this ‘Narrative’ been brought to a conclusion satisfactory, or even plausible, ‘Arthur Gordon Pym’ would have been the most perfect specimen of [Poe’s] imaginative and constructive powers.”

Well,
that
was curious.

Fifty key strokes later, I found the lengthy story online and reproduced as much of it as printer paper would allow. I’d read no more than a few paragraphs when I found myself transfixed. The prose was clear and accessible, with nary a!!! in sight. But what intrigued me was the challenge Poe had set for himself.
The Narrative…
purports to be an account of an extraordinary (and entirely invented) journey across the Antarctic Ocean, as told by one Arthur Gordon Pym at a gentlemen’s club in Richmond, Virginia, in the latter months of 1836. Those who hear of his remarkable adventures urge Pym to make the matter public. Pym declines, explaining that he kept no written journal during this protracted period and that he questions his ability to write, “from mere memory, a statement so minute and connected as to have the
appearance
of that truth it would really possess.” The incidents, he says, are of a nature so marvelous that he doubts the public would regard his comments as anything other than “an impudent and ingenious fiction.”

As luck would have it, among those present at the gathering is our very own Edgar Allan Poe, lately editor of the
Southern Literary Messenger,
who strongly advises Pym to prepare a thorough rendering of the affair and who further proposes to publish this chronicle in the
Southern Literary Messenger
as a work of fiction under his (Poe’s) name. This ruse, says Poe, will allow Pym to fully air his tale without inciting the public’s incredulity.

In January and February 1837, twenty-five chapters of this narrative appear in the
Messenger,
meticulously detailing a voyage to the South Pacific, which results in the alleged discovery of a new land, complete with the specifics of climate, atmosphere, water, novel plants, and strange animals, capped by a description of the inhabitants, who differ from all other races of men.

The response is unexpected.

As convincing as the author (Poe) has hoped to be in persuading the public that the tale is mere fable, letters are sent to Mr. Poe’s address “distinctly expressing a conviction to the contrary.” Far from viewing these exploits as fiction, the public believes them to be true. Edgar Allan Poe is forced to confess that the tale is not his, but is an unexpurgated and completely factual account of actual events that happened to Arthur Gordon Pym. Arthur Gordon Pym, in turn, is finally convinced to step forward and acknowledge the reportage as his own. He then proceeds to dictate his experiences in such an authoritative tone that the whole of it is accepted as gospel. So much so that a publishing house in London commences arrangements to reprint the work as a bona fide history.

Having established this dazzling turnabout premise, Poe now faces the tricky issue of how to bring the tale to a conclusion without leaving himself open to the very scientific scrutiny he’s hoping to avoid. In order to sustain the authenticity of his deception-posing as Pym and limning a supposed fiction whose outing as truth motivates Pym to affirm his role as author and participant (whew!!)-Poe must find a means of completing the yarn without tipping his hand.

For a few moments, I put myself in Poe’s shoes and pondered the possibilities. My temptation would have been to chuck the whole scheme as a rebellion of plot and character now desperately in need of quashing.

His solution was to make the following announcement:

The circumstances connected with the late sudden and distressing death of Mr. Pym are already well known to the public through the medium of the daily press. It is feared that the few remaining chapters which were to have completed his narrative, and which were retained by him… for the purpose of revision, have been irrecoverably lost through the accident by which he perished himself. This, however, may prove not to be the case, and the papers, if ultimately found, will be given to the public. The loss of two or three final chapters… is the more deeply to be regretted, as it can not be doubted they contained matter relative to the Pole itself, or at least to regions in its very near proximity; and as, too, the statements of the author in relation to these regions may shortly be verified or contradicted by means of the governmental expedition now preparing for the Southern Ocean.

In support of this, Poe attaches a number of footnotes in which he clarifies and annotates the veracity of Pym’s assertions in all of their particulars.

The elaborate and ingenious conceit of this story (which is, by the way, executed with unfaltering confidence) was finally sufficient to arouse my admiration and elevate my prior opinion of Edgar Allan Poe… at least in terms of this one stunning testimonial to his skills. I’m delighted to recommend
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
as exemplary of Poe’s powers of invention. I do this with a clear conscience and in sincere support of this anthology honoring his work. Personal integrity aside, there is one more important point to be made: now Michael Connelly owes me.

Sue Grafton entered the mystery field in 1982 with the publication of
“A” Is for Alibi,
which introduced female hard-boiled private investigator Kinsey Millhone, who operates out of the fictional town of Santa Teresa (a.k.a. Santa Barbara), California.
“B” Is for Burglar
followed in 1985, and since then she has added eighteen novels to the series now referred to as “the alphabet mysteries.” At the rate she’s going, she’ll reach
“Z” Is for Zero
in the year 2020, give or take a decade. She will be much much older than she is now.

MICHAEL CONNELLY
is one of the most prolific and bestselling writers of suspense at work today. He lives with his family in Florida.

www.mysterywriters.org

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Designed by Jennifer Ann Daddio / Bookmark Design & Media Inc. Cover design by Ervin Serrano

Cover illustration created from photograph by Stan Osolinski/Oxford Scientific/Jupiterimages

Interior images from Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe, illustrated by Harry Clarke. London: Harrap, 1919. Images obtained from the Rare Book Department, the Free Library of Philadelphia. Reproduction by Will Brown, Will Brown Photographer.

“About Edgar Allan Poe,” copyright © 2009 by Mystery Writers of America, Inc.

“About the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award,” copyright © 2009 by Mystery Writers of America, Inc.

“About the Illustrator,” copyright © 2009 by Mystery Writers of America, Inc.

“What Poe Hath Wrought,” copyright © 2009 by Michael Connelly.

“On Edgar Allan Poe,” copyright © 2009 by T. Jefferson Parker.

“Under the Covers with Fortunato and Montresor,” copyright © 2009 by Jan Burke.

“The Curse of Amontillado,” copyright © 2009 by Lawrence Block.

“Pluto’s Heritage,” copyright © 2009 by P. J. Parrish.

“Identity Crisis,” copyright © 2009 by Lisa Scottoline.

“In a Strange City: Baltimore and the Poe Toaster,” copyright © 2009 by Laura Lippman.

“Once Upon a Midnight Dreary,” copyright © 2009 by Michael Connelly.

“The Thief,” copyright © 2009 by Laurie R. King.

“Poe and Me at the Movies,” copyright © 2009 by Tess Gerritsen, Inc.

“The Genius of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart,’ ” copyright © 2009 by Stephen King.

“The First Time,” copyright © 2009 by Steve Hamilton.

“The Pit, the Pendulum, and Perfection,” copyright © 2009 by Patricia M. Hoch.

“The Pit and the Pendulum at the Palace,” copyright © 2009 by Peter Robinson.

“Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, and Me,” copyright © 2009 by S. J. Rozan.

“The Quick and the Undead,” copyright © 2009 by Nelson DeMille.

“Imagining Edgar Allan Poe,” copyright © 2009 by Sara Paretsky.

“Rantin’ and Ravin’,” copyright © 2009 by Joseph Wambaugh.

“A Little Thought on Poe,” copyright © 2009 by Thomas H. Cook.

“Poe in G Minor,” copyright © 2009 by Jeffery W. Deaver.

“How I Became an Edgar Allan Poe Convert,” copyright © 2009 by Sue Grafton.

Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing – a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.

After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the
Los Angeles Times
, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.

After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel,
The Black Echo
, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly followed up with three more Bosch books,
The Black Ice
,
The Concrete Blonde
, and
The Last Coyote
, before publishing
The Poet
in 1996-a thriller with a newspaper reporter as a protagonist. In 1997, he went back to Bosch with
Trunk Music
, and in 1998 another non-series thriller,
Blood Work
, was published. It was inspired in part by a friend's receiving a heart transplant and the attendant "survivor's guilt" the friend experienced, knowing that someone died in order that he have the chance to live. Connelly had been interested and fascinated by those same feelings as expressed by the survivors of the plane crash he wrote about years before. The movie adaptation of
Blood Work
was released in 2002, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.

Connelly's next book,
Angels Flight
, was released in 1999 and was another entry in the Harry Bosch series. The non-series novel
Void Moon
was released in 2000 and introduced a new character, Cassie Black, a high-stakes Las Vegas thief. His 2001 release,
A Darkness More Than Night
, united Harry Bosch with Terry McCaleb from
Blood Work
, and was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the
Los Angeles Times
.

In 2002, Connelly released two novels. The first, the Harry Bosch book
City Of Bones
, was named a Notable Book of the Year by the
New York Times
. The second release was a stand-alone thriller,
Chasing The Dime
, which was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the
Los Angeles Times
.

Lost Light
was published in 2003 and named one of the Best Books of 2003 by the
Los Angeles Times
. It is another in the Harry Bosch series but the first written in first person. To celebrate its release, Michael produced the limited edition jazz CD,
Dark Sacred Night, The Music Of Harry Bosch
. This CD is a compilation of the jazz music mentioned in the Bosch novels and was given away to his readers on Michael's 2003 book tour.

Connelly's 2004 novel,
The Narrows
, is the sequel to
The Poet
. It was named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the
Los Angeles Times
. To accompany this Harry Bosch novel, Little, Brown and Company Publishers released a limited edition DVD,
Blue Neon Night: Michael Connelly's Los Angeles
. In this film, Michael Connelly provides an insider's tour of the places that give his stories and characters their spark and texture.

His 11th Harry Bosch novel,
The Closers
, was published in May 2005, and debuted at #1 on the
New York Times
bestseller list.
The Lincoln Lawyer
, Connelly's first-ever legal thriller and his 16th novel, was published in October 2005 and also debuted at #1 on the
New York Times
bestseller list. This book introduced Mickey Haller, a Los Angeles defense attorney.

Crime Beat
, a non-fiction collection of crime stories from Michael's days as a journalist, was released in 2006, as was the Harry Bosch novel,
Echo Park
, released in October 2006.

The Overlook
, Michael's 18th novel, was originally serialized in the
New York Times Magazine
. This Harry Bosch story was published as a book with additional material in May 2007.

Michael's 19th novel,
The Brass Verdict
, was released in October 2008, and debuted at #1 on the
New York Times
bestseller list. It introduces Lincoln lawyer Mickey Haller to LAPD Detective Harry Bosch in a fast-paced legal thriller. Michael's 20th novel,
The Scarecrow
, was first released in May 2009, and reunites reporter Jack McEvoy and FBI Agent Rachel Walling for the first time since
The Poet
.

Michael released a second book in 2009, the 15th Harry Bosch novel,
Nine Dragons
. In this story, Bosch goes to Hong Kong to find his missing daughter. It is the most personal Bosch story since
The Last Coyote.

Connelly's books have been translated in 35 languages and have won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Audie Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan),.38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho award (Spain).

Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael was one of the creators, writers, and consulting producers of
Level 9, a TV show about a task force fighting cyber crime, that ran on UPN in the Fall of 2000.

Michael lives with his family in Florida.