Who is the Blackest Bird?
Dalene Hawthorne
Originally published 09:45 a.m., October 27, 2007
Updated 09:45 a.m., October 27, 2007
Take a trip to the New York of Edgar Allan Poe’s time with this novel by Joel Rose. Meet High Constable Jacob Hays, New York’s first detective, who spends the last years of his career searching for the murderer of cigar shop girl Mary Rogers. Get to know Edgar Allan Poe, his ailing wife and mother-in-law (also his aunt), and his circle of feminine admirers. Is he responsible for the death of Mary Rogers?
Or is John Colt (brother of the famous Samuel Colt who popularized the revolving pistol) her murderer?
Joel Rose describes the literary, publishing, and political scenes of New York City during the 1840s as background to the puzzle of the murder of Mary Rogers. The novel presents more questions than answers as the High Constable Hays investigates Mary Rogers’ death and suspected murder. Does John Colt, convicted of murdering his publisher, escape during a fire in prison on the same day he both marries his fiancé and is scheduled to hang? Was Mary killed by a gang of thugs? Did she die as the result of a botched abortion? Was Edgar Allan Poe the father of her child and the arranger of her abortion? Did she have the abortion willingly, or was she forced into it by her lover? Who was her lover? Was it Samuel Colt, who was also in love with Mary Rogers? Did he set up Edgar Allan Poe for the murder? Did he arrange for his brother John to escape from prison?
Did he instigate the riot that prevented High Constable Hays from being at the prison during the fire?
One has to struggle to remember that this is a work of fiction. The author recreates the New York City of the 1840s, while creating a murder mystery of the highest order. He uses spellings and slang from the time period as well as the more formal language of the time.
There were occasions when I wished for a glossary of the slang, but it is usually possible to ascertain the meaning of these words from the context. Despite this, or maybe even because of it, I found myself pulled into the dark, gothic world of Edgar Allan Poe, and thoroughly enjoyed the mystery.