Mrs. Richmond, the wife of a wealthy Lowell manufacturer, is known through her connection with Edgar Allan Poe in the last year of his life. He first met her in July of 1848, when he came to Lowell to deliver a lecture. He made two other visits to the city, in October of that same year, and the spring of 1849. He stayed only briefly each time, and it has been calculated that the total amount of time he spent in the society of Mrs. Richmond and her family amounted to no more than two weeks.
Even Poe intimates believed the two were only friendly acquaintances until the late 1870s, when she gave Poe biographer John H. Ingram copies of letters she said Poe had sent her between October of 1848 and June 1849. She never showed him--or anyone else--the originals of these letters, which have never been traced. These strange, hysterical, poorly written letters depict Poe as consumed by an unbalanced, obsessive passion for the young matron he, for unknown reasons, rechristened "Annie." (She legally adopted this nickname after her husband's death in 1873, presumably to firmly tie herself with Poe's 1849 poem "For Annie.") This passion, according to the letters, persisted throughout his brief, ill-fated 1848 engagement to Sarah Helen Whitman--who was simultaneously receiving similar letters breathing undying love.
"Annie" soon regretted her decision to "go public." Her daughter, Mrs. Caroline Coffin, was infuriated when Ingram's book was released and she learned--only then--of her mother's collaboration with the biographer. According to family friends, she saw "Annie's" rhapsodies of a great, hitherto secret, platonic love affair with the poet as a cruel insult to the memory of Caroline's beloved father, Charles Richmond. The family feud that resulted from "Annie's" indiscretion left her bitter and lonely in her last years. Her efforts at self-promotion gained her historical immortality of a sort, but at a great price.
Even Poe intimates believed the two were only friendly acquaintances until the late 1870s, when she gave Poe biographer John H. Ingram copies of letters she said Poe had sent her between October of 1848 and June 1849. She never showed him--or anyone else--the originals of these letters, which have never been traced. These strange, hysterical, poorly written letters depict Poe as consumed by an unbalanced, obsessive passion for the young matron he, for unknown reasons, rechristened "Annie." (She legally adopted this nickname after her husband's death in 1873, presumably to firmly tie herself with Poe's 1849 poem "For Annie.") This passion, according to the letters, persisted throughout his brief, ill-fated 1848 engagement to Sarah Helen Whitman--who was simultaneously receiving similar letters breathing undying love.
"Annie" soon regretted her decision to "go public." Her daughter, Mrs. Caroline Coffin, was infuriated when Ingram's book was released and she learned--only then--of her mother's collaboration with the biographer. According to family friends, she saw "Annie's" rhapsodies of a great, hitherto secret, platonic love affair with the poet as a cruel insult to the memory of Caroline's beloved father, Charles Richmond. The family feud that resulted from "Annie's" indiscretion left her bitter and lonely in her last years. Her efforts at self-promotion gained her historical immortality of a sort, but at a great price.
Mrs. Richmond, the wife of a wealthy Lowell manufacturer, is known through her connection with Edgar Allan Poe in the last year of his life. He first met her in July of 1848, when he came to Lowell to deliver a lecture. He made two other visits to the city, in October of that same year, and the spring of 1849. He stayed only briefly each time, and it has been calculated that the total amount of time he spent in the society of Mrs. Richmond and her family amounted to no more than two weeks.
Even Poe intimates believed the two were only friendly acquaintances until the late 1870s, when she gave Poe biographer John H. Ingram copies of letters she said Poe had sent her between October of 1848 and June 1849. She never showed him--or anyone else--the originals of these letters, which have never been traced. These strange, hysterical, poorly written letters depict Poe as consumed by an unbalanced, obsessive passion for the young matron he, for unknown reasons, rechristened "Annie." (She legally adopted this nickname after her husband's death in 1873, presumably to firmly tie herself with Poe's 1849 poem "For Annie.") This passion, according to the letters, persisted throughout his brief, ill-fated 1848 engagement to Sarah Helen Whitman--who was simultaneously receiving similar letters breathing undying love.
"Annie" soon regretted her decision to "go public." Her daughter, Mrs. Caroline Coffin, was infuriated when Ingram's book was released and she learned--only then--of her mother's collaboration with the biographer. According to family friends, she saw "Annie's" rhapsodies of a great, hitherto secret, platonic love affair with the poet as a cruel insult to the memory of Caroline's beloved father, Charles Richmond. The family feud that resulted from "Annie's" indiscretion left her bitter and lonely in her last years. Her efforts at self-promotion gained her historical immortality of a sort, but at a great price.
Even Poe intimates believed the two were only friendly acquaintances until the late 1870s, when she gave Poe biographer John H. Ingram copies of letters she said Poe had sent her between October of 1848 and June 1849. She never showed him--or anyone else--the originals of these letters, which have never been traced. These strange, hysterical, poorly written letters depict Poe as consumed by an unbalanced, obsessive passion for the young matron he, for unknown reasons, rechristened "Annie." (She legally adopted this nickname after her husband's death in 1873, presumably to firmly tie herself with Poe's 1849 poem "For Annie.") This passion, according to the letters, persisted throughout his brief, ill-fated 1848 engagement to Sarah Helen Whitman--who was simultaneously receiving similar letters breathing undying love.
"Annie" soon regretted her decision to "go public." Her daughter, Mrs. Caroline Coffin, was infuriated when Ingram's book was released and she learned--only then--of her mother's collaboration with the biographer. According to family friends, she saw "Annie's" rhapsodies of a great, hitherto secret, platonic love affair with the poet as a cruel insult to the memory of Caroline's beloved father, Charles Richmond. The family feud that resulted from "Annie's" indiscretion left her bitter and lonely in her last years. Her efforts at self-promotion gained her historical immortality of a sort, but at a great price.
Inscription
Annie L. Richmond.
Born April 12, 1820.
Died Feb. 8, 1898.
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